View Full Version : infusion sites & swimming...help!!!
Our 4 year old son wears a Minimed 515 w/Quickset infusion sets, and we use IV prep pads to prepare the skin (buttocks), hoping it will hold the site better. When he swims, the site usually needs to be replaced because the water loosens the adhesive. Lately, we've been putting Tegaderm over the canula and that has been coming off due to the water, also. Is there anything we can use so we're not changing his site every day just so the little guy can swim??? Is IV 3000 stronger than Tegaderm, or is there another adhesive prep we could use? He has very fair skin with pump bumps and all, so I want to use something that's non-irritating if at all possible.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
hold48398
07-31-2006, 08:10 PM
Yeah, I know what you mean. We go swimming every day, and the tape does loosen quite a bit when being submersed in water. Our routine is similar to yours: We use alcohol wipes to completely clean off the site area, then IV Prep, and then we put the set in. After it is in, I wipe the adhesive once more with IV Prep and let it dry. Last, I put an IV 3000 over the whole thing (with hole in the middle). I find that it works best if the whole set has some time to "settle" before submersing it in water (pool/tub). If the IV 3000 looks like it is coming off after having been in water, I gently peel it off, let the set dry again and reapply a new IV 3000. This usually keeps the set secure for another day (we change it every other day anyways).
I would love to hear if anyone else has a better solution!!! I wonder how someone like swimmer Gary Hall does it since I imagine he has swim practice multiple times a day??
BrendaK
07-31-2006, 08:53 PM
We have done the same thing with the IV 3000 and cutting a hole in the middle. And we use the "preppies" wipes before inserting the new site. We just replace the IV 3000 patch if it starts to come off, and it usually holds everything together until the next site change.
susanH
08-09-2006, 05:31 PM
hasn't anyone used/heard of Benzoin Tincture to waterproof infusion sites for swimming? my son isn't a big swimmer but this stuff worked great when he took swimming in school.
it is a clear liquid that you q-tip over the site bandage. i used to "paint" it around the edges of his adhesive square, avoiding the canula itself...just paint around the edges and it acts as a sealer. make sure you give it time to dry, i'd fan it for a few minutes to be sure it was "set".... it was very effective for us, his CDE told us about it. it's available in pharmacies.
we'd also use a waterproof band-aid on his tubing, a few inches above his site, taping it to his skin to prevent the tubing from pulling down on the infusion site in the water...it kind of braced the tubing up in an "upright" position and took the pull down pressure off of the site which kept the site adhesive square more in tact.
hold48398
08-09-2006, 06:55 PM
Well, I went and got some liquid bandade this morning because we were heading to the waterpark for most of the day and I was worried about Mia's infusion site falling off from being soaked all day...As I was applying the liquid bandade to the outer edges of the tape, Mia started SCREAMING that it burned...her skin changed BRIGHT RED and big fat tears started streaming down her cheeks :(...my husband ran and got a washcloth to start to blot away the liquid bandade stuff but it didn't help, so I got the Unisolve out, and that seems to do the trick....Of course, it also took half the set off :rolleyes:...so just a word of caution...try on a small area first if you are going to use this...I for one will NEVER try it again!!!!!
Hollyb
08-11-2006, 09:04 PM
Our Animas rep sent us Skin Tac and it really helps. We just did two weeks at the cottage with swimming several (sometimes many) times a day and only once (after tubing, and forgetting the IV3000 patch) did Aaron lose a site.
Our swimming routine now is this: Apply IV Prep, dry, swab with Skin Tac in a big area (size of Tegaderm or IV 3000), put in the site, cut a hole in the IV 3000 and paste over the whole thing. For us the IV 3000 seems to stick better than the Tegaderm but that's probably an individual thing.
The Skin Tac doesn't hurt at all going on but could hurt a young child with sensitive skin coming off. Using any of the Unisolve-type products will dissolve it though.
Good luck!
susanH
08-12-2006, 10:12 PM
Well, I went and got some liquid bandade this morning because we were heading to the waterpark for most of the day and I was worried about Mia's infusion site falling off from being soaked all day...As I was applying the liquid bandade to the outer edges of the tape, Mia started SCREAMING that it burned...her skin changed BRIGHT RED and big fat tears started streaming down her cheeks :(...my husband ran and got a washcloth to start to blot away the liquid bandade stuff but it didn't help, so I got the Unisolve out, and that seems to do the trick....Of course, it also took half the set off :rolleyes:...so just a word of caution...try on a small area first if you are going to use this...I for one will NEVER try it again!!!!!
:( very sorry i made the suggestion that caused your little one pain.
hope no one else attempts using this. it worked, painfree, for us for years.
CarrieP
08-15-2006, 04:51 PM
IV Prep under and Tegaderm over works for our daily swim routine. My pump trainer did tell me though, that if that didn't work, sometimes putting the Tegaderm on first and then the infusion set will make the set stick better, it also helps protect sensitive skin. The infusion set tape will stick better to the Tegaderm. You can then put more Tegaderm over the set. Try it and see if it works...