Professional Orthopedic Associates of Southern NJ (POASNJ)

Taking Care of Your Cast

Taking Care of Your Cast

§         Elevating the cast
To prevent swelling, the injured area should be elevated. Especially, within the first 48 hours, after the injury occurred.

§         Exercise the fingers and toes that are exposed
Even if your leg or arm is in a cast; exercise the extremities (fingers and toes). But if exercise causes pain, call doctor immediately.

§         Applying an ice to the cast.
The injured area needs to be reduced from swelling. Applying ice, contained in an ice bag or a plastic bag wrapped in a towel, is very important. When icing the broken bone, do not place ice directly on skin or on the cast material. This can cause damage to both your skin and the cast. Make sure you keep both areas clean and dry.

§         The cast must be kept dry:
The cotton wrapped around the injured site must always be kept dry. When washing,, wrap the cast carefully in a plastic bag to insure that water will not penetrate the bag and run onto or into the cast

§         Don't put anything inside or under the cast.
The injured site may get very itchy. And you may find it tempting to stick objects under the cast to scratch the inside, but refrain from doing so. If you stick objects under the cast you may injure your skin or damage the cast as well.

§         How to relieve itching under the cast
Benadryl can be helpful. You may purchase this, over-the-counter, at your local pharmacy. Using a hair dryer, on a cool setting, is also helpful. Point the hairdryer downward to get air under the cast, until the itching subsides.

§         Trimming rough edges around the cast
Use an emery board to file away rough edges of the cast. Using scissors can be dangerous. Do not attempt to break away rough edges of the cast, by doing so, you may damage it.

§         Check the cast carefully.
Do regular inspections of your cast. If your cast cracks, breaks or starts to become too loose, call your doctor immediately. Also check the areas of skin around the cast. If the skin becomes red or irritated, padding can be added to these irritated areas to prevent any further problems.  

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