Irritation under cast driving me mad - what to do?

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FMX
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21 Jun 2015, 4:58 am

I had surgery on my wrist recently and now have a cast on my arm. It's s**t in a number of ways, but the biggest one is irritation on my wrist (ie. around the surgery scar). It's not an itch - I don't want to scratch it, I just want nothing touching that place. But since it's enclosed in a tight cast there is no escape! It's absolutely awful!

Has anyone been through this? Is there anything that can be done?

I already raised this as a problem with the surgeon earlier and they already put some kind of a "sock" on my arm after taking out the stitches, which is less irritating than the padding that was touching it before. It was alright for a few days, but now the irritation is back! I'll have to go and see him again ASAP, but I suspect he'll just say he hasn't run into this and doesn't know what to do. I'm sure it's not a problem for most people, but most people don't have to cut off clothing tags, either.


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BirdInFlight
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21 Jun 2015, 5:20 am

Could something be inserted to hold any surface away from the surgery area, the way those little plastic "tables" are put into pizza boxes to stop the lid from making contact with the top of the pizza?

The thing inserted may cause irritation too, but at least it would prevent a layer of anything touching your skin in that spot.

Does the surgeon know you are on the spectrum and have sensory issues other people may not experience with this? If he's never run across anyone who had problems before, it may help to alert him that you're not quite "anyone else" and you may need something else done to this cast for it to be tolerable to you.



FMX
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21 Jun 2015, 6:45 am

No, he doesn't know about ASD and I think it would be unwise to tell him. I don't appear autistic, so it would only reduce my credibility. I think I'll just stick to the sensory issues without mentioning ASD.


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BirdInFlight
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21 Jun 2015, 7:05 am

That might be wise, after all, yes. I totally get that.

Stick to mentioning this specific sensory issue.



kraftiekortie
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21 Jun 2015, 8:20 am

I wouldn't advise this:

But when I broke my wrist at age 14, I made liberal use of a wire coat hanger for itching.

If there's stinging/numbness/pain, report it to your doctor immediately.



FMX
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21 Jun 2015, 9:09 am

Yeah, there's numbness and tingling from time to time. Has been since they put on this cast (the rigid, tight one). That bothers me, but nowhere near as much as the irritation. In fact, the numbness has helped in a way, because when it's numb it doesn't feel irritated.


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