- Messages
- 3
- Type of diabetes
- Parent
- Treatment type
- Pump
Greetings!
I am the mother of a 14-year-old type 1 diabetic. She was diagnosed at the age of 4 in 2009. We switched to the Medtronic 640g pump a couple of years ago and are facing a recurring issue that has been getting worse recently - cannula adhesion!
Over the past few weeks - and more than likely made worse by the heat - my daughter has lost a bunch of cannulas due to them becoming unstuck. We are cleaning the area thoroughly, using an alcohol wipe on the area where the cannula is to be inserted and have tried many different techniques to keep the cannulas in place. My daughter uses both the Mio and the Mio 30 cannulas and this is an issue with both. The cannulas are simply lifting up off the skin.
Just to add, we are allowing the skin to dry after using the alcohol wipe and are allowing the Skin-Tac to become tacky before applying anything else. We have also tried just cleansing the skin without the alcohol wipes but were asked to try using them to remove potential oils from the skin. We rotate the sites we use and she uses both thighs and her abdominal region (bar the area around her belly button). This issue is happening regardless of the site we use.
Things we've tried:-
As you can see, we've tried a lot of techniques to get these cannulas to stick and are having absolutely no luck. We're literally losing at least 1 cannula a day, some days we're losing more. My daughter lost her cannula in school recently while she was in P.E. and didn't notice until she was on the way home, got to our door, burst into tears when I opened it and we did checks and she had ketones of 5.5 and ended up in the hospital.
As I'm sure you can all understand, this situation is creating a lot of anxiety amongst us and we are kind of at a loss as to what to do and where to go from here. My daughter has very smooth skin and I don't know if this is creating an issue. I've spoken to her diabetes team directly about it and they're perplexed too, but have told me that there are other families under their care experiencing the same issues.
If anyone could provide any information or advice, perhaps share some tips on how you get your cannulas to adhere, I would really appreciate it.
Kind regards.
I am the mother of a 14-year-old type 1 diabetic. She was diagnosed at the age of 4 in 2009. We switched to the Medtronic 640g pump a couple of years ago and are facing a recurring issue that has been getting worse recently - cannula adhesion!
Over the past few weeks - and more than likely made worse by the heat - my daughter has lost a bunch of cannulas due to them becoming unstuck. We are cleaning the area thoroughly, using an alcohol wipe on the area where the cannula is to be inserted and have tried many different techniques to keep the cannulas in place. My daughter uses both the Mio and the Mio 30 cannulas and this is an issue with both. The cannulas are simply lifting up off the skin.
Just to add, we are allowing the skin to dry after using the alcohol wipe and are allowing the Skin-Tac to become tacky before applying anything else. We have also tried just cleansing the skin without the alcohol wipes but were asked to try using them to remove potential oils from the skin. We rotate the sites we use and she uses both thighs and her abdominal region (bar the area around her belly button). This issue is happening regardless of the site we use.
Things we've tried:-
- Alcohol wipes to remove potential oils, placing the cannula in as normal
- Alcohol wipes to remove potential oils, placing the cannula in as normal then covering the cannula with IV 3000
- Alcohol wipes to remove potential oils, placing an IV 3000 directly on the skin with a cutout for the cannula
- Alcohol wipes to remove potential oils, placing an IV 3000 on the skin with the cutout for the cannula and placing another IV 3000 on top of it to secure the cannula (sandwich method)
- Skin prep as above, skin-tac, IV 3000, cannula insertion
- Skin prep as above, skin-tac, IV 3000, cannula insertion, another IV 3000
- Trying with and without a non-moisturising antiperspirant, recommended to us by her diabetes team
- Trying all of the above with and without medical tape to hold the edges
As you can see, we've tried a lot of techniques to get these cannulas to stick and are having absolutely no luck. We're literally losing at least 1 cannula a day, some days we're losing more. My daughter lost her cannula in school recently while she was in P.E. and didn't notice until she was on the way home, got to our door, burst into tears when I opened it and we did checks and she had ketones of 5.5 and ended up in the hospital.
As I'm sure you can all understand, this situation is creating a lot of anxiety amongst us and we are kind of at a loss as to what to do and where to go from here. My daughter has very smooth skin and I don't know if this is creating an issue. I've spoken to her diabetes team directly about it and they're perplexed too, but have told me that there are other families under their care experiencing the same issues.
If anyone could provide any information or advice, perhaps share some tips on how you get your cannulas to adhere, I would really appreciate it.
Kind regards.
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