Pump faffing or essential ‘best practice’

[Anonymous]

As is virtually a legal requirement it seems, I have been chomping through John Walsh’s Pumping Insulin in advance of my pump-start next Monday (other ‘pumper’s bible’s’ are available). In the section about set changing there is mention of all sorts of alcohol swabbing, lotions and potions going on.

Now strictly speaking I know I *should* change my lancets and pen needles every single time, or risk being struck off the Good Diabetic Register. I’m pretty sure there was mention of alcohol swabbing when fitting a needle to the pen in one set of instructions I failed to read properly… After 20 years I can honestly say I’ve never really had a problem caused by re-used needles and/or a lack of wasting alcohol on ‘swabbing’ (whatever that is).

So my question to you estimable and experienced pumpers is: How much hand washing/alcohol swabbing and bio-occlusive material (?!) do you get involved with during your set changes. One of my last lingering pump-aversions was problems with set failures, so obviously I want to do the best I can to make every one a perfect insertion and hope to avoid ‘pumpers custard’ and attendant BG nightmares as much as I can. But at the same time I don’t want to spend 2 hours dipped in disinfectant and wrapped in clingfilm if it will make little difference to a 5 minute set-change.

Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Just get on with it don’t faff! Perhaps that’s were I’ve been going wrong though all these years no wrapping in clingfilm! Mummification or diabetification here we come. I would recommend an infusion set firing device though.

[Tim]

I just fire and forget and don’t faff about with swabbing, etc. I can do a complete set change in about 2 minutes flat now – but the first one took about half an hour!

[Alison]

I do the same as I did when I used injections and just stick it in. My few infusion set failures have always been caused by the cannular kinking once its in my skin, I’ve never had one produce custard or similar gunk.

Brownie points for actually reading the book, that will save your spot on the Good Diabetic Register.

[Anonymous]

I did the first month just washing my hands & infusion site, the last month I’ve used a sterets swab to clean the site which I bought through one of the on-line pharmacy’s on Amazon.

Whether it makes any difference or not I don’t know, and I’d suspect it ;

[lizz]

I do wash my hands due to usually having been cuddling the dog recently. But apart from that – nothing. I suspect swabbing is counter-productive, and on the whole i prefer not to do too much cleaning with harsh products. We are a tea-tree oil, soda crystal and bicarb of soda cleaning house, no chemicals…

I can’t recall any of us having had an infection… of anything.

[Author]

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