Losing the Evra Patch

The Evra patch has been designed so that it will remain attached to your skin no matter what you are doing. It wouldn’t be a very effective contraceptive method if it just kept falling off would it? It uses a special kind of adhesive and has a waterproof layer to ensure that it won’t come unstuck whilst washing or swimming.

However, there is the unlikely event that the patch may fall off and this chance is increased if you play around with the patch, lifting up the edges or remove the patch mid week. This is not advised as it will decrease the efficacy of the patch. If the patch does fall off then you need to follow the instructions below.


If the patch has fallen off for under 48 hours and you still have the patch, see if it will stick back on your skin. It must do so only with its own adhesiveness not with any help from sellotape or plasters otherwise it will not be very effective. If it does stick back on then continue your cycle as you should be protected. If you lost the patch or it has lost its stickiness then simply apply a new patch and continue your cycle as normal.

If the patch has fallen off and a significant time has passed since the incident – over 48 hours- or you do not know when it happened then you need to apply a new patch. This time, you do not carry on with your old cycle but start a new one with this day being the start of your new cycle. You must use extra protection as the patch has been off the skin too long to guarantee protection from pregnancy.

Forgetting the patch

Most people remember to change their patch on the correct day but occasionally you can forget- relax you’re only human. It will depend on the length of time that you have forgotten to change the patch but again there are certain steps you need to take just like if you lost the patch.

If it has been less than 48 hours since you were meant to change the patch then all you need to do is change it to a new one as soon as you can. This way you can carry on with your cycle as normal without any major hassle. If it has been over 48 hours then you need to change the patch and restart your cycle. As with before, you will need to wear extra protection as you will not be fully protected from pregnancy. It is advised that you use this extra protection for seven days.

If you have forgotten to remove your patch for your withdrawal bleed week then you must remove it as soon as you notice. It is important that you carry on your cycle as normal and apply a new patch exactly a week later from the day you were meant to take the patch off. This may mean that your patch free week is actually 3 days long for example. Whatever you do it is very important that you do not go patch free for more than 7 days. You will not be protected from pregnancy if you do.

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