Just had a bath and forgot to put the cap on my site… hopefully that’s not too terrible. I knew I’d forget eventually 
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I have never used the cap. You’re good.
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My Tandem trainer told me it is not really necessary unless swimming.
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I haven’t used a cap to cover the infusion site for years. I don’t believe these caps do anything but cover the sharp edges of the infusion site.
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I don’t think swimming could possibly make a difference, indeed it strikes me it’s probably safer without a cap; any air in there would be significant negative pressure and that would suck stuff out of your body to fill the void. If the cap isn’t there the air in a canula is immaterial; the pressures are equal at both ends (we have squishy bodies).
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When I think about it (:-), I put it on. I normally insert my infusion set in a ‘semi’ downward direction so water does not flow into the sensor (in the event I do not cap the infusion port during a shower)
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That’s logical! I’m going to start doing that too. Shower wouldn’t bother me as much, but a bath I felt a little worried, as I’d accidentally gone in the river when my kayak flipped ha ha so that water is quite questionable and a bath isn’t as clean feeling as a shower IMHO. I changed the site afterwards (it had to be changed early the next morning anyhow).
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Have never used the cap in all my 20+ years on the pump.
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Is the purpose of the cap to prevent infection? Like if you swim in a pond or lake and there is bacteria which might eventually get infused into your body?
I am asking because I don’t have any experience with this type of pump. Thanks for the knowledge!
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I believe so.
I’m also not a fan of leaving the end exposed with the needle just out no cap. At home, fine, but at the pool or gym I don’t like it one bit. I’ve been searching for something to use as a protective case…maybe a toothbrush end cap like for travelling so the tube can not get clamped. I know a lot of folks will think I’m overthinking this, but I’m not comfortable with leaving a needle out one bit.
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I can see value in protecting the needle end of the set if it will be out for a protracted period. The other side can always be swabbed with alcohol if necessary, so no cap needed IMHO even though one is supplied. Personally I have never used either cap. I have a set of caps saved for every set type I use just in case, but otherwise I just recycle the caps supplied with every set.
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I don’t know about all pumps and infusion sets, but the caps that come with the Medtronic Mio and Mio Advance infusion sets can’t possibly prevent infection, because they don’t create any airtight seal. In fact these caps don’t need to make an airtight seal, because there already is one when you disconnect these infusion sets.
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Well I’m not sure whether I am naughty, self-neglectful, a rebel, or just lazy, but Ive been pumping for 23 years and have never used the cap. i have showered, occasional baths, swimming in pool and ocean, and never had an infection. I am not recommending any of this behaviour, just saying I have not had any issues.
When I was diagnosed we were taught to swab before injections with surgical spirit (before there were alcohol wipes) I never did, nor did any pwd I knew. Many years later the advice changed and swabbing went out of favour (where I lived, maybe not everywhere) I do clean with an alco-wipe for set insertion.
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I always joke that you can tell a new diabetic because they swab before they stab. A seasoned diabetic will frequently just jab right through their shirt and not bother, lol.
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I just did a site change and cut the prongs on the pump side of the old set to expose the “needle.” I inserted it into the other part using a magnifying light. The metal goes into a self closing port. I don’t imaging that anything can get into that port unless one went deep enough in water where the pressure is quite high.
Anyway if you feel safer putting the cap on, do so.
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YES! 
I remember there were the naysayers who told us that was an awful thing to do, that it was disgusting, could push threads of cloth into you, cause abscesses, etc etc. So there was a small research study done which showed absolutely no basis for any of this, and that no harm was shown by this practice.
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Water pressure changes tend to force stuff out, not in to our bodies because our bodies are mostly water and the bits that aren’t squash. So the problem with immersion while in contact with something that is not squishy is that our squishy bodies get forced out into that thing.
This isn’t an issue for catheters because the end of the catheter is at the same pressure as your body; nothing moves. It is an issue for insulin pumps which are not “fully equalized”, meaning that they have internal parts that don’t match the pressure of the outside, but I don’t think there are any such insulin pumps; from this point of view they will all be fine at depth. Of course they might fail when they fill up with salt water, but it should be possible to immerse in freon to any depth because it is non-conductive.