Date: 10/11/2021

Q: So, one of my biggest fears happened last night, my son broke his wrist at karate class (he fell on it badly) ??. It has been only 12 hours since they put the splint on and the itch is already getting to him. They are saying 6-8 weeks at least.  If you’ve had experience with you or your kid with ichthyosis and splints/casts, how did you deal with it?! We meet with the orthopedic doctor Tuesday morning.

A:

• I’m so sorry! Prayers for a speedy and proper healing. Haven’t had to deal with a break yet just a bad ankle sprain and Brennan struggled with the crutches rubbing under his arms so he barely used them. I hope there are some people on here that can help you out with some advice!
• So, my son broke his arm a couple years ago and we were in a cast for 14 weeks. We made sure the area that was going to be casted was good and moisturized before they casted it and after about the 1st week the itch seemed to go away and not bother him! They did give him a medication to help control the itching he was having. And when the cast was finally off his arm was so, so, so soft and like normal skin.
• What was the medication they prescribed for the itching?
• I can look when I get home and message you if you would like me too!
• Get a can of compressed air and spray it in the cast/splint where the itch is. Or vacuum hose to move air thru
• My son had a cast change weekly to allow me to clean his arm and lotion it in office before putting on new cast
• I’ll mention that at his appointment Tuesday!
• I’m so sorry to hear this! My dad is a radiologist and he’s always said if my kiddo breaks anything he will suggest a removable cast.
• Wish you better soon.
• We got a cast cooler which wrapped around and you attach the vacuum and it draws cool air through the cast.
• My XLI child has not had to deal with more than a wrap for his hand that had microfractures, but my 11 year old on the other hand has broken his wrist 3 times. We are currently a month into #3 (although he did have to have surgery on it last week), and there has been cast changes every 1-2 weeks for all of them, it just depended on swelling, how it was healing, and how loose the cast got from muscle loss.
• Ahhh, good luck to you guys! My 4 year old broke her arm! We got waterproof cast so she could shower! Added a little glycerin in water. but when they removed the cast skin underneath was the most beautiful one! She did have manageable itching through out! Hang in!
• I’m actually dealing with the same thing myself. I’m 3 weeks in and even though I’m unaffected, I wanted to let you know the split is the worst. The cast will actually feel better in comparison and for me, the cast hasn’t been too unbearable, but I think it helps that I like to keep it in front of the a/c vent in the car.
• Healing vibes to him ????
• Prayers
• My son was 9 and 11 when he broke his humerus. We used a jointed brace instead of a cast. We were able to take it off just long enough to shower carefully and lotion then put it back on. I was having nightmares of what his skin would be like in a cast. They do make waterproof casts though.
• Had to wrap it in duct tape the second time we used it because we lost some of the padding. He broke it in a different place the second time but the same brace worked fine.
• My biggest worry too. I hope all is ok
• My biggest worry as well as a parent. Prayers for his speedy recovery.
• ???? ugh ouch! Hope he isn’t in pain and will heal up nicely!
• What about 3d printed cast? Just throwing it out there.
• I’ve only ever broken Fingers ??
• My late daughter who had EHK had a cast as a kid when she broke her leg riding her bike. Just be prepared that it'll itch like crazy (don't allow him to put anything down in there to scratch it.) He can tear up his skin and cause a nasty infection. Again, normal for anyone, but especially for people with Ich. And when the cast comes off the skin will be green and look horrible. This is normal for anyone (it's built up dead skin) but especially with Ich.
• It was miserable, and the odor got very bad. The Dr. had to cut the cast off to clean his leg good and re-cast with a fresh one. Things are so different now, so l hope his experience is much easier for him??
• If your doctor/hospital is advanced enough they can make a 3D printed cast that has numerous holes all over it allowing it to breathe. You can probably even bathe with it if there is no padding to it.
• My daughter broke her elbow when she was one, we actually had to go multiple times to uncast and recast just so I could moisturize her arm.