waterproof cast

[Guest guest]

Here's the scoop on Todd's waterproof cast.

It's the first waterproof Mehta cast they've done in Birmingham, and

the first one Dr Khoury has done with this material, though they've

used this material for fracture casts for several years there.

It's made with Gortex Procel material as the liner and padding. The

website is www.castliner.com. There is no bodysock or cotton

padding. Hytape is wrapped all around the fiberglass cast, so the

outside is waterproof.

You can't use Moleskin on it since Moleskin will hold water. Any

additional padding must be done using the Procel material and Hytape.

I would not say this is a waterproof cast, but water-resistant.

In a fracture cast, the material evidently is not cut as much as it

has to be in the Mehta cast. In the Mehta cast, they have to cut it

more to make certain it stays smooth since it does not stretch like

the bodysock. This exposes the padding between the waterproof outer

layers of the material. So you can't let the child swim, take a tub

bath, or otherwise soak.

They said we could give Todd showers and let him run under sprinklers

(too bad that's illegal here!), and it would take one or two hours to

drip dry.

I used a hand-held shower on him mid-morning today, and he is still

not completely dry 12 hours later! I think this is because the cast

is so tight that water cannot drip out the way the manufacturer of

the procel intended.

He was not sitting in water--I only sprayed him as much as necessary

to get him clean. I let him stay in the tub a while and play with

his toys afterward to drip a while. When I got him out and toweled

him well, I only diapered him, and left his clothes off a couple of

hours so the water could evaporate better. Still, after his nap, his

shorts and shirt were really wet from the cast slowly continuing to

drain. I took his shorts off again and let him wear a tank top with

his diaper to keep letting the water evaporate as it drained the rest

of the day. When I wedged my fingertips under the bottom of the cast

before bed, there still was dampness trapped in there, though it's

not actually wet anymore.

If it's not totally dry in the morning, I hope it will evaporate when

I take him outside in this Georgia heat!

Otherwise, I hope we do not run into any skin problems before the

trapped moisture can get out.

I do not plan to give Todd any more showers. But I won't worry if he

gets wet from splashing. And it does give me some peace of mind in

this hot weather that if he were to get overheated, I could put some

cool water on him without having to instantly have the cast removed.

The jury is out still on whether we'll get another " waterproof " cast

next time.

If anyone has feedback for me, I'd be happy to get it.

, Mommy to Todd

[Guest guest]

That's a great review, .

We haven't been offered this as an option yet, but with Jack's warm

natured tendencies and our Midwest weather, it certainly sounds like

it would be a great option/compromise.

Like Todd, he has such a love of playing in the yard (standing at the

door saying, " outside! " ). I was worrying today, in fact, about the

amount he perspires under the cast and the detriment to the plaster

layers.

Which reminds me - ah - new post. I'll send another email about that in a sec.

Anyway, thank you for the fantastic review and great information.

Sandi

[Guest guest]

That's a great review, .

We haven't been offered this as an option yet, but with Jack's warm

natured tendencies and our Midwest weather, it certainly sounds like

it would be a great option/compromise.

Like Todd, he has such a love of playing in the yard (standing at the

door saying, " outside! " ). I was worrying today, in fact, about the

amount he perspires under the cast and the detriment to the plaster

layers.

Which reminds me - ah - new post. I'll send another email about that in a sec.

Anyway, thank you for the fantastic review and great information.

Sandi