Cast cover for shower: keep a leg or arm cast dry at home

Who a cast cover for shower helps

Washing with a cast is one of the first daily problems after a fracture. OrthoInfo, from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, puts it simply: it is essential to keep the cast dry. Moisture weakens plaster, and damp padding next to the skin can cause irritation.

Say your mother broke her ankle and is home with a short leg cast. A plastic bag and tape take two people and ten minutes, and they still leak. A shaped cover with a built-in seal can turn that into a short job she may manage with little help.

Covers come in lengths for hands, short and long arms, short and long legs, and feet. The right one depends on where the cast ends, not on the injury itself.

• Adults in a plaster or fiberglass cast who want to shower at home
• People with a bulky dressing that must stay dry
• Family helpers who want a quicker, less fiddly routine
• Anyone who has had a plastic bag leak or slip

How to choose the right length and fit

The cover needs to reach well beyond the top edge of the cast, so the seal sits on bare skin and not on the cast itself. If the seal lands on the cast, water can run down inside.

Measure along the limb from the tips of the toes or fingers to a hand's width above the top of the cast. Then compare that number with the cover lengths the maker lists. If you are between two sizes, the longer one usually gives a safer margin.

Also check how wide the cast is. Brownmed lists wide versions of its short arm and short leg covers for bulkier casts, so a big cast may need one of those.

• Toes or fingers to a hand's width above the cast: your minimum length
• Widest point of the cast, for the wide versions
• Whether the cover fits a left or right limb, or both
• Latex: check the listing if there is a latex allergy
• Whether the cast has a heel or walking boot that must fit inside

How the four leg covers compare

The two Brownmed Seal-Tight covers were verified on Amazon.com in the US. The two Bloccs leg covers, made in the UK, were verified on Amazon.de and Amazon.fr, so they are the local choice for readers in Germany and France.

As the names suggest, the short versions suit a cast that stops lower on the leg, and the long versions reach higher. The makers and the doctors part ways on water, though. Bloccs calls its covers fully submersible for baths and swimming, and Brownmed mentions bathing, but OrthoInfo says never to put a cast under water, even when covered. Keep to showers unless your clinic says otherwise.

• Seal-Tight Original Short Leg: 24 in (61 cm); latex-free, reusable, no pumps, straps or tape, per Brownmed
• Seal-Tight Freedom Adult Leg: 32 in (81 cm), order number 26501; easy-on and easy-off
• Bloccs Adult Short Leg and Adult Long Leg: reusable, soft and flexible, with a watertight seal, per Bloccs
• Bloccs sizing: leave 2 to 3 cm (about 1 in) of bare skin above the cast for the seal; size exchanges within 30 days
• Latex: Brownmed calls the Original and the Universal Freedom latex-free; Bloccs does not mention latex

A safer shower routine with a cast

A cast changes balance, and wet floors make it worse. The NHS leaflet from University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire asks people to make sure they feel safe and steady before they wash.

Sitting down helps most. A shower chair or bath board means the leg can rest outside the main spray, and nobody has to stand on one foot on wet tiles. Keep the towel, soap and phone within reach before turning on the water.

Imagine your father with a long arm cast. He can sit, slide the cover on, check the seal with his good hand, and keep the cast arm out of the stream. If getting in and out of the shower feels risky, an occupational therapist can show a safer way.

• Sit on a stable shower chair or bath board
• Put the cover on while sitting, in a dry room
• Keep the cast out of the direct spray anyway
• Use a handheld shower head to aim the water
• Have a helper nearby for the first few showers

Care, reuse and if the cast gets wet

After each shower, take the cover off while sitting, pat it dry and hang it up away from heat. Look over the sleeve and the seal for splits before the next use, because OrthoInfo warns that even a small pinhole can let the injury get soaked.

If the cast does get wet, call the fracture clinic or plaster room for advice. The NHS leaflet says not to dry a cast with a hairdryer or near a fire.

• Dry the cover inside and out after use
• Store it flat or hanging, not crushed in a drawer
• Check for splits, thin spots or a loose seal
• Replace a cover that leaks, even slightly
• Call the clinic if the cast feels damp or soft

When to ask the fracture clinic

Advice on covers is not the same everywhere. OrthoInfo mentions two layers of plastic or a waterproof shield, while the Coventry NHS leaflet says not to use plastic bags or cling film. Your own clinic's instructions come first.

Some casts use special waterproof padding, and OrthoInfo says the doctor will tell you if yours does. Before buying, ask the clinic: "Can I shower with this cast if I use a waterproof cover, and is there a type you prefer?"

Call the clinic straight away about the warning signs below. Loss of movement in the toes or fingers needs urgent care.

• Pain that gets worse, or the cast feels too tight
• Numbness, tingling, burning or stinging
• A lot of swelling below the cast
• Red or raw skin at the edges, or a cracked or soft cast
• Toes or fingers that cannot move on their own