Catheter dressing ?

[KICKSTART]

This will probably only apply to the folk in the UK as i know a lot of you dont cover your catheter. We treat ours differently in the UK ..for eg.. always clean with 'sterile water' and cover with a dressing that is sterile. I dont want to change my procedure but i wondered if anyone had any suggestions ? Where the actual dressing is sticking to my skin is becoming sore , and when it is hot it itches like mad , so much so, that last night in my sleep i ripped the dressing off! ( i awoke funnily enough as soon as i had done it) and had to start in the middle of the night  sorting it out! I have some barrier cream but that doesnt help , if anything it makes the dressing stick  more to my skin , so when i change it ,it makes it even more sore , having to tug at it . Sometimes , it bleeds  because it is so sore and as usual the hospitals attitude is ,, well there is only the barrier cream , that should work !

[thegrammalady]

centers here clean the site with something, have no idea what, then tape a gauze pad over it. i have the same problem, the tape itches and makes my skin red. i always ended up taking it off between treatments. i got to the point i just told them to leave it alone. i haven't covered it in months and have no problems. curious question however, i was told not to shower because you shouldn't get it wet. isn't sterile watter getting it wet??? i don't listen to that advice either. at the center in oregon (where i visit my family) they cover the dangly part in a little tube of soft cottony stuff, very very nice.

[KICKSTART]

Lol ..we are told to 'shower' not to have baths . Strange isnt it ? I dont think its a case of not getting it wet , more a case of what wets it ?  The 'sterile' water is used to clean the area. but the dressings are such a problem . I cant and really dont want to leave it uncovered tbh , at least i know its nice and protected and clean under there , i couldnt imagine the exit site itself rubbing against my clothes ? .

[Wattle]

I think Kick start is talking about a PD tenkoff catheter. The dressing treatments are very different.

I also have trouble with my skin becoming irritated. Try to alter the position of the tape so it sticks to a different area of skin. This will give the sore areas time to heal a little. Remember to always use an anchor tape and move the position of this too. You could try using just the anchor tape at night. In the hot weather the skin has a hard time. I feel your pain!   

[goofynina]

I haven't put a dressing on my site for months and months,  i couldnt, that tape was eating my skin and just making it so raw, the pain was unbearable, now, the skin is better and my exit site looks good too, thank God    I do use some kind of cloth tape to hold it down and that doesnt irritate my skin at all 

[angela515]

When i was on PD I didn't cover my site either... I didnt see the point it was just irritating.

[Ken Shelmerdine]

The more I think about this the more I believe that a fully healed exit site does not need a dressing although I can't bring myself to go without one just yet. I've seen posts on this site refering to tunnel infections but as far as I understand it the 'tunnel' heals tightly round the tube so any infection at the exit site would have to be very severe and neglected to get though a fully healed tunnel.

 I may be wrong about this because  in the 12 months that I've been on dialysis we havn't had any really hot weather in the UK (wow I wish) so there's never been the kind of temperature to make me sweat. As for the tape, I don't seem to have a problem with it skin wise.

 In the UK we clean the site with some foul smelling stuff called Betadine (hospital smell in a bottle I call it. Then wipe it down (not rinse) till it's dry, dab it with bactroban cream and then dress it. I think also in the UK because of widespread infection in hospitals they adopt a very strict heigene regime to create an extra wide margin against infection.   

[kitkatz]

There are brands of gentle skin tape out there.  Look around and ask in a medical supply store.  They will be glad to give you some samples to try on your skin.

[KICKSTART]

The more I think about this the more I believe that a fully healed exit site does not need a dressing although I can't bring myself to go without one just yet. I've seen posts on this site refering to tunnel infections but as far as I understand it the 'tunnel' heals tightly round the tube so any infection at the exit site would have to be very severe and neglected to get though a fully healed tunnel.

 I may be wrong about this because  in the 12 months that I've been on dialysis we havn't had any really hot weather in the UK (wow I wish) so there's never been the kind of temperature to make me sweat. As for the tape, I don't seem to have a problem with it skin wise.

 In the UK we clean the site with some foul smelling stuff called Betadine (hospital smell in a bottle I call it. Then wipe it down (not rinse) till it's dry, dab it with bactroban cream and then dress it. I think also in the UK because of widespread infection in hospitals they adopt a very strict heigene regime to create an extra wide margin against infection.   

Again interesting Ken ..I dont use Betadine was told that was ' old fashioned' now .I use Normasol which is sterile water and we have been told only to use Bactroban if the site is sore or there are problems ! Funny how it varies from place to place!!