Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Repair a broken or dirty leg or arm cast! Or simply change the color!

If you are ever in an orthopedic cast.  You will want to know how to repair a broken cast.  A good many people end up with a cast either get it dirty or broken.  Or sometimes some idiot writes something stupid or obscene on your cast and you want to remove it.  Usually if you have to have an orthopedic cast on for 6-8 weeks.  It is bound to get dirty or broken and in need of cleaning or repair at some point.  Especially if you're a kid or someone who has to continue to work despite being in a cast.
Watch what they write on your cast!
Now hopefully your cast is just broken slightly or a little dirty.
Very dirty broken cast!!
The cast in that last photo is a little too dirty.  But it can be fix and cleaned up a bit.
I'm going to suggest how you go about repairing your own orthopedic cast.

(Don't tell your doctor or they will get mad and feel only an ego inflated person can repair a cast with 20 years of college)

Remember this is at your own risk.  Most of the time a doctor will want you to come back for an expensive cast change so they can charge you a ton of money to fix your broken leg or arm cast with a cast change.

First, clean the cast up a bit by using a sponge or rag to wipe away the dirt.
If you have a waterproof cast, then it's easy to just get in the shower to hose it off.

Now to fix your broken or cracked cast.
First you need to order 1 or 2 rolls of Fiberglass casting tape.  You can also change the color of the cast if you ever feel like it using this method too.

Second. Once you order your roll or two of casting tape (always better to buy extra in case you make a mistake)  ALSO MAKE SURE YOU USE GLOVES!!  I don't want to hear anyone say, I have resin all over my fingers how do I get it off!
If you do get your hands dirty from Fiberglass tape, You can use Acetone, nail polish remover to get it off.  You may have to soak you fingers.
Third, Take the roll out of the pack, and dip it in room temp water.  Make sure you have gloves one.  Now start to roll around the dirty cast or broken cast area.  You need to go over it about 2 layers to get it think enough to be repaired.

Hey you did it! now let it dry and it should be a solid repaired cast in a few minutes.

Order the casting tape by the roll and your latex gloves here:
http://orthotape.com/fiberglass_casting_tape.asp