showering with chest cath

[sugapea]

Hi everyone,
  I recently had to have my pd cath removed and replaced due to a little hernia near my old one that caused a bowel obstruction (not fun). So until the new one heals I have to go on hemo. They placed a cathater in my chest and everything is going just fine but my question is how do you shower without getting it wet?  I have tried the bandages they gave me but they came loose. I also tried taping a ziplock bag over it but that came loose also.

[boxman55]

http://www.couriermedonline.com/general-cd-1000-3.html

check this website out...Boxman

[pelagia]

my husband used this when he had a permacath in his chest:

http://www.korshield.com/

he also stuck the cath itself inside a plastic baggie for extra protection

[thegrammalady]

depending on who you ask, showering with a chest catheter can be done if covered (as you have found out doesn't work well) or is a big no no. when i had mine i showered anyway (after it had healed from insertion) i just didn't say anything to anyone. i was also quick about it and didn't let the shower fall directly on my chest for long.

[stauffenberg]

You run a serious risk of extremely dangerous septicemia from an infected exit site if you get a permcath exit site wet, so you have to ask yourself, is the pleasure of taking a shower rather than a bath really worth that risk?  I had a permcath for more than eight years and always took baths with the tub about half full, just to be safe.

[petey]

Marvin has had 14 different perm caths (in the clavicle -- one side, then the other) on and off over the last 13 1/2 years.  He always showered with his -- even went swimming (in OUR pool, so we knew the water was treated properly).  Here's Marvin's protocol for showering with a chest cath:
1. remove "taped" part at bottom that secures the two "pigtails" to each other -- he got so good at it, he could just slide it off the end and save to put back on if he wanted;
2. wrap "pigtails"  -- all the way up to near the exit site with a small piece of Sarah Wrap -- then tape the outside;
3. reinforce the "anchor tape" that was put around the top of the cath and taped to his chest -- he reinforced it with more tape;
4. shower -- trying not to let the shower beat on his cath site;
5. after shower, pat dry perm cath, remove Sarah Wrap from "pigtails," pat dry some more;
6. apply antibacterial cream/ointment (Bacitracin, for Marvin) around exit site; put fresh band-aid over exit site;
7. replace "taped" part at bottom -- if he wanted, he could use the one he took off before the shower -- if not, he made a new one -- he got so good at this part; and,
8. replace "anchor" tape that secured cath to chest -- it always got wet.

Ta Da!  It took him an extra few minutes before and after a shower, but it was not a hard thing to do.

He never had one of those dangerous infections that Stauffenberg described -- not one, in 14 caths.

Some doctors will tell you NOT to shower, some say it's okay.

[pelagia]

For some it may not be a simple as taking a bath.  My husband was not allowed to take a bath for weeks because he had a major incision from having double nephrectomies.  And because of the pain, it was also many weeks before he could bend over in any way without a lot of pain.  That ruled out leaning over a tub to wash his hair.  We tried taping the cath up, but didn't get very good at it.  Sounds like we needed lessons from Marvin. The cape-like shield that I bought kept the upper half of my husband's torso completely dry.  That let him wash his hair and the lower half of his body.   

[lola]

Otto first put tubing in ziplock bag then put that bag in 2nd bag and DUCK taped it to his chest. It's what he has done everyday for the past 2months.

[pelagia]

Actually that's reminding me that one problem we with taping (which we tried) was chest hair - actually it was pulling the tape off that was the problem.  While it doesn't seem like much, avoiding any additional sources of pain or discomfort was important.

[glitter]

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=8875.0

here is another recent thread

[petey]

Marvin's a "furry" kind of guy.  He found that it worked for him (the excessive taping) if he shaved that section of his chest. 

[pelagia]

 

[G-Ma]

I know it's a """sin""" to shower with a catheter and we found the korshield early on but it's like wearing a tent so """sometimes""" I clean the oils off my skin around the dressing and use waterproof tape to tape on a baggie and shower to my heart's content.  The nurses at "D" know I sneak showers, just don't discuss it..they make sure I have a couple of dressings to replace if I need after thoroughly cleaning that area.  The waterproof tape seems to stick well after cleaning and drying that skin area.  I think it's all about knowing you are being very clean when doing this as we need to be anyway.  I also found a "waterpik" shower head at Lowes that is more like a warm rainfall instead of beating down on you...only $30, but well worth it anyway.

[Jess21]

When I was about to leave the hospital, my mom and I asked how to clean around my catheter, and they said no shower only bath.  So, that's what I did for 8 months.  I'm 6'2, so it wasn't the easiest...

[smile24x7]

I have been using the Nexcare water proof dressings.  They work great, but are expensive.  It keeps the exit site dry and you can wrap the tubes in saran wrap for extra protection.  Here is the link from walgreens.  http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100946&navAction=jump&navCount=1&skuid=sku4083181&id=prod4084323