Reeking of Tea Tree oil

[Anonymous]

I’ve been using tea tree oil on the mark left by the cannula after 3 day insertion in an attempt to heal it but doesn’t everyone know it? Any suggestions on alternatives would be handy. Have been on Omnipod for a month now, its great but quite keen not to look like pin cushion by summer.

[Annette A]

Develop freckles (Okay, not helpful, I know, but I have to say, after a couple of hours, except on the sites which have had a problem (ie bleeding under the skin), I can’t see my marks at all, they blend into the freckles on my stomach. Is it an omnipod thing? Do you get bigger/more long lasting marks with Omnipods than with other tubed cannulas?)

[Alison]

My marks are visible for a day or so afterwards and I suppose if I look closely I can see some older sites, but they’re not open wounds, just slight blemishes that fade. I don’t put anything on them, I just let them fade. If I noticed one was looking angry I might look into putting something on it, but in 5 years of pumping I’ve never had to do that, they’ve all healed perfectly well on their own.

If you’re really keen to put something on them, I use witchazel gel on insect bites to reduce inflamation and itching, might be worth looking at that? I’ve no idea if it would work, but it does have the benefit of not stinking to high heaven.

[Anonymous]

This is making me a feel a bit nervy. I’ve just looked at my stomach and can count 8 little blotches of ;

[Tim]

I’ve just had a look too and I can see traces of the last four sets. They’re very small red marks. I work around my torso anti-clockwise and it takes about a fortnight until I hit the same spot again, by which time everything is as pure as driven snow.

I used to dab old set marks with tea-tree but now I can’t really be bothered, so don’t.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think the Omnipod marks are any greater than other cannulas but really haven’t been able to do a contrast and compare yet as I don’t physically know anyone else on a pump and reluctant to stalk! As a newbie to a pump I’m probably just comparing with the old pen needles. Like Tim I’ll probably just give up with the tea tree soon and live with it. Marks from 2 weeks ago are hard to find now. Will try the Witch Hazel next and see how that goes.

Thanks for the comments, really useful as I’m finding my way around the whole business.

[Alison]

Ah, my infusion sets definitely leave much more of a mark than pen needles. If you can’t really see ones from 2 weeks ago, they sound like they’re healing ok – I think of them like a cut, I’d expect it to heal within a few days, but take longer to completely disappear.

[Author]

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