Tips for the beach while on a pump

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Tony R

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Protecting Your Pump On A Beach

My son is going on holiday to Tenerife next month.

just wonder whether anyone has tips for using the pump.

I've ordered an Aquapac which is supposed to enable him to go in the water, wonder if anyone has used one of these? Also whether it's worth getting one of those big surgical clear patches to go over the canula set or not bother.

Also two other things
Does anyone know whether the temperature can affect the insulin in the pump's reservoir?
Does anyone know about issues of getting sun tan lotion on the tube? (I know you can't get hairspray or solvents on the tube)
 
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Hi Tony,

I know one or two people who have successfully used the Aquapac, but when we bought one I found it too fiddly to bother with! What we do on holidays when going to the beach or pool is to leave the pump in our accommodation and take an injection pen out with us. Frequent testing, snacking and small boluses of insulin keep him more or less in range while he's off the pump. Having said that, his basal needs are small anyway - only 7U per day (27% of his TDD), of which less than 3U in waking hours.

If your son is wearing his pump in the full glare of the sun, he may want to invest in a Frio pump pouch to prevent the insulin getting too warm. I don't know about sun cream, but it's unlikely any would get on the cartridge. The other issue, in the past we have had problems with sand particles in the plastic connector where you reconnect the tubing to the cannula. We take some tegaderm clear plastic dressings to cover the cannula site, unless the set is due to be changed that day anyway.

Hope he has a great time! 🙂
 
Tegaderm is a good tip Redkite, thanks for that. Where do you get them from*?

Have bought an Aquapac in case we actually *do* end up hiring some sea kayaks this year (we were tempted a few years ago when I was still on MDI).



EDIT: *Don't worry. Just found something similar on a popular e-commerce website!
 
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We actually have tegaderms on his repeat prescription, because at one point he was regularly needing emla numbing cream before sensor insertion (those were the days when I could still afford to buy sensors!), and we used the tegaderms to cover the cream while it did its job. So you could get a few prescribed, or maybe they are available over the pharmacy counter. They come in all shapes and sizes - we get 6cmx7cm ones.

If you think you might use your Aquapac, practice with it at home before you go, as you need to be sure you've got a watertight seal. Some people put something less valuable into the Aquapac as an experiment and immerse in water to check it out! But the issue is with the tubing needing to come out through a gap in the seal. Personally I just didn't have faith in it to (a) keep the pump dry, and (b) not squeeze the tubing too tightly and cause an occlusion. I wanted to be able to relax and not worry about the pump getting ruined! People with an Animas don't have to worry so much. I know people whose children have used the Aquapac for running about in the shallows on the beach, splashing around, and for canoeing on a river (but didn't capsize and fall in!), but nobody I know has immersed it so I have no data. Maybe you can try this and report back for us? 🙂
 
Redkite said:
We actually have tegaderms on his repeat prescription, because at one point he was regularly needing emla numbing cream before sensor insertion (those were the days when I could still afford to buy sensors!), and we used the tegaderms to cover the cream while it did its job. So you could get a few prescribed, or maybe they are available over the pharmacy counter. They come in all shapes and sizes - we get 6cmx7cm ones.

If you think you might use your Aquapac, practice with it at home before you go, as you need to be sure you've got a watertight seal. Some people put something less valuable into the Aquapac as an experiment and immerse in water to check it out! But the issue is with the tubing needing to come out through a gap in the seal. Personally I just didn't have faith in it to (a) keep the pump dry, and (b) not squeeze the tubing too tightly and cause an occlusion. I wanted to be able to relax and not worry about the pump getting ruined! People with an Animas don't have to worry so much. I know people whose children have used the Aquapac for running about in the shallows on the beach, splashing around, and for canoeing on a river (but didn't capsize and fall in!), but nobody I know has immersed it so I have no data. Maybe you can try this and report back for us? 🙂
Click to expand...

Thanks RK - I've gone for a roll of Opsite so I'm hoping i can just cut off whatever I need.

Re: Aquapacs... Yes I don't think they advise immersion in the blurb - well not for any length of time anyway.

I compared notes with AlisonF here: http://www.shootuporputup.co.uk/forums/topic/summers-coming-waterproof-pump-pouch-thinghies/

who seems to have got on fine with hers (and has CGM to check against occlusion). Good thought about a practice run though!
 
Thanks for the link. I probably worry too much and overthink stuff! 🙂. Let us know how you get on if you do try it.
 
Since my pump is not water resistant, I usually simply take it off when going into the pool or sea. Taking perhaps 0.5 units before going into the pool for 30 minutes might be a plan. But I prefer to stay on the beach while using insulin pens instead - so I simply switch when going on holiday.
 
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