United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Well last night was our first adventure into estim and I must say that I did not get any greif from Timothy, 3.5. Maybe that's because it didn't last all night. The carbon electrodes that I am using fell off after 2.5 hours. CAn anyone give me advice on how to get the electrodes to stay on? We are placing them on the bicep and the back / scapula area. We are using the carbon ones and I am wondering if the faom work better. Anyway I would appreciate any helpful hints.

Thanks,
Karen Jakubek

Hi Karen...

Carbon ones last longer than the foam ones. There are a few ways to make them stay on longer...

First of all - is it a sweat problem? When the electrodes fall off do you notice that the goop layer is greyish or just looks 'full' ? If it is a sweat problem, Leslis McKibben advised using some antipersperant on the areas where the electrodes will be (the kind that dries well).

If it's not a sweat problem - then you can do a couple of different things depending on where the electodes are...

FOR THE BACK: you can use (medical) tape.... some tapes are better for sensitive skin than others. You will have to experiment with different kinds to see which one works best on your child's skin.

note about tape: tape the electrode itself and not the part that plugs in.... the glue from the tape can in time get into the plug part and clog it and cause failure...I will email you a picture of Maia and hers taped on so that you can see for yourself what I mean.

FOR BICEPS: you can use tape OR you can use wraps - like coban or ace bandage that is self stick. but about the coban - don't wrap it tightly because that stuff acts like a compression bandage and actually gets tighter the longer it is on.

OR you can use a tight undershirt that holds them on.
We got our undershirts from www.kidsnatureonline.com. It's organic 100% cotton that shrinks down really great and gives a nice snug fit.

OR you can remove the goop later and use TAC GEL instead - this is electrode glue (versus gloop). And this stuff works like a charm and also makes your carbon electrodes last almost forever.

There's more written here...
http://www.injurednewborn.com/maia/estim.html

hope this helps,
francine

ps - I'll be sewing this week.

thanks Francine! I think I will try the ace wrap and tape. That seems fairly easy. I will let you know how it goes.

Karen.

Karen, We also use the carbon electrodes. We just use form fitting pajamas with short sleeves and though we used to use Coban or Co Flex around the arm ones we have found that some good elastic, stretchy, old fashioned, terry cloth, adult sized, wrist sweat bands work best for Michaela around the bicep,tricep electrodes. For the long electrodes on the scapula, we use the head sweat band around the chest. These have just enough elastic and no compression. Also there's no stick'em reaction to worry about.
We tried the foam electrodes and found we did not like them.The pins go into a cord hanging off the electrode instead of on the electrode itself and our experience was that the pins would pull out during sleep with her tossing and turning. On the carbon electrodes it goes into a channel on the back of the electrode and can't be pulled out. Good Luck! LeeAnne

I learned something new Monday about helping the electrodes stick better. The tape absolutely kills Logan when it comes off, she just cries and it breaks my heart. Our therapist suggested putting the electrodes on, then applying a thin layer of Milk of Magnesia (yes, you read right- MOM) around the electrode sight where you will put the tape to the skin. Let the MOM dry before putting tape down (should just take seconds). This should help in the morning when removing the tape, it will help lessen the totally pulling on the skin and therefore lessen the pain. We tried it Monday night and last night and the tape stuck all night and wasn't as hard to pull off, Logan said it was much better. Who would have thought MOM had another use?? HA! And it's cheap, too. We had almost given up on using TES because of the frustration but now we have been going strong for about 1 month. Good Luck... Nat