The current heatwave dominating East Coast leads to many requests from parewnts and children for water proof casts and from adults who want to know when they can get back into the water after surgery.
There is no good way to wear a cast in the water without protection. Plaster casts get soggy and fall off, fiberglass casts get wet and uncomfortable and take forever to dry, and even the “waterproof “gortex cast liners can cause skin irritation. Sitting in front of an air conditioner can help, but the issue of swimming bathing and showering remains an issue.
The only asnwer so far is a cast cover either commercial or homemade. These are essentially large plastic bags with a diaphragm or tape at the top which keeps out water. Regretably they are often not perfect and certainly will not stand up to repeated underwater stress, they work for showering and sitting in the water without submersing the limb. Once the cast gets wet, the only option is to use a blow dryer on cool, this can dry the cast out.
Surgical wounds are a different matter and once the wounds are healed , it is safe to go in the water with care, but stressing the wound and muscles has to be avoided.
The beach has its own problems with sand and dirt in the cast and in wounds and extreme caution has to be used.
I wish there wer a miracle cure, but kids and surgical patients must be cautious or will make their issues worse
