Guest guest Posted June 6, 2008 Report Share Posted June 6, 2008 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 6, 2008 Report Share Posted June 6, 2008 Hi , The first doctor we consulted, a non-Mehta trained one, was planning to use Gortex as the lining. I have heard that this is more 'water-proof' but from what I understand, some of the kids had very bad rashes when the casts were removed. So, you might want to just be careful about getting it too wet. As you said, maybe water-resistant might be a better term. Just curious...why would a cast need removed after a child gets heated in the summer? Our summers are very hot (113 degrees), so I'm a little concerned about . He sweats a lot! But, we just try to keep him indoors and if he sweats, cool him off as quickly as possible. I don't think we can prevent sweating in the cast. Best of luck! > > 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 > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 6, 2008 Report Share Posted June 6, 2008 Hi , The first doctor we consulted, a non-Mehta trained one, was planning to use Gortex as the lining. I have heard that this is more 'water-proof' but from what I understand, some of the kids had very bad rashes when the casts were removed. So, you might want to just be careful about getting it too wet. As you said, maybe water-resistant might be a better term. Just curious...why would a cast need removed after a child gets heated in the summer? Our summers are very hot (113 degrees), so I'm a little concerned about . He sweats a lot! But, we just try to keep him indoors and if he sweats, cool him off as quickly as possible. I don't think we can prevent sweating in the cast. Best of luck! > > 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 > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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