2888 YLH Looking after your cast - a guide for patients

If you have been given a cast, it will immobilise, support and protect your injured limb. However, there are a number of important things you can also do to aid your recovery. Here are our top tips: Rest and elevate. You must rest and raise your injured limb as much as possible for the first 48 hours. If you have damaged your leg, it needs to be raised above your hip. This will help to drain fluid from your injury and reduce any swelling. This will make your cast more comfortable. Keep exercising. Exercise all your joints on the affected limb that are not held in your cast, as much as possible. This should include your fingers, elbows, shoulders, knees and toes. This is because exercising will improve your circulation and reduce stiffness. If you are allowed to walk in your plaster, always wear a cast shoe or you will damage the cast and it won’t provide the support you need. Keep moving. It is very easy to get a pressure ulcer when you wear a plaster, especially on your heel, elbow, wrist,ankle or knee. So it's important that you change position at least every two hours to avoid pressure on any one area of your limb. Keep clean. Use wet wipes to clean your fingers or toes. But please avoid using powders or spraying perfume inside your cast, as they can irritate your skin Keep your plaster dry. Don’t get your cast wet as it will weaken it and the damp padding will cause skin problems. If you are going to have a bath or shower, use a cast protector, but don’t leave it on afterwards as it may restrict your circulation. You can buy cast protectors online and at pharmacies. Look out for problems. Contact the fracture clinic using the numbers provided at the end of the video: if your fingers or toes become very cold, blue or white and do not recover when elevated or exercised. if the cast is rubbing, you develop a sore, or if you have an constant unexplained pain, cramp or swelling, particularly in your calf muscle if you have a persistent blister-like pain or tenderness, usually over a bony area, or if you have any discharge, wetness or smell under your cast or if staining has developed on the outside of the cast especially if you have had surgery.