I was just wondering... Is your wafer effected by sweating. Do you need to change things earlier if you've been sweating? I live in FL and it gets hot down here plus once I recover from my surgery I want to be active and start working out again.
Are there any products out there that help with this?

Thanks for any input
Scott

Hi Scott,

It's always a good idea to change your appliance earlier than you would normally if you have been sweating a lot as some wafers will start to break down.

The wafer I use however, (Convatec's durahesive moldable convex) is actually designed to stick even harder when it comes into contact with fluids and that includes perspiration. The thing that I did notice during hot humid weather or when I excersise too much was that I would develope a sweat rash.

I haven't had that problem though since I started using a non-greasy barrier cream called Chiron which has the same ingredient in it as an antiperspirant deoderant (aluminium chlorhydrate 2% in an emulsified base). The only problem is that I happen to know that it's not available on your side of the Pond. However, there are alternatives that you can try. One of our members here (Rae I think) uses a non-scented regular antiperspirant under her wafer which I think she said she can get in the toiletry aisle in Walgreens. Alternitavely you could ask your local pharmacist to make the cream up for you, but just make sure he knows that it must be in a non-greasy base.

I also use my regular scented antiperpirant deoderant under where my bag sits and this helps keep me dry and smelling nice too. If the weather is really hot or I am doing something really sweaty then I will put something under my bag to absorb the sweat. A few people I know use a cotton baby's bib for this purpose as they are cheap and can be washed but I find them a little too bulky for the clothes I like to wear.

Anyway, I'm sure there will be others along soon to chip in with thier ideas.

Good luck and good for you for wanting to get back to keeping fit after you've recovered.

Take care.

Shell

I live in AZ where 110-115 days are normal, and I get 4 days out of my appliance.