Cast Care Tips!
During clubfoot treatment, your child will wear a series of casts to gently guide their foot into a corrected position. Proper cast care is important to keep your child comfortable and to ensure treatment stays on track.
If you are unable to contact your clinic team or you have any concerns outside of clinic hours, please go to your local Emergency Department.
Keeping the Cast Clean and Dry
Keep the cast dry at all times. Moisture can weaken the cast and irritate the skin.
Sponge bathe your child to ensure the cast stays dry, unless your care team tells you otherwise.
Cover the cast during diaper changes to prevent soiling.
If the cast becomes wet, soiled, or soft, contact your clinic.
Do not trim the cast edges. Contact your clinic if you have concerns.
Do not pull out the soft padding from inside of the cast.
Avoid keeping the elastic of the diaper near the cast edges.
Your clinic team may provide elastic dressing tape to protect the cast edges from urine/stool. You can replace this anytime you feel it is necessary or soiled.
Contact your clinic if you have any concerns.
Skin and Circulation Checks
Check your child’s toes!
Check your child’s toes several times daily
At every diaper change and more! Count the toes to ensure you can see all of them and the cast is not slipping forward. If the cast has slipped forward the cast will need to be removed.
Tip: We recommend families take a picture of the toes after the cast has been applied to refer to when assessing if the cast has slipped!
Toes should be pink and warm
Pressing on a toe should cause it to briefly turn white, then return to pink within 2 seconds
IF this takes longer than 2 seconds, try warming up your childs toes first with a warm blanket and comparing to the other side
IF your babies toes are remain white and cool despite elevating or are turning blue/purple contact your clinic team immediately.
Mild swelling is common at first, and after the first 48 hours after a new cast has been applied - but it should not worsen.
Raising your babies legs with a towel or blanket under them may help early on
Swelling can occur in the summer time due to being warm! Wearing a cast can be a similar feeling to wearing snowpants! Try cooling your child down and removing layers of clothing to help reduce warmth.
IF you notice the swelling is not improving - contact your clinic team!
Contact your care team if you notice:
Toes that are very swollen, pale, blue, or cold
Your child seems unusually fussy, uncomfortable, or inconsolable which is not explained by causes such as feeding/burping or diaper change
A strong or unpleasant odor coming from the cast
What Not to Do
Do not put anything inside the cast (no creams, powders, or objects)
Do not trim or adjust the cast yourself
Do not use heat (hair dryers, heaters) to dry the cast
Do not ignore signs of discomfort or swelling