For people that live with diabetes, there are many challenges associated with wearing a diabetes device as the adhesives can be a real struggle, particularly that develop skin reactions to included ingredients.
For years, the industry has released new innovations that proclaim various levels of stickiness for people to select from or even smart adhesives that automatically adjust to a person’s skin.
These are all in theory, as in practice it has yet to truly materialize.
Manufacturers Making Production Changes
FDA regulators are not yet fully monitoring or intervening these problems as much as some researchers believe, there has been a concerted movement to enhance the sticky parts of diabetes devices to be more skin-friendly and comfortable.
Dexcom is one company that has made the change in the adhesive it previously used to avoid the allergen ethyl cyanoacrylate.
Dexcom sensors manufactured after August 2017 have the new adhesive, but many Dexcom users who had struggled with skin irritations noticed the change almost immediately.
They began reporting fewer rashes or breakouts as they had previously.
Dexcom changed its adhesive again in 2020 – determining which part of the adhesive is actually problematic can be an intensive research project involving complicated lab tests across various allergens.
Searching for Solutions
Among the many different medical adhesive wipes and tapes, Skin Tac, and Flexifix Opsite probably top the list as the most popular. Dexcom has a page discussing adhesive issues with best practices and tips for those with sensitive skin.
Diabetes Daily has produced a brief video on how to keep your pump site on longer. For anyone that wants to display their own individuality, an array of fun stickers are available from providers including RockaDex, Grif Grips, and Expression Med.
They are known for producing a more lively visual collection than traditional medical tape or products.
