Help! My son's cast stinks!

[IMGONNABE40!]

DS 12 has had a cast on his arm/hand since 9/13. It is getting pretty rank. Any suggestions on how to get the stink out? He has to wear it until Friday and at this point I can smell it before he enters the room!

 

[Twigs]

When Ds had a broken wrist last year the Dr. told me to dump 1 oz. of baby oil down the cast once a week too help the itching from dry skin and it sure did help the smell too! Not sure if it will help if the cast has been on a long time, but it can't hurt.

 

[poohandwendy]

LOL, sounds like it's done cooking....I really don't think there is anything you can do because putting anything down in there is not advised. Maybe spray it with deodorant spray?

Good luck, I'll bet you will be glad when he has it removed. My son couldn't wait to have it removed and then he wanted it put right back on...I guess it is a very strange sensation, after all of that time in one position...but they get used to it quickly

 

[poohandwendy]

Originally posted by Twigs
When Ds had a broken wrist last year the Dr. told me to dump 1 oz. of baby oil down the cast once a week too help the itching from dry skin and it sure did help the smell too! Not sure if it will help if the cast has been on a long time, but it can't hurt.

Hey, I've never heard of that, sounds good to me...but wouldn't that get terribly greasy?

 

[Twigs]

I wasn't sure what it was going to be like, but it wasn't greasy when it came off, the cotton batting that is wrapped on first absorbed it, and his skin was in really good condition, not at all dry and scaly. I did wrap a towel around the opposite end of the cast till I was sure any excess wouldn't be runniing out and getting on anything. This was a pediatric orthopedist who said to do this, so I guess he found a way to deal with the kids complaints on the itching.

 

[idofabric]

A looooooooooong time ago, about my 3-6 casts ,a Doc. told me NEVER put something down my cast. And a min. latter said that I could use a mix of cornstarch and baking soda. The cornstarch sooths the skin, and the baking soda helps with smells, like in a fridge. It has worked for me and my kids, they have fallen off the monkey bars at school( or even out of their chair!) a few times. Heck I twisted my ankle and got a concushion just walking out the front door! ( purse strap caught the door handle) .
Best of luck.
Do NOT let him scrub his arm when he gets the cast off. It feels good, but you can really, really damage the skin and get a lot of small ugly scars. Did this, hurt bad, not fun, felt good for the first few min. of scrubbing.

 

[poohandwendy]

Twigs,
That's awesome, I wish I would have known that trick when my son broke his arm 4 years ago...and I'll bet IMGONNABE40! wishes she would have known it too!

 

[my3kids]

Any chance he stuck something down it to scratch and it got stuck? My nephew tried to scratch an itch on his arm cast and the cap came off inside. Although he said it didn't hurt, he ended up with a nasty absess of his skin.

 

[bubie2.5]

Try using baking soda.

 

[Pop Daddy]

I remember in grade school, this kid Mike Fought, has a cast and his nose allwasy ran, and he wiped it on the cast all the time




long post

 

[poohandwendy]

Ewww...PD, that would not be something I would want to be remembered by....

 

[GaTech]

DON'T use baby powder!!! (Whew, the memories) It cakes up and makes everything worse. I don't know if baking soda, but I would avoid anything that could build up.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Is the 9/13 date right? Seems like he must have gotten something in it accidentally if it smells bed that quick. Unfortunately, i have no advice about what to do for the smell, but somebody mentioned not scrubbing hard after the cast comes off.....well, I wore a cast for my broken ankle for nearly 3 months several years ago, and by the time it came off my leg did look scaly, and was very dry. But I really couldn't scvrub the leg when i got in the shower after arriving home because my leg was so supersensitive. It'd had nothing but the cast touching it for so long that anything else touching it had to be applied very lightly. It went away mostly, but to this day the top of my foot is still a bit hypersensitive.

When he gets the cast off on Friday and goes to wash the arm, have him use a body puff with liquid soap. He can be very gentle with it and it'll get a lot off without being harsh(I find Bath&Body Works puffs are the best).

 

[funhouse8]

My sons cast smelt so bad too. I didn't know what to do and when he got his cast off his arm on all sides was so hairey. I've never seen anything like it. The hair has since fallen off but he looked just like a monkey for a few days. The Dr. said this happens sometimes so be prepared.

 

[buzzlady]

You haven't smelled anything yet - just wait until they take that cast off. My DS had a cast on almost up to knee, when he broke his ankle. When they cut it off, oh the stench and the crud inside, and he wanted to bring it home.

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

Thank you for the replies one and all. I ended up spraying the outside of the cast with Febreeze (actually the ALL version) and that did the trick. DS is not complaining of pain or itching in the cast, so I do not think there is an infection or abcess down there. DS tells me there is a puzzle piece down in there, however .

 

[GaTech]

I have heard of a pen top but not a puzzle piece. But hey, if it itches use what you can get your hands on.

 

[KEH]

When my son's cast came off after he broke his wrist last year, there were enough crumbs down it to feed a small country. And his arm was covered in pen marks where he had used a biro to scratch. So much for, "no, Mum, I haven't scratched at all!"

 

[Towncrier]

I was going to suggest Febreeze. I'm glad that it worked. My son threatened to give me a hobo shower when I got home from the hospital with a cast on my ankle. I asked him what a hobo shower was and he said "I spray you with Febreeze and Axe Body Spray". Such compassion from my teen.

Tell your DS good luck with the cast.