Holster heart moniter

[2020isnotbehaving]

Does anyone know if they have to remove the skin before the electrode pads are put on the skin? Had a nurse fix me with a 24h one yesterday for home. But she used what look and felt like sand paper to remove skin first.

If I was a hairy assed bloke I could understand but the advice I can see is that you shave any areas. Since this is the smoothest part of my body just wondered if this was the norm?

They are still red raw 24h later and going takes weeks to heal as quite large areas. Photo attached. Thanks!

I've had various heart monitors over time but they've just been stuck to my skin with nothing done to it beforehand.

When she was doing that what did she say? I’m wondering if she was cleaning the skin and you had a reaction to the wipes? I’m not sure why you think it’s skin removal?

No wipe it was what looked like silver sand paper and felt like it too. She said so they have contact with the skin and I didn’t have time to question it.

But the skin is smooth and dry and hairless. Wondered if some old fashioned practise or worse a “man thing” that applied to women regardless. 5 areas altogether!

It's more likely that you've reacted to the stickers on the leads. She would have just wiped your skin with an alcohol wipe to remove any oils etc.

You can see from pic that the top layer of skin as been removed and it looks like a graze because it is!

No again the stickers only touched my skin as they are in the picture they have not moved so they wouldn’t make outside the area move.

IT WAS SANDPAPER WHY IS EVERYONE SAYING IT WAS A GENTLE WIPE !!

I would not start a thread about a gentle wipe that I have had no reaction to
In the past. I’m concerned that it was needless procedure that could well leave scars or take ages to heal on already sensitive part of your body.

Maybe your skin was very dry and she was getting the flaky bits off

It's not going to leave scars though - it's clearly just the top layer of skin. You've got a mild reaction which will
Go down in a few days once everything's removed.

No dry very smooth no flakes! As you can see from pic. Will try take better pics in while when can take stickers off. The more I think the more it seems older nurse so out of practise or wrong advice. I’m no snowflake by any means have had many nasty and necessary painful things done under the name of medicine!

Those ecg dots are generally not very sticky (in my experience at least) - perhaps the nurse has found exfoliating helps get best result. Some of the sticky monitors I’ve used in the past (as an anaesthetist) comes with sandpaper for doing just this and it really does help for somethings. After a 7 day tape with super adhesive dots I lost quite a lot of skin so be aware that under the dots may be a bit red/sore.

It sounds like she was using a skin prep paper (see below)

Use an ECG skin prep pad or paper (such as Philips' M4606A ECG Skin Prep Paper), with its abrasive fine sandpaper finish, to remove part of the stratum corneum (epidermis outer layer, see Figure 1 for epidermis cross section) to allow electrical signals to travel to the electrode and scratch the stratum granulosum (epidermis middle layer) to reduce motion artifact.

It does sound scratchy and unpleasant, but seems to be recommended.

Thanks you that’s very helpful I knew was sandpaper! As long as was essential that’s fine just didn’t want have a thing just for hairy men when it didn’t apply! You can see all the lines from the paper still sore after 26h going take while to go.

Gosh that looks painful!

I would keep that photo and whip it out next time to show that your skin does not tolerate the paper. I've had a holter before and they just wiped it down with some liquid - no scouring, thank goodness.

I have always had my skin sand papered first. It is sore but will heal fast.