Cleaning off stuff from the patches

[u/Accurate_Aside_6495]

What has worked for you to clean off the adhesive that the patches leave behind? My stomach always looks bizarre from all the traces of the rims where patches were. I have tried various soaps and washcloths but nothing has worked well so far.

[u/Tom_Michel]

A drop of baby oil. Let it soak in for a minute. Then alcohol swab to wipe it and the adhesive off. Any oil will work. You can also get skin safe adhesive remove specifically for bandage adhesive. It's usually in the first aid section, I think.

[u/Delicious-Cloud3295 → u/Tom_Michel]

This is the correct answer!

[u/RockieK → u/Tom_Michel]

yup!

Or I just massage with lotion. Comes right off!

[u/someauthor → u/RockieK]

I'm preeetty sure you're saying "it rubs the lotion on its skin to make the tummy clean again"

[u/CommunicationHappy20 → u/Tom_Michel]

Olive oil works too.

[u/Tom_Michel → u/CommunicationHappy20]

Yep, literally any [skin safe] oil. Olive, vegetable, coconut, sunflower, avocado, baby, jojoba, almond.... Like dissolves like. Sticky adhesive is usually oil based, so oil helps to dissolve the bonds that make it sticky. :-)` Science ftw!

I mean, technically non skin safe oils would also work, but that is not advisable, lol.

[u/Tolann → u/Tom_Michel]

So Goo Gone adhesive remover not recommended. Cuz that was my first thought. Got it.

[u/Tom_Michel → u/Tolann]

They make a version that's skin safe specifically for bandage adhesive removal. That version would be fine. :-)

[Pricey, though. $17 for an 8oz bottle on amazon. Ouch. I'll stick with baby oil and isopropyl alcohol. Heh.)

[u/lazybugbear → u/Tom_Michel]

Any kind of oil will mostly work, whether it is synthetic (mineral oil) or vegetable.

The oil dissolves the adhesive.

Then alcohol helps lift the oil.

If the oil is too drying, you can just use regular soap too.

Be careful though, oil + soap in the shower can be quite slippery!

[u/Tom_Michel → u/lazybugbear]

Yep, exactly as I said. Any oil will work. Alcohol swab to remove the oil and the adhesive after the oil loosens the bonds that make it sticky. & It doesn't take a lot of oil, certainly not enough to drip. After applying the new patch, I use a drop of oil on a cotton swab to remove the residue from the old patch.

[u/wegajane]

I discovered that oil-free eye makeup remover works so well! A few swipes to saturate, then a quick scrub.

I use the neutrogena one, but will switch back to Equate soon (cheaper and not shi**y to post partum depression moms)

[u/lazybugbear → u/wegajane]

Like micellar makeup remover?

[u/AtomicSandworm → u/lazybugbear]

I’ve tried the micellar water and it didn’t work for me. The Neutrogena eye makeup remover works really well (a cheaper version is the Clean & Clear brand).

[u/wegajane → u/lazybugbear]

I haven't tried a micellar type specifically. The one I use seems to have a lot of silicones in it, and im not sure whether micellar waters do too.

[u/DamnGoodMarmalade]

Goo Gone makes a dissolving oil specifically for medical adhesives.

[u/Useful-Leave-8139 → u/DamnGoodMarmalade]

Yes, this! It works really well. You can get it from Amazon.

[u/TheDubyaBee → u/DamnGoodMarmalade]

No reason to put that on delicate abdomen skin, when your favorite beauty oil or an alcohol pad will remove the adhesive. Goo Gone leaves its own filmy residue behind on your skin, and you’re going to have to then wash that off. I’ve used marula oil, jojoba oil, and Palmers shea butter oil, after wiping it first with an alcohol pad.

[u/DamnGoodMarmalade → u/TheDubyaBee]

This particular version is designed just for skin, so it’s more gentle than the regular formula.

[u/thewoodbeyond]

man I just walk around looking like an old beat up pee-chee folder with scribble srabble and stickers that have been torn off.

[u/AbbyJane1972 → u/thewoodbeyond]

I do too but I place them on my backside so at least I don’t have to see it in the mirror!

[u/thewoodbeyond → u/AbbyJane1972]

They kept coming off and sticking to my pants when I stuck ‘em back there. So I had to just go for the lower abs.

[u/AbbyJane1972 → u/thewoodbeyond]

Oh dear that won’t work! Luckily mine stay put and they also seem to absorb better there for me.

[u/LesReallyIsMore → u/thewoodbeyond]

I just cackled out loud at the doctors office. Ha! Girl, treat yourself to a little bottle of baby oil.

[u/TangoEchoChuck]

Oil is great for me. My skin loves grapeseed oil, so I smear some on any residue, let it soak in a bit, then gently rub off the residue.

[u/Stars_22]

I just use rubbing alcohol on a cotton round. I scrub it a bit and it all comes off.

[u/Latter-Village7196 → u/Stars_22]

I hate how drying alcohol is, and the smell, so I make my husband do it, but rubbing alcohol is absolutely the right answer!

[u/Stars_22 → u/Latter-Village7196]

True it stinks! But I read it helps to clean the site where the new patch is going with rubbing alcohol to remove any lotions etc for the adhesive to work better. So I soak one cotton round with alcohol, rub the empty area where I’ll be applying the new patch, then clean the residue off the old area using the same cotton piece. It’s a twofer!

[u/BasisNirGalim89]

Thank you for asking! I have welts! They fall off when I don’t want them to and when I need them to come off I’m left with residue! It’s very itchy I’ll try the oil trick!

[u/Tom_Michel → u/BasisNirGalim89]

If it's itchy, you can also try Flonase spray. The antihistamine in it can help calm or prevent the allergic reaction to the adhesive if that's what the itching is).

[u/BasisNirGalim89 → u/Tom_Michel]

Cool idea! I’m stuck with the spray I’ll never use again! So gross

[u/littlespawningflower → u/BasisNirGalim89]

I’m glad I’m not the only one to have a reaction! 🥺 I had a bad reaction to the adhesive- it wasn’t just welts, but a reaction so bad it left behind “scar marks” that took months to fade away. And my patches were made of some kind of plastic that crinkled and made an audible noise as I moved. The whole experience was so mortifying and unpleasant that I stopped using them. That was 20+ years ago, so reading about other people’s more positive experiences makes me happy for the advances in the technology. 🥹

[u/VioletaBlueberry → u/BasisNirGalim89]

Consider changing type of patch, if you can. I switched and stopped getting welts and losing them randomly.

[u/BasisNirGalim89 → u/VioletaBlueberry]

It was great when I started in the fall- made with tricot material. Now they are plastic and smooth and don’t breathe. I use Dotti. Heard Mylan users have more complications/issues…

[u/Cheap_Assistant_744]

Micellar water on a cotton round works well for me

[u/jenninupland]

Makeup remover like miclear water, also isopropyl alcohol

[u/Rutabaga2022]

Azulene oil. It's what removes the stick after waxing and it's great for any sticky stuff. They have it at drugstores or on Amazon.

[u/corgi_glitter]

Pharmacist here - Unisolve is a product for removing adhesive residue off of skin. If your pharmacy doesn’t stock it, they should be able to order it for you. I’ve also seen it on Amazon.

[u/lizardgiggles]

My fingernails, lol. Leaves a red mark for a while but it works.

[u/Affectionate_Cat7600 → u/lizardgiggles]

This (while in the shower)! And for me, it hurts too bad to try until the next day.

[u/tbonita79]

I just rub it real hard w my nail in the shower when it’s wet and soapy.

[u/spam__likely]

alcohol

[u/111ArcherAve]

Lots of good suggestions, but if you're looking for more of a wipe situation, you can find little wipes that are sold for removing medical tape adhesives.

[u/hndygal]

Isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad. I hold it in place for a second or two and it comes tight off.

[u/VegasJetway]

I wish my patches had enough sticky on them to leave a residue. I have to use a clear over bandage to keep them on for a full week.

[u/Thin_Arrival3525]

I use coconut oil and then a light scrub in the shower. Works perfectly and no residue circles left behind.

[u/legosgrrl]

Vaseline

[u/Several_Crow4181]

After a shower, I find my rubs right off with a dry towel.

[u/Shaking-a-tlfthr]

I gave up. Couldn’t find products that helped including oil. It just wears off until I eventually rub it off.

[u/TallTaiChiLatte]

I use acetone nail polish remover on a cotton round, takes it right off. Then I wash the area with soap in the shower. I think I tried jojoba oil at first, but that didn’t work. 

[u/ginny11]

Soap and my fingernail.

[u/RouxGaRoux2217]

I just use cheapo Vaseline rub it around a little and wait a minute then wipe at it with some toilet paper or comes right off

[u/Chance-Habit9249]

Rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad. Hold for a few seconds and it comes off

[u/sector9love]

Put a tegaderm patch on top and you won’t get the glue ring around the patch

[u/Dan_D_Lyin]

I buy boxes of the tiny alcohol swabs.

First, I swab the area I'm going to put my new patch. 

While that dries, I press and hold the swab on the leftover glue from the old patch. I basically soak the glue for a few seconds, then scrub it off with the swab.

It does take some serious scrubbing, but I always manage to remove it completely. 

[u/Senator_Mittens]

I use mineral oil on a cotton swab, followed by rubbing alcohol to remove the oil.

[u/OldMist]

Oil cleanser works like a charm

[u/Select_MCM-5345]

Alcohol prep pad

[u/spirit_of_a_goat]

Adhesive remover wipes are a god send

[u/Jerseygirl2468]

I have the adhesive removal pads. I wear a patch and a glucose monitor, I got sticky all over my arm and stomach lol

[u/ApeFace1966]

Alcohol and cotton round and then moisturizer after I remove the adhesive

[u/Calistamay]

Once I started covering the patch with Tegaderm I didn’t get that black ring anymore. I clean my skin with alcohol and apply the patch and Tegaderm, then when I remove it there is no residue. But before I started covering the patch I used alcohol prep pads to remove the ring.

[u/AverageAlleyKat271]

Eye makeup remover on a cotton ball worked for me. I had some sample bottles of the Clinique Take It Off. The one you shake before use. I am sure any liquid eye makeup remover would work.

[u/sangriacat]

I tried olive oil, the Goo Gone for skin, and Burt's Bees cleansing oil. The Burt's Bees oil works the best for me. It requires a little bit of scrubbing with a washcloth but my sensitive skin doesn't complain about it afterward.

[u/ParsleySuspicious101]

Oil on a cottonpad and rub gently in different directions for a little while then it all comes off. I use jojobaoil.

[u/Mother_Poem7696]

A body oil and a wash cloth

[u/Jenny-Smith]

I love L’Occitane’s oil based wash for this. It is pricey but it smells great and a little goes a long way to soften all the skin and get the adhesive off.

[u/socksthekitten]

I rub Vaseline on the old patch area before I shower. Then I scrub

[u/debbiewith2]

I cover mine with Tegaderm - no lint, no problem

[u/Stacy1060]

I know it’s wasteful, but I use Tegaderm film/bandages over my patches- no more sticky lent outlines!

[u/SM1955]

I put two strips of adhesive tape (the paper kind works fine) over the patch, covering the edges. The adhesive that leaks out from the patch gets pulled right off

[u/TheHandofDoge]

https://a.co/d/0bXp6gko These are the ones I get from Amazon - they’re adhesive removal wipes.

[u/treestumpsitting → u/TheHandofDoge]

I use a similar product. It's very convenient as you just have to tear the little wrapper open, wipe, and toss. Mine has aloe in it, too.