The girl broke her arm.
She has a hot pink, waterproof, cast that she loves.
Except when it starts to itch. Then she starts to beg me to take it off.
And the more she thinks about it, the worse it gets. As I’ve never had a cast, I had no idea how to help her. And is there anything worse, as a mommy, then not being able to help your child when they are uncomfortable?
We tried all sorts of scratching items (knitting needles, spatulas, q-tips) but I know that’s a big no-no. But it’s the only thing I could think of. (I did find that a long ice tea spoon is blunt, smooth, and long enough to get some of the itches.
One of the only times it felt good was when we were in the pool. But we can’t be in the pool 24/7. So, I racked my brain and then remembered we had a bottle of Cetaphil in the bathroom. It’s a very mild soap that can be left on the skin. It can be used with water OR if you can’t take a regular bath, it can be wiped on and gently wiped off, leaving a residue on the skin. That residue helps keep the skin moist.
Hmm.
Two nights ago, after washing and rinsing her arm and rinsing more, I literally poured Cetaphil down her cast. I rinsed, then dumped some more.
She had a few complaints yesterday but NOTHING compared to the last few days.
Last night, I poured dumped more in there, lightly rinsed it through the cast, then poured in a bit lot more and added just enough water so that the Cetaphil would wash throughout her cast.
Not ONE complaint since last night.
I’m almost afraid to ask her.
In fact, I don’t. I’m assuming that if she isn’t complaining, it isn’t a problem!
I love the waterproof cast. The amount of water that goes through that thing should keep her arm clean. We’ve been at our pool, which is not chlorine but salt-water, almost every day. Then showers where I basically hook up the nozzle to her arm and run the water through the cast.
But nothing can stop the itchies.
Or can it?
Let’s hope we found a solution. Because listening to her cry and not being able to help . . . ugh. Worst feeling ever.
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