She had it put on today. Her sister collided with her and she fell off her bike last week. For the past week it has been in a splint so we could ice it and get the swelling down. Today the doctor put it in a cast. I had the choice of keeping her in a splint or going with the cast-we both agreed the cast would be better since she was starting kindergarten next week. So anyone have any helpful hints for dealing with a cast. Pretty much all the doctor told us was to put it in a plastic bag to take a bath. Anything else I should know? TIA :-)

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - 04:37 pm:

It will be itchy, but try not to put things down inside it, to scratch the itches. You run the risk of breaking open skin and it getting infected. (That said, I wasn't so good, when I had a cast, at the age of 15.)

By Ginny~moderator on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - 04:43 pm:

Yes, put a plastic bag over it, put a folded washcloth or hand towel around her arm under the top edge of the plastic bag, about an inch or two down from the top of the bag and an inch or two above the top of the cast, and put a rubber band or elastic around the top of the bag and again around the area where the washcloth is. (You don't want to use adhesive tape because this is going to be an every day thing and pulling the tape off every time can irritate her skin.) Another rubber band around the wrist might be good, because most plastic bags are too wide. Be sure to check the bag first to make sure there are no little holes in it - hold it up where the light will show any holes.

You want to be sure the cast and the skin under it doesn't get wet, and the hand towel is to catch any moisture that might slip through.

And, if any water does slip through, use a hair blower on cold or low, blowing down the inside of the cast, to dry out any moisture. The reason is that any moisture under the cast can lead to a skin irritation or infection.

If she takes an actual bath, she should hold her arm out of the water while you wash the rest of her - and that would be best. I would really recommend a bath other than a shower.

(I went through this with my mom where her entire leg was in a cast from ankle to upper thigh, and got a special plastic tube from a hospital supply place. I do know how frustrating it is, but it is really, really important to keep the cast and skin under and near it dry.)

By Colette on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - 04:46 pm:

No advice, I haven't had to deal with this (yet), but lots of {{{hugs}}} to you and both your dd with the broken arm and her sister who must feel terrible about the whole thing!

By Amecmom on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - 05:31 pm:

No advice here, either. Just sympathy and prayers for fast healing!
Ame

By Luvn29 on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - 06:42 pm:

Ginny's ideas are excellent. My dd had a cast a couple of years ago at the beginning of summer from her foot up to her thigh! Talk about a pain!

You DEFINITELY don't want to get it wet. She tripped going down some steps outside and somehow flew into a little wading pool and got a little of it wet. We called the ER (it was after hours) to find out what to do, and they told me to dry it with a hair dryer, on low or cool, of course, and if we couldn't get it dry, to come in. We got it dry, but boy did it make her itchy and stinky!!!

They say not to stick things in them to scratch because you can tear the material and cause the cast to become painful in spots, but if you have no choice (and at times, we didn't) I suggest something with a smooth curved end. We used a fly swatter handle. The curved metal kind. It was very smooth with no sharp edges to tear the casting or her skin. Don't use anything that could break off or that is sharp or pointy!

Good luck!

By Bellajoe on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - 10:14 pm:

I was in first grade when i broke my wrist and had a cast for 3 weeks. When it itched, my teacher let me use her typewriter eraser, with the frayed thing at the end to wipe away the "dustings". That helped, but then again who has a typewriter anymore? LOL

If you can find something like that for the itches, that would be good.

Good Luck!

By Ginny~moderator on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - 10:41 pm:

One thing about casts - they can get awfully dirty. You might buy a package of cheap tube socks - the really long, no heel ones. Cut off the toe, and pull the sock up over the cast to keep it clean(er).

Or, some really cheap brightly colored tights, so she can have colors for a cast cover.

And, you know her friends are going to want to draw on it. If that's OK with you, it's probably OK, but it would probably still be good to cover it up during the times she is active, to help keep it clean.

By Insaneusmcwife on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 06:19 am:

ouch! Sorry dd has to wear a cast. I'm surprised they didn't use the new water proof casting material. There was a boy in dd's swim class that broke his arm and they gave him a cast that he could swim with. I've also seen lots of kids this summer at the water park swimming with casts on. I think, as always, Ginny has great ideas.

By Fraggle on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 08:29 am:

Thank you for all the helpful hints. I am definitely going to get some tube socks since I was just thinking yesterday that the cast was going to get very dirty. I was also thinking that maybe those super long gloves for washing dishes and stuff might work even better than a plastic bag and her arm is so little. I will definitely use your advice Ginny on sealing it with a wash cloth on both sides-thank you.
Patti-I remember those typewriter eraser, LOL-I have a feeling I probably won't be able to find one anymore though;-).
Her doctor did not mention that there was a waterproof cast available-but she wasn't an orthopod-she was actually a sports medicine doctor so maybe she doesn't have access to the materials? My DD was able to swim last week with her splint on but now it is getting so cold here during the night and the water is getting so cold that swimming season is about over anyways. Thanks everyone for your well wishes and helpful hints .