The Right Recipe for Summer

 I am a diabetic (yes you all know that) but, I am also a sweater (my wife knows that) and now that it is time for summer and keeping my outdoor adventures trouble free and exercising becomes a challenge.  The insulin pump is the greatest thing since the no code glucose meter but your infusion site during intense workouts and high sweating can get irritated, infected, or start that slow peel off, or even just pop right off in the middle of nowhere.  Working with my own body and in my home science lab I have been trying to come up with a mixture that will reduce sweat and keep my infusion site safe.  Up to this summer it has been mixtures of anti-deodorant sprays, gels, and roll ons mixed with band aids, tapes, and even colostomy bag glue.  Nothing to date has really been affective until now.  The first thing I found out is that Mitchum is the best anti-persperant deodorant on the market (yes, I have tested them all) but, it does not stop sweat and in high heat and intense workouts it simply can't handle life by itself.  So I start by rubbing my arm pits with Mitchum then around my pump site making sure not to touch the tape because that will cause it to fall off.  Once that is done I add some around my belly (I sweat everywhere) and call it good.  The downside to Mitchum is that it irritates my arm pits if I use it every day so on none sweating days I switch to a straight up plain old deodorant.

 Once I am done with the Mitchum rub down I then top it with Gold Bond medicated powder.  The powder adds a touch to the mixture that keeps the drips of sweat away from my pump site and reduces friction once the Mitchum limit has been reached.  This one-two combination has been a personal miracle since I started using it.  Now I don't have pop-offs or irritating slow peel backs or even the third day itch.  Now, there are downsides to the powder as well because it gets everywhere and so once you get done your clothes, body, and surrounding area is covered with a nice layer of white powder.  I apply the powder in my arm pits, around my pump site, on my back, in my under pants and even feet.  Think of any place that gets irritated by sweat apply this stuff.

Recently Gold Bond has added this "Chafing Defense" anti-friction deodorant that I will be trying real soon.  Now I know it will not be as good at Mitchum (nothing is as good as Mitchum) but maybe it will be a close second and not have the stickiness that Mitchum has.  Of course once I put it through my science lab there will be a full report posted here.  Stay tuned and until then let me know what you do to defend your diabetes against summer time.