site irritation...

[goofynina]

Can somebody, ANYBODY give me any tips on how to dress my catheter site without using tape.  It has irritated my skin so bad that my skin is peeling in certain parts and i am afraid to put more tape on it, but i know it needs to be protected.   Does anyone else have this problem??  I know i have asked before on how to remove the sticky stuff the tape leaves behind but i still have found no solution other than to rub it with my fingers until it rolls off and that irritates it also... grrrrrrrr, just cant win can we? lol

[Ginger]

There is a skin prep that ostomates use prior to putting on their bags that may toughen your skin so that the tape does not irritate so much. It should be available at drug stores that sell ostomy supplies. Do you wear a belt? You would still need to use tape about an inch away from the insertion site but if you anchor the rest with a belt, your skin would get a chance to heal before using more tape than that. I don't like belts but my unit insisted after I kept developing leaks where the transfer set hooks into the tube. I use the stickman belts but still use tape and dressings besides that. When my skin starts to get irritated I try not to tape in the same spots, to give the irritated areas a break.

[goofynina]

hi ginger and thank you for your reply,  i dont use belts,  i just tape it to my skin     right now i just have a papertowel between my me and my underwear to cover the site so i dont use tape,  it is hard not to tape in the same spot cuz the gauze is a 4 x 4 and that is exactly where all the irritation is,     i think i am going to try this method for awhile until i can think of something else,  i know its not the best thing but ripping my skin off isnt either, lol

[kitkatz]

My hubby uses the sticky stuff that they use over an IV site over his wound with the vacuum pump.  I am going to look up the name and post it here.

[Ginger]

Kit,
I think tegaderm is what you are thinking of. In the hospital that is what we use with the wound vacs.

Goofynina,
You could try smaller or larger dressings over the site to give the tape new skin to work on. 2X2's  for smaller or ABD's which are about 6X8 for larger.  Does your husband have any nice soft silk ties? You could slip the tube inside one and then tie or tape it in back for a day or two. Sometimes you just have to get creative!!!! Hope whatever you try that it works and your skin heals up quickly.

[Ohio Buckeye]

I use 2x2 over mine.
First a 2" iv drain one then a 2" cover.
Smaller and less tape.  I started out with 4x4 then switched to the smaller ones.
Doesn't use too much tape with those.  might try them.

[MelissaJean]

Goofynina, my nurse told me to get the sticky stuff off you can use olive oil.. I haven't tried it yet though.

[kevno]

Over my Caths I use IV3000 which is similar to tegaderm, but a bit more gentle. When I had my PD tubes the only tape I used was too hold the tube in place. Never had a dressing on the exit site (well just for he first couple of months). Just used to clean around the site once in the morning and once at night. A total of thirteen years on CAPD only two infections(both times the nurses were doing the exchanges, because I was in Hospital at the time )

[hephziba]

Hi goofynina, I first tried mepore dressings which made my skin red and has left scars and discolouration, I now use tegaderm dressings which come with pads attached so I don't have to mess with gauze.
these only make me sore If I get really hot. but Ive found them to be much better for me.

hope this is of help !

 

Heph

[MiSSis]

Hi Nina,

I've had lots of problems with tape in the past also.  First of all I always use paper tape.  Even the paper tape given to me by my center bothered my skin so now I buy my own.  I use Johnson & Johnson's Non-Irritating paper tape and it's helped a a lot as it's not as sticky as many of the other types of paper tape.  I also use a Stickman belt at night.  (If you're not familiar with these, check out www.kidneystuff.com.)  I do use a small piece of paper tape near my exit site at night just to insure I don't get any tugging that might cause irritation.  During the day I use a split 2x2 and then cover it with a 4x4.  Most of the time I fold that in half but will leave it full size if I start to have a little irritation in a particular location.  I have used a creme, like cortaid, to help if I do get a sore spot (never by my exit site though).  But the fact that I can get by with very little tape at night seems to help a bunch.  Oh, and according to the Stickman site, you can use a belt in the daytime too but I've chosen not to.  Although if I was having a big problem with irritation, I'd probably use a belt 24x7 until it cleared up.  You do get used to the feel of having one on (kinda like when we were first learning to wear bras!).

[goofynina]

thank you everyone for the great tips, i am going to try them all and see which one works the best for me.  I love the fact that you are all here for me (and for each other)  isn't that an awesome feeling...   Thank you again

[mmmmdeedee]

Hi Goofynina: I agree with Missis. I use only the paper tape as it is a little less sticky and it doesn't make me all itchy!

Less irritation to go with the other irritations we already have!

Never heard of any belts. I'll have to check out that site that MissIs was talking about.

I use a ton of tape as I'm afraid of anything pulling out. I watch too many cartoons and I just see water shooting out of my body if it were to pull out!

Also, I use vitamin E oil. I guess it's the same as any oil. I leave it on there for a few minutes and then rub away. It also makes my skin feel nice after!

Hope you are feeling a little bit better with these hints.

[Panda_9]

I had the same problem when I had a permacath. I just kept making the dressings bigger until the skin healed, then went back to smaller etc. I just changed the size so as I was only taping on un-irritated skin, well as un-irritated as possible. All I used was several pieces of guaze to cover the irritated areas, then popped 2 big tegaderms over the top. You may want to just use tape, as you want the exit site to breathe a bit. Just tape the guaze together, and all I used on the skin was a little bit of tape on each corner of the guaze, that is all that is needed. For the "anchoring" of the tube, I used duoderm, the stuff that looks like skin. You just take 2 small rounds, about the size of a 20 cent piece, place one directly onto the skin where you normally put the first bit of anchor tape, place the catheter on top, the pop the second duoderm over the tube, making sure it sticks onto the bit of duoderm underneath. Phew thats hard to explain!! You can leave the duoderm on for about a week before it needs changing as it stays on very well and doesnt usually harm the skin. That way you arent ripping tape off everyday, therefore less irritation. This really helped me, as I get shocking irritation from all the sorts of tape.