Ok, we are port pro's in our house.
We have a son with Hemophilia and unlike CF, he has to have a single ~15ml IV infusion 2x/week. So we access, infuse and deaccess his port well over a 100 times a year.
As for the needle, the size does vary, but honestly it probably just looks too big. If you are unsure, you can check with your whoever provided it. However, if it is too long, you will know as it will hit the back of the port when you insert. If you insert and you can fit more than a folded over gauze pad between the needle & your chest it is too long.
If you are one 2x/day IV's then yes, you would access and then put Tegraderm over it and leave it accessed. You must replace the needle weekly. Don't resuse the needle, just tell them you need more needles and they should send you plenty.
However, once you learn to access yourself you can obviously remove more often if you wish (every couple of days for a shower).
On that note, yes, many people with ports access themselves. We are currently training our son (he is 7) to access his own, and I expect that within the next 6-9 months he will be able to do alone.
The only concern with accessing, is learning to be 100% sterile, a port goes directly to your heart so you have to be hypervigilant when accessing. We don't allow anyone (including Drs & nurses) to access our son; if it needs accessed, we do it so we can be sure it is done w/o giving him a infection.
We have a son with Hemophilia and unlike CF, he has to have a single ~15ml IV infusion 2x/week. So we access, infuse and deaccess his port well over a 100 times a year.
As for the needle, the size does vary, but honestly it probably just looks too big. If you are unsure, you can check with your whoever provided it. However, if it is too long, you will know as it will hit the back of the port when you insert. If you insert and you can fit more than a folded over gauze pad between the needle & your chest it is too long.
If you are one 2x/day IV's then yes, you would access and then put Tegraderm over it and leave it accessed. You must replace the needle weekly. Don't resuse the needle, just tell them you need more needles and they should send you plenty.
However, once you learn to access yourself you can obviously remove more often if you wish (every couple of days for a shower).
On that note, yes, many people with ports access themselves. We are currently training our son (he is 7) to access his own, and I expect that within the next 6-9 months he will be able to do alone.
The only concern with accessing, is learning to be 100% sterile, a port goes directly to your heart so you have to be hypervigilant when accessing. We don't allow anyone (including Drs & nurses) to access our son; if it needs accessed, we do it so we can be sure it is done w/o giving him a infection.