I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: Pre-Dialysis => Topic started by: IOnlyGet5 on November 02, 2017, 10:05:52 PM
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I'm looking at PD catheter surgery soon & I have a really dumb question...how do you protect your catheter & site when you shower?
They told me I can't get it wet at all the first week but I'm thinking of how to take care of it after that...I was told I can't take baths but how do you keep it from getting wet when showering? Is there a special item like the wrap you put over a cast if you break a bone to protect it from the shower spray?
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I've been doing PD for over a year now with a perfect exit site (that looks just like the skin around it). I just shower like a normal person. I remove the protective dressing and let the water wash the exit site. I don't scrub it, just let the water wash over it. Then I change the dressing. No big deal.
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I was told no problem getting it when when showering. I'd leave the PD belt in place, and use a dry one after I was done showering.
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My PD Nurse was pretty specific when telling me NOT to get my site wet until after it had healed. After that it was fine to shower but my days of falling off the boat to cool off were over. NO Rivers, NO Lakes, NO Public Pools. Sea water is supposedly fine.
Showering, they did not want me to get the fitting/roller clamp valve thingy wet. I was to very carefully wrap it and the hose with something like Press n Seal to make sure that it did not get wet. Awkward. I've been bathing with a wash cloth and a sink full of warm soapy water ever since. Same as we did in the jungle long ago. It works.
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I'm looking at PD catheter surgery soon & I have a really dumb question...how do you protect your catheter & site when you shower?
They told me I can't get it wet at all the first week but I'm thinking of how to take care of it after that...I was told I can't take baths but how do you keep it from getting wet when showering? Is there a special item like the wrap you put over a cast if you break a bone to protect it from the shower spray?
It's not a dumb question. While they tell you not to get it while it is first healing, just take a "shower" with baby wipes or a washcloth until you time is up. After that, you don't have to do anything special, just strip off everything that's not embedded in your flesh and shower as normal. I've had PD caths for nearly six years and there's nothing to it.
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Thank you guys so much!
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I get a lot of use out of the hand held shower head-when my PD Cath was new I just hosed off my nether regions avoiding the site for the first week or two. Now I just shower as usual but mostly face away from the shower to keep it from squirting right on my site. Then I use the hand held to rinse everything off and do a dressing change right after. Meticulous with clean towel/washcloth daily, change sheets weekly, clean shirt and Jammie's every day. Clean washer with bleach monthly and no way gonna use a laundromat. So far so good- it's been a year this week. Yippee!