Keeping PICC and bag with pump in dry.

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I have a plastic cover for my upper arm that works well to keep my picc dry when taking a shower.  However, for days 1 to 3 of my chemo I have a pump attached (you know, the balloon that releases slowly over 40+ hours) and there's a tube from the bag containing it into the pic.  Water gets into the picc from the small gap that creates and also gets into the bag carrying the pump.

Anyone have a solution?  For the bag I've tried putting it into a freezer bag and using an elastic band but it's not very good.  Water still gets in.  I have no idea how to protect the picc.

The saving grace here is I can skip shower day 2 and get the dressing changed on day 3 anyway, when the pump is removed.

  • Hiya, the shower cover I found on Amazon is big enough that the pump fits in too x 

  • Morning

    I tried two solutions to this - an S shaped hook to hang the bag on the outside of the shower screen this option didn't allow much movement though ! I found having a bath with my arm resting on side of bath and pump bag sitting on a small stool (or upturned storage tub/whatever is right height) was a better option for me.

    I recently tried to have a new PICC line fitted but this was unsuccessful so having an operation next week to fit a Hickman line - dreading it as this looks even harder to bathe and shower with !

    Caroline 

  • Oh!  It didn't occur to me to get a cover that I can also fit the pump inside... I will try it.

  • Yes I can't hang the bottle over the edge of the shower due to the height of the screen and the tube not being very long. 

  • Lots of cling film around arm and bag. I used this rather than shower covers or bags. You can cling film pump then put in freezer bag. Small hole bottom of bag to drain any that gets in & cling film as final barrier 

    J.