In this Facebook Live: All Things Orthopedic, Annette de Lancey (Founder and Owner of CastCoverz!)discusses ways to protect your orthopedic device from the elements (cold weather, rain, wind, snow… ETC) with guest Dr. Scott Hoffinger, Medical Director of OrthoPediatrics, and Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon.
While having a cast may not be ideal, it will NOT prevent kids from trying to participate in normal activities. It is also not surprising that kids will find a way to get a cast wet, get it dirty and get involved. The best thing to do is plan ahead. If your child is going to be doing things that could get their cast wet or dirty, there is a need to protect the cast.
CastCoverz! has many products to keep casts and boots from getting wet from adverse weather conditions, shield from biting wind, and help them to stay dry. For arms we have CastCoverz! Mittz! Cozy and Mittz! Dry, which are designed for convenience as well as function and comfort. This product is weather-resistant but not meant for immersion, and paired together can provide superior protection from wet weather (rain, snow) and biting wind conditions.
Slickerz! which is a similar product for your leg is also weather-resistant and is used to protect your cast and your toes. Our BootGuardzXtreme! is for the orthopedic walking boot. It protects your orthopedic walking boot, boot liner, and toes from wind, rain and snow with our made-in-the-USA weather resistant material.
Keeping your orthopedic device clean and dry can stop infection, and help your injury heal better, so you feel better!
Helpful information for anyone on crutches this winter season!
Nursing an injury during winter poses many risks and challenges. Any other season seems awkward enough getting around on crutches, but add snow and ice into the mix and disaster awaits. Of course, precautions and steps can be made to reduce the dangers and possibility of further injuries (and without becoming a hermit).
Crutches are going to be dangerous no matter what, but here are 5 safety tips to help you handle the winter months on crutches:
Keep Crutches in Good Working Condition
In order to make sure crutches are as stable as possible, you will want them to be in the best possible working order. Even at the slightest show of wear, get new tips. New tips will help prevent sliding on the snow and ice. Since the tips grip the ground, a little wear can cause an accident. You can also purchase ice grip tips to help get even better traction on snow and ice. Also, make sure the crutches are adjusted to fit you perfectly so you can walk upright as comfortably and slowly as possible.
Use Sand or Salt
Keep some sidewalk salt or sand in your car with you at all times. Whenever you have to get out somewhere that looks slippery spread a little sand or salt right outside your car door so you can get your crutches and steady yourself as safe as possible. You will want to keep your driveway and sidewalks salted as well, but when you have no control over the street conditions, keep that salt and sand handy to do the best at keeping yourself safe.
Alternatives to Crutches
No matter how well you do on crutches, they still pose a risk when used in the winter. The Seated Scooter, for example, is a wheeled device that allows you to sit and scoot yourself from place to place while keeping your bad leg elevated and out of the way. You will remain stable at all times in the seated position and you don’t have to worry about slipping at all. The Knee Scooter works much the same way, only you stand and place the knee of your bad leg on the padded area. You have handlebars to keep you stable and a basket to carry your keys and other items. Even The Hands-Free Crutch is a better option than crutches. This device attaches to your bad leg and allows you to walk much like normal while retaining the use of your hands. Having your hands available to balance you is never a bad thing in the winter.
Ask for Help
Independence is important, but when it comes to your safety, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Ask friends and family members to run some of your errands for you so you don’t have to venture out into the cold, icy weather. When you do go out, try to have someone meet you at your car to help usher you inside safely. Having one injury is bad enough; you don’t want to add another to it.
Think of Comfort
In order to advance your recovery, you need to think of your comfort, as well as your safety. Things like cold toes can not only be uncomfortable and irritating, but also dangerous in colder temperatures. CastCoverz! Sleeperz! for leg casts (arm casts too!) and Sleeping Bagz! for boots are made from soft fleece to keep your toes warm and cozy, while protecting your sheets from snags and cooties, too! Be sure to check out our Bootz! and BootGuardzXtreme! to keep your toes & boots protected from the elements and clean while wearing a walking boot out in snowy and rainy conditions. Think through other comfort levels and research what you can do to fix them during the winter months.
Safety must be a high priority for you while you recover. And while safety should always be at the forefront, winter creates more obstacles to consider (and are often overlooked). Think ahead and use these tips to get yourself to the other side of the season safely, on crutches.
In this Facebook Live: All Things Orthopedic, Dr. Hoffinger, Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon, is sharing more about why some patients experience pressure inside their cast or splint, as well as answering other frequent questions.
As with any injury or surgery, we encourage you to share your concerns with your doctor. If you’re noticing increasing pressure or pain, be cautious & let your orthopedic team know what you’re experiencing.
Why a splint before a cast?
Certain fractures can swell a lot which doctors try to accomodate; it is one of the reasons that people are told in the emergency room not to make an orthopedic appointment right away. If you do, you will have to get splinted and then come back to have it changed to a cast. This is not true for all fractures, but when you are splinted for the most part, doctors are expecting it to swell. Splints are often put on first because a cast can cause a lot of pressure.
Why is my cast shaped so funny?
When doctors cast a fracture, there is an old saying that “a crooked cast makes a straight bone”. If you have a fracture that wants to angle one way, a doctor will make the cast have a little bit of a bend in the opposite direction.
Why do some people feel pressure when wearing a cast or splint?
If you are feeling pressure, that is the time to elevate the cast or injury. A little bit of reduction in swelling can make a big difference in how you feel. If you keep the injury down it may hurt more because the blood is rushing to it which causes swelling. Some pressure inside of the cast is normal, just be cautious that it does not keep getting worse or is intolerable.
We hope this video was helpful & encouraging. Please leave your family-friendly comments below!
Who’s looking forward to SPRING BREAK? Whether you’re home-bound recovering from surgery or a broken bone or planning a fun family vacation, CastCoverz! has some tips and tricks to make the best out of it.
If you have a teen or tween this Easter, Parents.com gives creative and alternative ways of filling their Easter basket. You can read their creative tips HERE!
Your spring break vacation has been planned beach or poolside and now you happen to be wearing a cast…OH NO! Check out CastCoverz! for products that will keep your cast clean, dry, and sand free. AquaShieldprovides waterproof protection for bathing. DRYPROis your answer to swimming, by offering the only waterproof cast protection in the world with the patented vacuum seal to keep your cast completely dry.
If you do happen to get your cast wet or need some odor and itch relief,CastCooler®will speed dry your cast and provide much needed relief from common cast discomforts.
Regardless of your Easter plans, all of us at CastCoverz! are wishing you a blessed and safe Easter!
