Any recommendations on water proof cast covers?

theyolksonyou

Headed on spring break and my oldest has a cast on his arm.   Anybody use a cast cover for swimming and if it worked, what was it?  Crappy time to have a cast....

Legume

Never found one that worked well with my kids, best thing you can do is have them re-set in a fiberglass cast maybe

Ozzie_Isaac

Never used a cover.  I have seen waterproof casts though.  They can only use those on certain types of breaks though.  I know my son's break was to severe for a waterproof cast.

smak

DryPro
http://www.drycorp.com/

I am pretty sure that is what we had for my young son.   No issues in the shower.  He is only 4 so there were not any beach/heavy activity uses.  

Making sure you get the right size is important.  They are tight, and even tighter after you vacuum seal the cover.

theyolksonyou

@smak that's the one we're looking at. Worst case, he gets it off the Tuesday after we get back on Friday for a check up. As long as it only stinks instead of falling apart, I can apologize to whoever he sits next to on the plane. 

Legume

Pretty sure they have doctors and urgent care in Orlando.  Get a copy of his medical record re the break and bring it with you in case it needs a new cast

fljoemon

We have CentraCare Urgent care facilities which is run by Florida Hospital.
https://centracare.org/florida/visitors/
You have one very close to Universal .. click on the link above.

nolaegghead

I broke more than my share of bones as a kid and my parents would tape a garbage bag over the cast.  This was when they only had the plaster casts.  I played soccer with a cast on my hand/arm and they strapped foam around it.  Still got red carded for battering opposing players. 

Eggcelsior

Newspaper sleeve and rubber bands. Did it for both of my arms but mostly tried to keep the club out of the water.

johnkitchens

Jason here is one I found on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/DryPro-Waterproof-Cast-Cover-Small/dp/B003DZCJM6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427076784&sr=8-1&keywords=cast+cover+for+swimming

When I had surgery on my knee to reattach the tendon to the bone summer before last we bought something very similar off of Amazon so I could take a shower without getting my leg wet. It worked great for me. 

I just hope I never need it again. 

Ozzie_Isaac

@Cazzy not sure what part of my response you disagree on, I have never used waterproof cast covers so I cannot comment on those.   However, here is why I mentioned waterproof cast material is not suitable for all breaks. (btw, I don't have an issue with you disagreeing, just want to make sure you know where I come from.  I don't see disagree as a negative, I like the buttons for clarifying thoughts)

My son broke his arm in the spring time.  Complete fracture of the radius and ulna.  His arm was at a 45 degree angle.  After the orthopedic surgeon set it we discussed waterproofing option because he would be in a cast for 12 weeks.

The surgeon told us he would not use a waterproof cast on my son because the cast went from his hand up to 2 inches below his shoulder.  He also said the waterproof cast material does not compress the arm as much as he wanted for that severe of a break.  Maybe materials have changed, but the surgeon would not use them on my son.  We had a lengthy discussion with him on options.

johnkitchens

@Ozzie_Isaac that sounds like a very bad break. How old was your son when that happened and how is he now? 

smak

Cool.  If you go with the that, I would definitely keep an eye on how long it is on for.  It is *tight*.   You will want to take breaks to let the arm breath for a bit.

Carolina Q

I had a picc line in my arm a while back. They gave me a plastic sleeve with elastic at both ends to keep things dry during a shower. I used one with added rubber bands. Worked fine for an adult in the shower. Tape would be better.  Still, no guarantees. 

Ozzie_Isaac

johnkitchens said:

@Ozzie_Isaac that sounds like a very bad break. How old was your son when that happened and how is he now? 

My son was 4 years old.  He was racing the neighbor on his bike no handed.  He crashed and the bike flipped and came down on his arm.

He went into surgery expecting pins, but when the surgeon pulled he said the bones snapped back into place "solidly".

After the cast was removed his arm looked crooked.  The doctor said don't worry.  It was how the bone was healing.  It formed a shell around the fracture.  Over time that went away and his arm is perfectly straight.  At 10 he has no ill effects.

He lucked out because the break was in the middle as far from any growth plates as he could be.

cazzy

Ozzie_Isaac said:

@Cazzy not sure what part of my response you disagree on, I have never used waterproof cast covers so I cannot comment on those.   However, here is why I mentioned waterproof cast material is not suitable for all breaks. (btw, I don't have an issue with you disagreeing, just want to make sure you know where I come from.  I don't see disagree as a negative, I like the buttons for clarifying thoughts)

My son broke his arm in the spring time.  Complete fracture of the radius and ulna.  His arm was at a 45 degree angle.  After the orthopedic surgeon set it we discussed waterproofing option because he would be in a cast for 12 weeks.

The surgeon told us he would not use a waterproof cast on my son because the cast went from his hand up to 2 inches below his shoulder.  He also said the waterproof cast material does not compress the arm as much as he wanted for that severe of a break.  Maybe materials have changed, but the surgeon would not use them on my son.  We had a lengthy discussion with him on options.

Just fat fingered it man...no worries.  Didn't even read your post lol

Ozzie_Isaac

@cazzy  

You know you read all my posts.  Each one is full of wisdom and dazzling brilliance.

Wowens

I'd be more worried about the skin, than the cast.  The cast room where I had one put on had pictures of skin where the cast has gotten wet, and it was nasty.  It made you extra careful not to get it wet. 

With thy the short time to removal after the trip it might be ok, but I'd check with a doc, to see how long until the tissue starts rotting. 

DaveRichardson

@theyolksonyou - coming from an Ortho background, the material used for the "waterproof" liner under the fiberglass is bulky and not very conforming to body parts.  Part of what you need in casting is immobilization of the fracture site.  Big and bulky doesn't cut it.  You need form fitting to stabilize the fracture site.

Its not the fiberglass that has a problem getting wet, its the cotton (which conforms the best) or the polyester cast padding that is between the sleeve and the fiberglass material.  That stuff just absorbs water like a sponge.....  Ever gotten your shoes wet at a theme park?  Swamp foot sucks......  Imagine swamp arm; and you can't take the cast off (easily) like you can shoes!

All the cast bags, sleeves, etc have some luck in reducing water penetration.  Are they water-proof, not in the 20+ years I've been working on kids with broken bones......

Just bag the snot out of it.  They might have more of the cast liners on shelves there in Mickey Mouse Hell, I mean the Happiest Place on Earth, since beach and pools are both major draws.  Or google up some of the Ortho practices and place a phone call to see if they have something like that on their shelves in a stock-and-bill type setup with the manufacturer.

If it does get wet, don't panic.  Get it dry as fast as you can.  Fans and hair dryers on low or no heat setting to get it as dry as you can is the best line of attack.

theyolksonyou

@DaveRichardson thanks that helps!

DaveRichardson

No worries. That's my specialty area!

tarheelmatt

Don't tell me you haven't thought going with RTV?  You're an engineer!  

OR

theyolksonyou

@tarheelmatt that's funny. My dad loves that flex seal ****. There must be two gallons on his roof. Still leaks. 

Chicklet

I would not get the cast wet and "not worry about it."  It isn't necessarily the cast material we worry about.  The skin under all that casting material does not need to get wet.  A little damp is one thing but all the way wet is another.  

There are cast covers but none are 100% waterproof.  Also, if the cast is over the elbow, I would not recommend using those covers for too long.  If it is a small cast (below the elbow), you might be able to get a swim cast.  Some docs will allow it for a minor break.  

You just don't want to mess with a wet cast.  I've seen some gnarly looking skin up under one of those and even *I* will gag and I'm not a gaggy nurse.  

m

johnkitchens

Speaking of gagging a nurse. I didn't gag one, but I made one run @Chicklet. I was in college and working at my parent's tv and appliance store.  We got a new Tommy lift for our delivery truck. The controls were on the opposite side of the truck. I put my left hand where I always did when I operated it the first time, and my middle finger got closed up in between the lift.

My finger was stuck for a minute until I got it out. It was a bloody mess. The nail was fine, but the tip was sliced and split so that the bone was exposed. 

My mom carried me to the dr's office around the corner. The closest hospital was 20 miles away. I was bleeding profusely, and I had a towel wrapped around my hand. I went to the back and the nurse came over and told me to unwrap it so she could take a look. All I said was "it is pretty messy". I wasn't trying to be smart or mean, but she got pissed. She told me in a nasty tone that she was a nurse, and I couldn't show her anything that would upset her. 

I said said ok and unwrapped it. When she saw the bone sticking out she had a look of horror on her face and ran out of the room calling for the doctor. He wouldn't touch me. We ended up in the ER.

Sorry for the hi jack Jason.

theyolksonyou

No problem, John. One of my friends wife is a nurse, I've made her gag multiple times, but that's a different thread. 

Chicklet

@johnkitchens
Some nurses just don't *do* blood and guts - we all have our Achilles.  For me, the bloodier and more mangled the better.  I get around a little lung butter and I'm running to the trash can.  

My work friends know I love the open fractures and will actually come get me to work help work that pt.  I can't help it.  

DaveRichardson

There's something about broken bones that is intriguing.  I can deal with blood.  Vomiting / vomit is my problem.  If I hear it, I'm done.  Give me a goopy post-op wound that needs debridement and packing, and I'm like a hog in slop. 

And @johnkitchens, similar experience here with my "Driving" finger if you know what I mean..... At a small college doing physicals for their football and volleyball (MUCH more interesting!) when I went to shut my car door, I realized my stethoscope was behind the driver's seat.  Went to reach with my right hand and tried to grab the door with my left; that didn't work too well.  Wound up pushing the door closed on my finger, door locked, and keys in my right hip pocket.  No beuno.  Stood there for like 10 minutes with my finger stuck in the door, bleeding like a stuck pig until our General Medicine doc showed up.  He looked at me and laughed.  He said he had to glove up to get my keys out of my pocket (he knew a lot about me and college town activities).  We sewed my fingertip back on in the locker room with me biting on a mouthpiece because he only had enough lidocaine to partially numb me up.

johnkitchens

@DaveRichardson I bet that was a long 10 minutes! 

DaveRichardson

That sucked sooooo bad!  Only 5cc's of lidocaine sucked a little more!  Glad there was a mouthpiece to bite on!