the patch

[clementyn]

i am a little leary in posting this new thread given the ...ahem... tense discussion... stirred up in the last thread dealing with bc.

that aside, for those of you who have made the personal choice to regulate your cycle for whatever reason, are people having good luck diving/swimming with 'the patch'? the literature all points to acceptable adhesion and hormonal levels in the test subjects with routine water exposure during FDA approval.

i made the switch from the standard pills about six mos. ago and have had trouble with them not lasting (sticking) the week on both a liveaboard and my most recent land based trip. anyone else in the water enough to have this problem? aside from the weeks when i am in the water continuously, i have been very happy with the switch.

anyone have a similar experience? any suggestions other than taking extras along? my ins. co. covers the patches but not the "extra" replacements i've taken along (-pricey enough that i have added a line item for figuring it into the cost of planning our next few trips .

safe diving,
lorien

 

[Kat]

You are a brave woman.

Batten down the hatches & prepare yourself for a lecture on your health.

 

[clementyn]

sigh.....

lecture away. i got over peer pressure in junior high school.

part of making mature decisions is educating yourself on the pro's and con's, weighing the objective facts and choosing and standing by the path thats right for you.

lorien <--- battens down

 

[Kat]

that you'll get the answers your looking for, without the abuse.

I had wondered how they'd hold up. They did tests on the adhesive & say they will not come off during showering or swimming. But I was wondering how they'd hold up for divers or competitive swimmers.

 

[Dee]

What about covering it with one of the large 3-M waterproof band-aids? I used one on my knee when I had to have 5 stitches on the first day of a 7 day dive trip. That one bandage stayed on the whole week. The stitches never even got damp.

Sure would be cheaper than paying for extras!

Luckily Mother Nature has graciously decided I've had enough of the whole mess. ut:

 

[clementyn]

thanks dee! interesting thought.

i have all sorts of high tech wound care supplies at work.

was the one you used like a big sheet of clear sticky plastic (semi-perm flim dressing) or a thicker, opaque plastic sheet (hydrocolloid)?

thanks for the idea... wonder if it will peel off the patch tho if it needs to be changed mid week... hmmmm.

safe diving.

lorien

 

[MsParamedic]

There are a couple of products called "Veni-Guard" and "Tega-Derm" (the spelling may be a bit off) that are used to cover IV sites. I have used these numerous times to keep wounds dry. They cost about $.50 to $2 a piece, but you would have to have a connection with a hospital or EMS service to get them.

 

[dlegros]

MsParamedic once bubbled...
There are a couple of products called "Veni-Guard" and "Tega-Derm" (the spelling may be a bit off) that are used to cover IV sites. I have used these numerous times to keep wounds dry. They cost about $.50 to $2 a piece, but you would have to have a connection with a hospital or EMS service to get them.

I was thinking Tegaderm as well. It's made by 3M Medical and comes in a range of sizes from IV sized to large sheets (more economical as you don't need sterile)

It is a semi-permeable barrier so your skin doesn't get all soggy underneath, but it repels water.

I wouldn't go for a hydrocolloid as the adhesive is more agressive, but it broken down by... you guessed it - water.

HTH

Dom :nurse:

 

[hnladue]

Fixes everything!

 

[MoostangGT]

I've been on the patch for almost a year, at first I had problems with it not sticking, but I found that the problem is where I am putting it. You need to make sure you are putting on a place that does not get a lot of movement (skin does not stretch during movement) since the patch does not really stretch. I found that the upper part of my "bum" works the best for me.
If you put in on a place that the skin moves a lot you are constantly detaching and reattaching the patch even if you don't realize it, and just like tape, it loses stickiness and when it becomes even a little detached when you are in the water or even in the shower it slides right off.

But when it does come loose I find medical tape or the fabic type bandaides help keep it on.

Sabrina