Spica Casts

Stomach Virus in a Spica Cast

This stomach virus was our first trouble or obstacle to tackle. It is recommended that you change your child’s diaper every time they are wet. That means about every hour when they are this age, but with a stomach virus it could be every fifteen minutes. I know that sounds crazy, but I have been there. The hardest part was keeping the cast dry. A stomach virus makes that completely impossible with out the proper precautions. I am going to tell you what no one told me to do and it was what saved me and Natalie a lot of pain.

The most important thing for your child is stay dry while in the cast. If the cast becomes wet, it can cause it to break or a rash can develop. Breaking the cast means it will need to be replaced and the risk of the hip coming out of place. Moisture in the cast will also cause the skin to become irritated. This can lead to a severe rash which we unfortunately found out. Dressing your child too warm will cause them to sweat making the skin wet and more likely to break out. Natalie had a severe rash due to her Halloween costume that caused her to sweat too much. She had small little blisters from the cast on her back. This could have been prevented if I had better information on how to keep her dry.

I used Stayfree Ultra Thin feminine pads to soak up any extra moisture inside the cast. I lined the insides of the legs and the back side of the cast with these pads. I cut one pad in half to fit on the inside of the legs where you change their diaper. I placed two whole pads on the inside of the back so that the soft side was against her skin. I used medical tape to keep it in place. I also placed butt paste on the pads if I thought that any of her skin was irritated. I changed them once a day in the morning or before bed if needed. I used this method to prevent any leaking from the diaper to stay on her skin. Most of the pamphlets recommend that you use a pad on the inside of the diapers, but this was uncomfortable and really did not work as well. It took a while to figure out the best placement, but Natalie’s second cast was completely clean when they removed it. The first cast was not clean at all. It smelled very badly because I did not have good information. I hope that this will help any one else who is about to take the journey with a child in a Spica Cast.