My PD cath is driving me insane

[Goofy]

Does anyone know of any way (other than a "PD belt") to keep your cath next to your skin without taping it? 

I'm sensitive to the glue on the tape and I hate the sticky residue left behind on your skin.

[billybags]

Goofy, Ok you said other than a pd belt. I cut old stretchy sun tops up, most cotton sun tops have a ribbed bottom and can be quite stretchy so I cut the tops off till I have about 8 inches of material, machine where I have cut, mybe machine the sides in a bit and away you go. Think bandanna, I have made them in all different colors, they work.

[paul.karen]

Do you use coverderms? 4X6?

If so this is what i do.
I take one and at the long end i cut a half inch cut into the coverderm by a half inch.  So there is a notch so to say.  Then i stick that coverderm ontop of another coverderm and seal it all around.  Then i stick the coverderm that hasnt been cut but has the cut coverderm with a notch stuck ontop of it over my exit site.  Then i take the end of my connecter and slide it into the notch.  It holds everything into place.  it is still a sticky mess but ask your clinic if they have a box of unisolve.  it is a small folded wipe that you can use to easily remove the stickiness/residue the tape leaves behind.

Do they still make tank tops??
If so i think this would work good to cover your exit site as well as hold in place your cath.
Hope all is going well for you on PD.  It will soon become second nature.

[Hanify]

I have a cover thing over the exit site itself, and a tiny bit of tape right beside it to avoid any tugging, and that's it.  I don't tape the rest, I just tuck it into my knickers.

[Slywalker]

I used either a PD belt or paper tape to "hang it up."  Paper tape was the only thing my skin would tolerate for a long period of time.  Good luck

[peleroja]

Like you, I'm sensitive to the glue from all tapes.  I just tuck my catheter into the belt of my pants. 

[rookiegirl]

I used the netting that my PD clinic gave me.

[Goofy]

Rookiegirl, can you please explain what the netting looks like?  Do you think you can purchase them at the store?  My dialysis center didn't offer anything.  They said to us the belt or tape.

Peleroja, I've tried that but I forget about it and I've accidentally yanked on it when I would lower my pants.  I suppose, in time, I will get used to leaving it on the waist band of my undies!

 

[looneytunes]

Goofy...a female PD patient in hubby's unit had a great idea...she used those wide stretch belts that were very popular about 10 years ago.  They are pretty much all elastic with a clasp on the front.  She would put one around her waist, under her shirt and then put the end of her catheter down inside the top of it.  She says that it does not tug on the exit site as it leaves plenty of slack to just hang against her skin and with the cap end tucked into the elastic belt, it doesnt "dangle" and bug her.  She also can not tolerate the tape on her skin so this was her solution.   If you don't have one of these, PM me with your mailing address and I'll send you a real "vintage" one!   

Hope that helps.

[rookiegirl]

Rookiegirl, can you please explain what the netting looks like?  Do you think you can purchase them at the store?  My dialysis center didn't offer anything.  They said to us the belt or tape.

The ones they gave me for free are white tubular elastic net; reminds me of fishnet.  They come in rolls and they cut as much as I want and I in turn cut it down big enough to go over my abdomen.  It's almost like sock for your belly LOL! I wrap my cath in a loop and pull over the netting and it stays put 24/7.  Some people don't like them because they tend to roll down, but I cut mine big enough so it doesn't roll.

I did see rolls of these white fishnet like netting at the medical store.  They come in different sizes (S,M,LG,XLG) depending on your size.  I've attached a photo I found on the internet.  Hope you can view it.

[rookiegirl]

P.S.

Just so you know, even though the picture demonstrate the person wearing it up his chest... this is not the case with me.  I only cut it down to cover my belly. Hehehehe.

[mk]

Oh I remember that inch too well - it was so irritating. Leaving the catheter open to air with no tape helped it heal and my skin recovered. I tried the netting but didn't stretch enough to be comfortable. So I took some old stretchy camesoles/undershirts, cut the skinny straps off, then I would pull it over my head and put it around my hips/waist, stick the end of the catheter inside it, it kind of rolled over it, and placed the camesole over the catheter opening to feel protected. hope that makes sense - I would wear it in the shower and then put on a clean one after the shower (and doing the catheter care stuff), wash the old one and hang to try. The best thing was that it stretches as you sit, etc. and it's cheap to buy new ones. It worked for me. The RN's at my unit started passing on the idea....oh, and you get used to not pulling it down with your panties!!! all the best. Mary