United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I was wondering if anyone could tell me tips on Kinesio Taping. What is the easiest way to get it off? My son screamed when I took it off his scapula for the first time. The therapist didn't offer any tips and i didn't think to ask. Thank you.

We apply a thin layer of Milk of Magnesia on the area where the tape will be applied (let it dry for several minutes). This has helped tremendously with sensitive skin. The tape comes off very easily.

I believe I received this tip here--from someone on UBPN. I know it sounds strange, but it works!

Good luck,
Marcy

Try saturating the tape with baby oil; it should come off pretty easily.

We started applying a thin layer of Milk of Magnesia on the area(s) where the tape needs to be applied. We let it dry for a few minutes and then apply the tape. The tape is easy to remove and it helps with skin irritation.

I believe I received this tip from someone here on UBPN. I know it sounds strange, but it works.

Good luck,
Marcy

We have used Skin So Soft by Avon to get off the tape. Also we wait until the tape starts peeling to take it off... often we only cut off the part that has peeled up until there isn't much left. We have also used Milk of Mag. to help the area not react to the tape. Like said in a previous post we put that on first!
Blessings,
Kristie

Our daughter has very sensative skin, so first we used Benedryl Lotion before applying the tape, but she was allergic to the benedryl so we used Milk of Mag. Then when it was time to take the tape off we used Finger Nail Polish Remover NON ACETONE!!! That worked the best. We also used some little, like alcohol pads, but they were something else that we got from our pharmacist, but they were real expensive...like $39 for 100, and we used 8-10 of them at a time to take the tape off.

Hi, thank you all for your replies. I tried soaking the tape with baby oil before removing it. But that made removing the tape take four times as long and it was still agonizing for my son (and me!). It only came off in layers, with the white tape just still sticking to his skin like glue and me peeling and soaking again and peeling for a good 20 minutes. It was a mess! Am I doing something wrong?

I am worried that my son is really going to be afraid of the whole taping thing unless I find a relatively painless way to remove it. I haven't tried fingernail polish remover, Skin So Soft, benedryl lotion or anything else yet (he has only been taped three times so far).

I asked the PT if I could put milk of magnesia on his skin before she applied the tape, but she said no because then the tape wouldn't stick. However, I will try it myself now that she showed me how to tape.

I found a picture online of the tape that she is using. Is this what your kids had (or did they have the Kinesio-tape and is there a difference?)

http://www.pmtionline.com/Products/0+9/493

I think the white tape that touches the skin that his PT used said "BSN white medical tape" or something like that. The PT said the therapy tape can't touch the skin, but I thought the white tape was pretty horrible to his skin! Maybe he just has sensitive skin?

Also, the second time he wore the tape, his shoulder/scapula area was red and had tape marks for over 24 hours before it went away. Did you experience that with your kids? The PT said it was becuase it was left on too long (she had told me to leave it on for 8 hours the 2nd time).

A few more questions: How often did you tape the scapula for what period of time and what difference did it make in the severe winging? Did you tape it yourself after a PT showed you how? I haven't talked with my son's BPI doctor about the taping yet because his therapist said he wouldn't mind it being done. I plan to follow up with him soon.

Thank you for your advice and help.
Kim

Ahhh...taping.

The product link was for leukotape, which is very different from Kinesio tape. We used both Leuko and Kinesio on my daughter. The main differences are, kinesio is much "stretchier" than leuko and is used to stimulate the muscles. You "paint" the muscles that you want to activate with the tape. It is much gentler on the skin and you don't need the white cover all tape.

Leukotape is much stiffer and is used to stabilize the muscles. We used it to stabilize my daughter's scapula. There is no "give" to this tape. You have to use the coverall...leuko directly on skin is a big no no.

The leukotape/coverall was much harder on my daughter's skin than the kinesio. We put milk of magnesia on under the coverall and it stuck just fine. Boy...I wish we had discovered a really good secret to getting it off, but there were times when it was a bear to get off. The thicker the layer of MOM the better, it has to dry thoroughly before you put the coverall on. There were times when the redness would last 24 hours or more and it broke my heart. Towards the end it got real itchy for her too. You want to wait till it heals completely before attempting to put it on again.

We stopped the leuko because it got increasingly difficult to put it on. While I am a big fan of it, and believe it did help out a lot with stabilizing the scapula, it just became a tool we could no longer use because her skin grew increasingly intolerant of it. This was actually one factor in many for our decision to do a secondary surgery with our daughter...I could not see having to manually stabilize the scapula with leukotape until those muscles could do it on their own.

We did the taping once or twice a week, depending on the redness. We did it about six months to a year. The OT applied it one time, and I applied it the other. We started leaving it on a few hours at a time, and then up to 24 hrs. I would NOT recommend leaving leukotape on until it falls off. For Kinesio that is fine, and it tends to start falling off anyway. Leukotape is much stiffer and stickier and would probably really hurt the skin.

Ask the PT to put leukotape on your back the way she puts it on your son. It will really help you understand how it works and how it feels. If she also has kinesio, have her do that too so you know the difference.

Feel free to ask me any other questions about the taping stuff...

Lisa

Yes...the tape.
Our daughter's OT used the tape all the time. We taped her supinator, scapula, deltiod, & triceps. We kept the tape on for about 5 days at a time, then no tape for a few days...and so on. I took it off each time in the bath. When it was very saturated, I would just roll it back a tiny bit at a time. She never noticed. Once, I had to take it off when we were'nt in the bath...I used a little bit of rubbing alcohol, using a q-tip, and got the back of the tape wet, it came off immediately...BUT THE ALCOHOL CAN DRY OUT THE SKIN. Her skin was fine, and I only used that method once. We started using the tape when she was 8months old...and had to stop when she was 12months. She became alergic to it Just out of the blue one time, it was like her body was "rejecting" it, and after a couple of hours after putting it on...it started peeling off itself! Even on her back! Then, poor darling, she had 'burns' bright red where the tape was. I used neosporin. But now she has a reaction to any tape at all...even bandaids.
If asked if the tape had helped her at all...I have no idea. We are getting so creative over here, that it's a combination of everything! Our rule was, if it can't hurt her...we go for it, so now, we do everything but the tape.

Susan,

Do you know if the tape you were using had Latex in it? If she has developed a sensitivity to latex, it can be a real pain and isn't that uncommon.

You might want to have her tested if you aren't sure, because latex is in a lot of other things (some of which she may only "interact with" when she's older...) but it can be a nasty allergy to "discover" inadvertently!!!

Kate