Dialysis and bathing

[JaxBunny]

  HI, I am new so I am going to jump right in...I have the access in my shoulder for now until I get a fistula...I have been warned to not allow the dressing over it to get wet. When I asked for more dressings to change when I shampoo my hair I was told that I should not take showers or baths..because of the risk of infection...So! Am I supposed to stay dirty for the rest of my life!!!!!!??(I am not about to do that)
What really irked me was that people who have nothing to do with dialysis had better suggestions than the nurses and techs who deal with dialysis every day!  
I would appreciate your comments





EDITED: Fixed rant icon error - Sluff/Admin

[Sluff]

The access in your neck(shoulder) is more than likely a temporary access and a sponge bath is probably your limit for now. I have not had to deal with that but many members here have. When you get a another permanent access then they will probably remove the one you have now.

Hope it's not too long from now.

[petey]

JaxBunny,
Different doctors/nurses/techs will tell you different things about getting your "perm cath" (access in clavicle) wet.  Some say don't get it wet at all (this means a tub bath is allowed).  My Marvin -- over the last 13 years -- has had 14 different perm caths (left side, then right, then back to left, etc. -- between maturing times for grafts and fistulas).  Some of these perm caths truly were "temporary" and lasted only a few weeks.  Others lasted longer; he had his first one in for 18 months.  His surgeon told him it was okay to shower and even swim.  Marvin always removed the gauze dressing at the exit site and removed the taped "cap" the nurse/tech put on the ends -- these were taped together and would slide off the bottom.  Then he taped his cath securely (down the catheter near where it splits off into two "pig tails" -- taped to his chest), and then he showered or went for a swim.  After the shower or swim, Marvin would pat dry his perm cath really, really good.  Then, he would apply a zinc ointment (Bacitracin) around the exit site and apply a new dressing over the top of it.  He would either tape the ends back together or slide the one he took off back on.  We were told as long as we were extra, extra careful about cleaning the exit site, it was okay.  (He also only went swimming in our pool, so we knew the water was treated properly.)  Fourteen perm caths and not a single infection!

Check with your surgeon and see what he says.  This is what we were told, and it worked for us.

[stauffenberg]

I think Sluff is right and what Jaxbunny is talking about is a temporary neck line, not a permcath.  With a neck line the patient is restricted to sponge baths, but with a permcath, which I had for more than eight years, bathing is fine as long as you don't fill the tub too fill and risk getting the insertion point wet.

[twirl]

you can do anything with a fistual
well, my doc said if I had a cath I could still swim in a pool
tape up and cover up

[glitter]

there is a thread about a dressing you can buy so you can shower- it isn't perfect- but it did work for my husband-you could also use it in combination with a tagaderm dressing.  Just dont dorect the water onto the dressing and carefully dry it if it does get wet. You dont have to stay dirty-lol- just be carefull.


there is also a website for the korshield just google it-

here is a pic of the dressing/cover i was talking about- for some reason i cant find the name- i bought my husbands at a local medical supply store

[terry3004]

When I had a perma-cath in my right shoulder, I was told to keep it dry.

I was still able to take showers.  I just took some plastic wrap and covered my entire catheter, and taped it down.  Then, I took a quick shower, and at worst, it would get a little damp.  There were a couple scares infection, but I'm on well water so I think that had something to do with it.  No infections, though.

[KR Cincy]

I too had a permacath in my right shoulder. When I got it in the hospital, I was warned never to get it wet and I obeyed...sponge baths and hair washing in the sink, then installed a hand-held shower head so I had control over the water spray...which worked fine.

Then I got to home hemo training, they looked and said the incision around the cath had healed over so to go ahead and take showers normally...just don't get soap or stuff in there, but let the water run over it because new data said that was actually good for it.

The moral of the story? Depends on who you ask.

[Zach]

The moral of the story? Depends on who you ask.

Ain't that the truth!
 

[JaxBunny]

My catheter is not permanent..I know about the perma-caths because my late husband had one and he could shower...this one on my has a dressing over it...the dressing got a little damp this morning but dried within a few minutes so I am thinking it is okay...I tried standing in the tup with the handheld showerhead and that worked...and I feel so much better! All this time I had to have my daughter helping me and with a 3 yr old running around the house she doesn't always have a lot of time to spare to help me!

You all are great...thanks!

[thegrammalady]

i had 3 different "perma caths". the first one i was extremely extremely careful with because i was new at the dialysis thing and had been told to be careful because the catheter could fall out. BALONEY! there is a little teflon "cuff" on the line that tissue grows around as the incision heals to prevent that from happening. however one of mine did "work" its way out. apparently my body didn't like the foreign object. it didn't actually fall out we knew it was comming loose and it was replaced. the third doctor said "no showering for a week" and i took him at his work. of course by then i had been showering anyway. after the original incision healed on all three of them i never kept it covered, just cleaned it now and then.

[pelagia]

I ordered a "korshield" for Stephen when he had a permacath on his upper chest.  He liked it pretty well.  It pulls over your head and has a neck seal that keeps the water out.  It's a little pricey, but well made.  Also, we ordered the wrong size at first and they exchanged it no problem.

[flip]

We don't bathe that often anyway so dialysis provides a convenient excuse.

[monrein]

OMG Flip, you must be that really nice but very smelly guy who sits next to me sometimes at D.  Not so bad if the fan's blowing the "other" way. 

[keith]

when i had mine i went out and bought my own dressing change and took a shower and changed it after my shower ( my wife was also a tech at the time ) but i watched the tech and saw how they did it and learned how to do it

[terry3004]

i had 3 different "perma caths". the first one i was extremely extremely careful with because i was new at the dialysis thing and had been told to be careful because the catheter could fall out. BALONEY!

I don't think it's baloney.  I had one fall out on me one morning.  Blood everywhere (bed, clothes, carpet, etc.)  I was acutally getting up to go to dialysis and on the way to the bathroom...plop...catheter on the floor!

It turns out that it takes a while for the catheter to get "attached" to you, and during that time is when the catheter can come out.  My incident happened less than a month after I had my catheter changed becuase the first one wore out.

[monrein]

I have to keep my stitches in for six weeks, and I am very obedient about not showering because it simply isn't worth any risk of infection.  I take a bath and for hair washing I go to the hair salon but I can also tape plastic over the area and kneel beside the tub and wash hair using a plastic jug to pour if you don't have a telephone shower attachment.  I'm taking NO chances with any tube going straight into my heart.

[Zach]

 I'm taking NO chances with any tube going straight into my heart.

Very good point.
 

[JaxBunny]

I agree about the catheter that goes into my heart...I don't want to take any chances either. but on the occasion that the dresssing over it has gotten damp we have changed it to a dry one...but I still want to keep that area as dry as possible...I was able to shower with the handheld showerhead and will be able to wash my hair in the kitchen sink

You all are awesome

[lola]

Otto has been Very naughty he still takes shower's just short ones and he has found duck tape keeps his site the driest OUCH. He can't wait to have it out on Monday he said he's taking a shower till the hot water runs out

[pelagia]

I agree about the catheter that goes into my heart...I don't want to take any chances either. but on the occasion that the dresssing over it has gotten damp we have changed it to a dry one...but I still want to keep that area as dry as possible...I was able to shower with the handheld showerhead and will be able to wash my hair in the kitchen sink

Do have a look at the "korshield."  It's like a cape for the upper part of your body.  It pulls down over your head (stretchy soft rubber) and seals around your neck.  Stephen wore one and then also put his permacath in a plastic baggie.  He was unable to bend over because of the incision due to the nephrectomies and also was not allowed in the tub while that was healing.

here's the link: http://www.korshield.com/

if it's not okay to post a link to a business, someone let me know and I'll remove it (or admin can remove it, thanks):