Fixing eye-guard to face

[craigthornton]

Am a graft "newbie" and have to wear a protective guard.

What type of tape do others use? I have tried micro-porous, but this doesn't stick very well and I have woken up to find the guard off

I then tried waterproof tape but this leaves sticky patches on my face which stay there even if I scrub hard with soap and water

Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated!

[GarethB]

Craig,

There are many types of surgical tape on the market. Probably the best thing would be to go to a high street chemist and explain the situation and see if they will let you tests a couple on the back of your hand or on your fingers to subject the tape to some movement and then remove the strip to see if any adhesive residue is left behind.

There was not much choice when I had my graft, but I found what was best was to shave at night and thoroughly wash my face to ensure the days muck and grime had been removed. The tape stuck quite nicely then.

A different solution would be the sort of thing I used on my dogs to protect their shins when they did agility, it us used on horses too. It is a soft bandage that sticks to itself and nothing else. So wrapping this round your head to hold the shield in place, as the bandage comes round it will stick to itself so clamping the shield in place. It is really good at holding things in place as it can hold a splint on a dogs leg for weeks on end when my yougest dog hurt his foot.

Very cheap and available from Pets at Home. Only you and your good lady would know unless you go out and about with such bandaging.

Regards

[Anne B]

I had the same problem so i gave up. I haven't wore my guard since i was two weeks post graft.
I was only advised to wear it for two weeks

Anne

[craigthornton]

I had the same problem so i gave up. I haven't wore my guard since i was two weeks post graft.
I was only advised to wear it for two weeks

Anne

Does it matter if you lay on your "graft side" in your sleep then, thereby squashing the eye a bit? I know you can go to sleep laying on the other side, but you inevitably turn in your sleep!

[Anne B]

I am not sure if it matters or will do any damage sleeping on that side, but i do and everything seems to be OK so far.

[Andrew MacLean]

I use the micropore, but plenth of it!

I have a mild allergy to elastoplast.

Andrew

[Sarah M]

craig, i founf micro pore from both asda and tesco useless, best one i found was from boots.

i still wear my shield, not sure if im supposed to....does no harm i guess, ill stop when the tape runs out lol, get my moneys worth

[craigthornton]

craig, i founf micro pore from both asda and tesco useless, best one i found was from boots.

i still wear my shield, not sure if im supposed to....does no harm i guess, ill stop when the tape runs out lol, get my moneys worth

Ahh...my micro pore was from Tescos - will go to Boots next time!

I read on one KC site where it said some graftees (is there such a word?!) where the shield at night the rest of their live and also in potentially dangerous situations. Seems a bit much - I expected a year at most! How long have you worn yours for?

[Pat A]

When I had my cataract op I had to wear a nightguard too - I found Micropore was OK but like Andrew used loads of it and needed long bits on my skin (does that make sense ?) in a criss cross pattern. Plain Elastoplast on a roll worked too but as I'm allergic to it on parts of my body (not all!) it gave me an awful rash!

Pat

[GarethB]

When I had my graft 20 yeasr ago, my diary shows I was only told I needed it for 4 weeks, the rest was up to me depending on the situation I was on. After 4 weeks went back to to my summer job picking strawberries before starting Uni. No eye shield then, nor when i did my morning and evening jobe en route to the strawberries, I helped on the local farm to milk and feed the cattle.

As I said graft surviving well.

Ho things have changed with what is being recomended.