Casts and bandages are placed on extremities for lengthy periods of time and can be a source of considerable discomfort. Since casts or bandages should be kept dry while they are on the extremity, bathing, showering, and the like, are difficult. If water soaks into the cast or bandage or penetrates beneath it, the patient will experience discomfort in the form of itching, infection and odor emissions.
Covers for casts and bandages constructed of plastic materials are well known to the art. For example, the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,286, discloses a sack-like, water-impervious covering which includes an upper lip with perforations which extend parallel to the opening. An adhesive strip extends over the entire width of the lip from one end to the other. The adhesive strip is covered by a removable sheet to protect the adhesive prior to use. In use, the perforation is torn to separate the lip from the sack and form a tie member. The adhesive protection sheet is removed and the extremity is inserted into the sack-like covering. A securing portion is then is adhered to the surface of the extremity and the opening is gathered around the extremity so that the tie member can be used to encircle the gathering to cover the extremity and prevent the entry of water. Such devices, however, are not reusable since once the adhesive strip is exposed by removing the sheet and the cover is gathered to tighten it around the extremity, the only way the cover can be removed is to destroy it. Since casts are kept on for generally four to six weeks, a significant number of these covers must be used if the wearer wants to bathe or shower. Also, placement of the adhesive around the extremity is sometimes difficult because a single slip will cause permanent improper disposition of the cover. Attempting to reseat the adhesive most frequently tears the plastic and renders the cover unusable. Moreover, I have found the use of hook and loop fasteners enables one to use a single diameter cover for a wide range of leg or arm diameters, thereby eliminating requirements for many different models for differently sized extremities.
One of the more common and inexpensive ways to cover casts and bandages is to use a trash bag and place a rubber band or duct tape around the opening to exclude water. Rubber bands are not overly effective because they frequently do not adequately gather all of the folds of the trash bag, especially since the folds usually randomly encircle the extremity because of the large diameter of the opening relative to the diameter of the extremity being protected. Such random folds provide access for the entry of water. Duct tape is a more effective sealing mechanism but a trash bag must be destroyed each time the duct tape is removed because of the strength of the adhesive.