Cast Change

Over the weekend, I'd become increasingly uncomfortable in my thumb cast. So today I went back to the Middle TN Bone and Joint Clinic for a cast change.



Removing the cast revealed some angry red blotches from skin irritation. The blotches were painful and itchy.



I spent several minutes at the sink washing my hand and wrist and removing dead skin, being careful of the wounds. One of the pin holes had closed over nicely. The other had a pretty good scab over it still and I left it alone pretty much except for some gentle washing.





While washing my hand at the sink, I chatted with the techs moving through the area. Andy and Joy are the two that I see most often so I was asking about my options. I was really hoping to get a brace instead of a cast, but Dr. McCall was not in the office to approve such a move.

Andy offered to give me a cast that I could get wet so I readily agreed to that. One of the major issues with a cast in the humid southern summer is that sweat builds up and dries inside the cast, driving the wearer completely insane. With the new cast, I can at least run water through the cast to clean off the arm and thumb.

So Andy wrapped my cast using Delta-Dry cast padding as the base layer instead of cotton.



Here's the cast after the first cast layer has been applied. They do all but the last layer in white because it's cheaper than the colored cast material.



I chose purple as the outer color this time for a change from the blue.



I'm much more comfortable in this cast.