picc line help

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TonyaH

Guest
Hi everyone
We are not new to picc lines...this is my son's 10th I think. But the past few years they have been falling in the summer, and because we treat m. abcessus, he's on ivs for 8 weeks...pretty much eating up the entire summer.
I've posted here before and read others' answers about skin irritation with picc dressing. Andrew is very sensitive and his skin 'weeps' under his dressings. We have finally found a good combo that gives him a little relief but it's still not great and he is preoccupied with that dressing the entire length of treatment. For this reason, he does not want to do anything that may cause him to sweat for fear the dressing will come loose or irritate the already irritated skin underneath. He does not want to run outside, go for walks, or even sit outside at restaurants.
Can anyone share any tips they may have found to help keep their arm cool while spending time outside when it's hot? Does anyone else even have this problem?...or is it uncommon to have much trouble with your picc site while sweating? I was even wondering if there were freezable arm bands or something he could wear over and under the site (as long as we was not currently infusing), that would help keep his arm cool and give him a little reassurance.
 
T

TonyaH

Guest
Hi everyone
We are not new to picc lines...this is my son's 10th I think. But the past few years they have been falling in the summer, and because we treat m. abcessus, he's on ivs for 8 weeks...pretty much eating up the entire summer.
I've posted here before and read others' answers about skin irritation with picc dressing. Andrew is very sensitive and his skin 'weeps' under his dressings. We have finally found a good combo that gives him a little relief but it's still not great and he is preoccupied with that dressing the entire length of treatment. For this reason, he does not want to do anything that may cause him to sweat for fear the dressing will come loose or irritate the already irritated skin underneath. He does not want to run outside, go for walks, or even sit outside at restaurants.
Can anyone share any tips they may have found to help keep their arm cool while spending time outside when it's hot? Does anyone else even have this problem?...or is it uncommon to have much trouble with your picc site while sweating? I was even wondering if there were freezable arm bands or something he could wear over and under the site (as long as we was not currently infusing), that would help keep his arm cool and give him a little reassurance.
 
K

kosdancer

Member
So sorry! Definitelyuts a damper on summer.
First of all, I'm gonna tell you what has finally worked for me (I'm on my first line that hasn't had a reaction after nasty reactions for the last four or five) in case it gives you any ideas. I'm allergic to chloraprep and the catheter of the PICC line, so we use sorbaview, gauze under the catheter, and betadyne and alcohol for cleaning. No biopatch or statlock.
As far as keeping it cool, I don't wear the cloth cover because it was driving my skin crazy, and I ice my arm at home. Sweating was definitely bothering it, but then I sprained my ankle and it wasn't as much of a concern. I found some wearable ice packs here: http://www.icewraps.net/arm-ice-wraps.html?gclid=CPjw9rXNm7ACFcyb7QodhS20Xg

I hope something in there helped!! Good luck, I definitely feel his pain withg the rashes :/
 
K

kosdancer

Member
So sorry! Definitelyuts a damper on summer.
First of all, I'm gonna tell you what has finally worked for me (I'm on my first line that hasn't had a reaction after nasty reactions for the last four or five) in case it gives you any ideas. I'm allergic to chloraprep and the catheter of the PICC line, so we use sorbaview, gauze under the catheter, and betadyne and alcohol for cleaning. No biopatch or statlock.
As far as keeping it cool, I don't wear the cloth cover because it was driving my skin crazy, and I ice my arm at home. Sweating was definitely bothering it, but then I sprained my ankle and it wasn't as much of a concern. I found some wearable ice packs here: http://www.icewraps.net/arm-ice-wraps.html?gclid=CPjw9rXNm7ACFcyb7QodhS20Xg

I hope something in there helped!! Good luck, I definitely feel his pain withg the rashes :/
 
K

kosdancer

Member
So sorry! Definitely puts a damper on summer.
First of all, I'm gonna tell you what has finally worked for me (I'm on my first line that hasn't had a reaction after nasty reactions for the last four or five) in case it gives you any ideas. I'm allergic to chloraprep and the catheter of the PICC line, so we use sorbaview, gauze under the catheter, and betadyne and alcohol for cleaning. No biopatch or statlock.
As far as keeping it cool, I don't wear the cloth cover because it was driving my skin crazy, and I ice my arm at home. Sweating was definitely bothering it, but then I sprained my ankle and it wasn't as much of a concern. I found some wearable ice packs here: http://www.icewraps.net/arm-ice-wraps.html?gclid=CPjw9rXNm7ACFcyb7QodhS20Xg

I hope something in there helped!! Good luck, I definitely feel his pain withg the rashes :/
 
K

kosdancer

Member
So sorry! Definitely puts a damper on summer.
First of all, I'm gonna tell you what has finally worked for me (I'm on my first line that hasn't had a reaction after nasty reactions for the last four or five) in case it gives you any ideas. I'm allergic to chloraprep and the catheter of the PICC line, so we use sorbaview, gauze under the catheter, and betadyne and alcohol for cleaning. No biopatch or statlock.
As far as keeping it cool, I don't wear the cloth cover because it was driving my skin crazy, and I ice my arm at home. Sweating was definitely bothering it, but then I sprained my ankle and it wasn't as much of a concern. I found some wearable ice packs here: http://www.icewraps.net/arm-ice-wraps.html?gclid=CPjw9rXNm7ACFcyb7QodhS20Xg

I hope something in there helped!! Good luck, I definitely feel his pain withg the rashes :/
 
G

giantsfan91

Guest
Never had any sweating issues with my PICCs but ask who ever takes care of it if they have IV3000 dressings. They give me these and supposedly they breathe easier than the standard dressing. I used to get hives and really itchy skin under the regular dressing and the IV3000 solved that problem.
 
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giantsfan91

Guest
Never had any sweating issues with my PICCs but ask who ever takes care of it if they have IV3000 dressings. They give me these and supposedly they breathe easier than the standard dressing. I used to get hives and really itchy skin under the regular dressing and the IV3000 solved that problem.
 
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TonyaH

Guest
Thanks both of you! kosdancer, that is exactly the combination we have figured out works better for my son. We have realized he is allergic to alcohol directly on his skin, so we use betadine and sorbaview, skip the chloraprep. We also skip the statlock and biopatch. It's not perfect, but it is as good as it gets for him. The picc was placed Friday and he already has welts under the dressing again. But they are not oozing yet and don't seem to be itching as much. I have not thought about an allergy to the catheter. I am going to have home health send steril gauze packs so we can try that next time. Right now the catheter just lies against his skin.

The arm ice pack idea was exactly what I was asking about! Thank you! I just feel like if we can keep his arm cool below and above the insertion site he may not feel as nervous about being outside through the summer. Do you ever have a problem with moisture under the wrap dripping toward your dressing?
 
T

TonyaH

Guest
Thanks both of you! kosdancer, that is exactly the combination we have figured out works better for my son. We have realized he is allergic to alcohol directly on his skin, so we use betadine and sorbaview, skip the chloraprep. We also skip the statlock and biopatch. It's not perfect, but it is as good as it gets for him. The picc was placed Friday and he already has welts under the dressing again. But they are not oozing yet and don't seem to be itching as much. I have not thought about an allergy to the catheter. I am going to have home health send steril gauze packs so we can try that next time. Right now the catheter just lies against his skin.

The arm ice pack idea was exactly what I was asking about! Thank you! I just feel like if we can keep his arm cool below and above the insertion site he may not feel as nervous about being outside through the summer. Do you ever have a problem with moisture under the wrap dripping toward your dressing?
 
H

Hardak

New member
May take a little reading but you could also look into alternate sights for ice pack placement. check out the vascular system for the arms, Willing to bet you could rig a shoulder sling to place an ice pack on the main vane for that arm, effectively cooling the blood going into is arm then the rest of his arm. This could eliminate the moisture concern.
 
H

Hardak

New member
May take a little reading but you could also look into alternate sights for ice pack placement. check out the vascular system for the arms, Willing to bet you could rig a shoulder sling to place an ice pack on the main vane for that arm, effectively cooling the blood going into is arm then the rest of his arm. This could eliminate the moisture concern.
 
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caza

Guest
Hi Lizlas
I would like the name of the cream you mentioned but when i have gone back to the post it seems to be missing - would it be possible to re-post it. I am sure there are others that would be interested too. Hope you can do this. Thank you.
 
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caza

Guest
Hi Lizlas
I would like the name of the cream you mentioned but when i have gone back to the post it seems to be missing - would it be possible to re-post it. I am sure there are others that would be interested too. Hope you can do this. Thank you.
 
K

kosdancer

Member
That must be so frustrating Tonya. I knew I was allergic to the catheter because the rash started as a perfect outline of the catheter. Well, actually, it took a chunk of skin through the statlock, but then it made a perfect outline. Also in my experience, IV 3000 isn't good with weepy skin, because there's nowhere for the fluid to go.
I don't actually have a wrap, I use an ice pack and wrap it in a towel, which is what I would suggest as ice packs don't really get that wet, especially compared to melting ice.
 
K

kosdancer

Member
That must be so frustrating Tonya. I knew I was allergic to the catheter because the rash started as a perfect outline of the catheter. Well, actually, it took a chunk of skin through the statlock, but then it made a perfect outline. Also in my experience, IV 3000 isn't good with weepy skin, because there's nowhere for the fluid to go.
I don't actually have a wrap, I use an ice pack and wrap it in a towel, which is what I would suggest as ice packs don't really get that wet, especially compared to melting ice.
 
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