Things You May Want To Know About Adhesives and Adhesive Removers

What are medical adhesives?

Medical adhesives are the products that you can use to attach medical appliances, such as ostomy wafer and flanges, necessarily without causing any damage to the skin. Certain types of these products are also used in surgical applications. These adhesives usually contain natural latex as well as silicon adhesives. The main prerequisite for a medical adhesive to be of good quality is its ability to remain harmless for the skin no matter how long it stays in contact with the skin.

What are medical adhesive removers?

Medical adhesive removers are mostly used to remove and dissolve adhesives from bandages, tapes, and ostomy systems. Another application of this remover is to remove adhesive from the skin without causing any abrasion. Since medical adhesive are understandably more stubborn than any other types of adhesives, they need to be removed with the help of specific chemicals which are not harmful for skin.

Is medical adhesive bad for skin?

Medical adhesive is not bad for skin. However, you need to find out whether your skin struggles to tolerate the adhesive. You can determine your skin’s response by doing a simply skin test which involves application of adhesive to your skin. You will need to see if your skin shows negative reaction. If it doesn’t, you are good to go with that particular adhesive product. You will only need to do this testing for the first time. If it works out well, you are not going to have to test the product like this again.

Do medical adhesives work with ostomy pouches and wafers?

Absolutely! As a matter of fact, medical adhesives can ensure better seal between barrier and skin. All you have to do is to apply adhesive with the help of a brush onto the barrier surface and apply it flat on the peristomal skin. Press that barrier against the skin to allow the adhesive to make proper seal with the skin. At this point, you have to keep it in mind that you are not going to have lots of time to make adjustment because adhesive sets pretty quickly. Although a skin barrier comes with its own adhesive layer, an additional layer of medical adhesive can help you to have peace of mind.

Although this medical adhesive is going to make a tighter seal, you need to remover the barrier to determine your skin’s reaction against the adhesive. If there is a burning sensation, check if it is due to stomal output coming in contact with the skin. If your skin has reacted, it may be due to poor application of adhesive, inability of adhesive to make proper seal, or inability of skin to tolerate the contents the adhesive is made of.