Skin Tac Wipes: Questions on Usage and Effectiveness

Hi gang,

So Skin-Tac. I bought a box of wipes and played with them a bit this morning after I changed my barrier. I want to experiment with the Skin-Tac on another area before I try it around my stoma because if it doesn't work, it really screws up my entire day/night, as I can't change my barrier again until the next morning and I'd have to be really careful how much and when I ate all day. Sooooo.....it gets tested first. The first thing I noticed is WOW...this stuff is sticky! And water has no effect on it. Which made me wonder if I needed to order the recommended remover or not. I might order it to have on hand just in case, but Dawn dishwashing liquid does remove it successfully. Not sure how it will work on removing it from damaged skin........but will find out. So to experiment, I ended up shaving a spot on the other side of my naval and sticking on the inner circle of my barrier that I cut out to fit my stoma. This way I'm testing it with the exact material from my barrier. And I'll take it off on Tuesday when I change my barrier again. It sure appears to work good so far. I think tomorrow I'll attempt to peel up one side just to see if it rips up my skin with it or not.

So a question or two to those who use Skin Tac......

I remember reading that Skin Tac was used without any rings, paste, etc........just wipe the skin and stick the barrier on. Can the person who wrote that let me know if they actually needed to use the ring or paste prior to using the Skin-Tac, or if they actually had experience with replacing those things?

Does Skin-Tac allow users to keep their barrier on and leak-free longer than using other stuff (rings, paste, etc) or just simplify barrier installation by replacing all that crap?

MOST IMPORTANT - Has anyone applied Skin-Tac over weepy skin (after it's dried as best as possible before application of the Skin-Tac)? The package says not to apply over damaged skin, but that sort of defeats the purpose I had in mind......so curious.

Ok........so I'll leave it there and say To Be Continued. It sure does appear to stick like heck.......so far so good.

Thanks,

Bob

I have used NO-STING SKIN-PREP by Smith & Nephew or No Sting Barrier Film by 3M Cavilon. I still use a ring with it and have used it over bad skin. I had a bit of diaper rash. It worked well and the skin cleared up. I do not know how one would get an exact fit from their barrier so no skin is exposed, still use a ring. I also use adhesive remover by Smith & Nephew to get the residual ring bits off. I started using skin prep because after a bath my bag did not last a day. I must have still had some bath oil that was not washed off. Now I use it all the time.

Hi X,

Yes, I currently use the Smith & Nephew protective wipes and remover with my Hollister barrier and ring... but I use the stinging kind because I like the pain. But they do work well.

Update on the Skin-Tac... ran out of Klondike bars so had to make the trek to Walmart. While I was there, I picked up some O'Keeffe's for my feet. When I got home, I checked on the Skin-Tac and found one side (the side closest to my belly button) has come loose. The rest seems to be holding well... but the lifted portion is troubling. Will check it again tomorrow morning.

Regards,

Bob

Update #2. It fell off around 3:00pm this afternoon. Guess it won't be replacing my ring and O'Keeffe's. It sure felt good and sticky when I put it on the other day, and it's been pretty cold out, so sweat isn't a factor. Will try again, but not expecting miracles. Must be my fine Italian skin. Oh well.

Later,

Bob

Most important - has anyone applied Skin-Tac over weepy skin (after it's dried as best as possible before application of the Skin-Tac)? The package says not to apply over damaged skin, but that sort of defeats the purpose I had in mind......so curious.

Bob, when my skin is damaged, I apply a **light** layer of zinc powder, then put the Skin Tac over that. If the skin is very damaged, you may need to repeat the process.

One side (the side closest to my belly button) has come loose.

This happens to me, too. There could be several reasons: perhaps you didn't get all the old Skin Tac off, or perhaps your skin pH happens to need more. A third reason could be that the wafer wasn't applied correctly to begin with. Sometimes mine fails because I used too much heat from a hairdryer or started moving around too soon, before the adhesive had a chance to set properly. There are times when I'm able to repair the failed portion of the wafer; it usually adheres well after that.

Skin Tac is a great product. Keep experimenting until you find what works for you.

Hi Westie,

Yeah, I'll keep playing with it. In my case, this was the first time I used Skin Tac, so there wasn't any old Skin Tac on my skin I could have failed to remove. When I applied the Skin Tac, I used a pretty liberal amount and put it well beyond the area I stuck the barrier material to. And the barrier material was what I cut out from the center of my barrier, so it was a flat piece... and I applied it to a flat piece of my skin. And it stuck so good when I first applied it that I didn't think I'd ever get it off. Oh well... I'll keep futzing with it, as it looks to have promise.

Thanks,

Bob

Hey there,

I have been using Skin Tac for a while as nothing seems to stick to me, I must be Teflon or something!!

I like the wipes, but I much prefer the liquid with the little applicator. I think it is more tacky. I use it first, then a Brava ring, then Hollister wafer. That is pretty much the only thing I have tried (and I have a closet full of stuff that didn't) that works for me.

I remove it with a Smith and Nephew remove wipe which works very well to get the residue off. I like to clean my skin after with Cavilon spray - no rinse cleaner, but I, of course, rinse it.

Hope that helps.

Jason

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the info. I'll order the liquid and try that. I really want to give the Skin-Tac a fair shake.

Thanks,

Bob

Hi Bob.

This may help you....

It is a nightmare getting anything to stick to raw, weeping (and very sore) skin. For years, I had a small raw watery circle of skin surrounding my stoma. It would be healing nicely, then I'd get just a slight "lift up" of the Protective Ring (if I had to bend down several times doing a particular job)....and I'd be back to square one, with slightly leaked effluent having seeped under the washer and on to my "healing" skin. I think we all know by now it only takes an hour or so for the effluent containing acidic enzymes to break down healing raw skin. This is especially so if you have a "liquidy" output, as I do.

From recent trial and error sessions trying everything out there.....I've healed this skin, after many years of suffering.

My miracle product has been Hollister's Adapt CERARING (must be the CERARING though, as just their plain Adapt ring does not do the same job. Bear in mind here, I've tried and used every seal out there....Eakin, Pelican, Brava, you name it. When I tried the CERA RING, I didn't hold out much hope, and tried it with a faint heart. Wow, wow....these bad boys stick down around the stoma like a limpet!! Amazingly, they remove in one piece when you change, leaving hardly any residue. To remove any residue by the way, you can't beat LBF Barrier Wipes. I use them as a remover, not barrier. Then on top of the CERA RING goes one of Hollister's CERAPLUS Bags (any variant - they do flat or convex, one or two piece systems)

Sooooo......my system......below......do try it.....

- Clean skin then wipe over skin thoroughly with a Brava Skin Cleansing wipe.

- Apply a smidgen of Hollister Adapt Stoma powder all around and gently brush off excess, leaving a layer on around the stoma.

- Spray all around the stoma with 3M CAVILON Spray and let dry (dries super fast)

- Stretch and apply the CERA RING, pressing carefully but firmly down all around the stoma. Take care to get it pressed down close covering the skin under the stoma.

- Apply the bag. There's two bombproof bags you can use....any one from Hollister's CERAPLUS range or SALTS Soft Convex XND1352 bag (totally bombproof - and sticks down like a limpet - but easy to remove leaving no residue).

You'll get to the stage where you can skip the powder and spray applications.....and just use the CERA RING and one of the two bags mentioned above. Any slight irritation after the skip....just pop back to using the powder and spray. My skin has never looked this good in years!! No red, raw, weeping skin around the stoma whatsoever.

There you have it Bob. Do try the above if you can. Trust me....you'll forget totally all about Skin Tac!! Contact me anytime....anyone that is.....Teddy xx

Hi Teddy,

Wow, I almost feel bad telling you this... but what you described above is almost exactly what I do now. I use the Cera ring and Cera convex barrier, and the powder. The only difference is I use a Cardinal Health skin prep wipe over the ostomy powder instead of the Cavilon spray (which has been recommended by a few folks now). I still have a small ring of red weepy skin right at the base of the stoma, just a few mm wide, but it's not getting any worse.

I'm pretty sure I have a second problem, maybe unrelated to the red weepy skin that manifests as red skin and "pock" marks scattered randomly under the bandage portion of the barrier. To alleviate this problem I've been taking a second Cera barrier ring, cutting it into 2 half-circles, and then flattening it with a rolling pin to make them longer and wider. Then after I put my Cera ring around my stoma I put the 2 flattened semi-circles of the second ring on the skin just outside what the first ring covers. This basically puts Cera barrier material between the bandage material of the barrier and my skin. So far all this works well enough, but I am jealous of those whose skin around their stoma and under their barrier looks perfect when they pull their barrier off. Thanks for taking the time to post... it's much appreciated.

Regards,

Bob

Thank you for posting because I knew nothing about Ceraring.  I'm  definitely gonna order the Ceraring and try it.