FYI about ports

CHR, My husband had a PICC line and then a Power Port. The PICC line required daily flushing with saline and heparin which I did in between medical visits. With the Port it only required flushing once a week which was done by the nurse. The PICC line lasted about 4 months and instead of replacing it with another PICC line they went to the PORT. They could use both for blood draws and infusions and transfusions. Once the incision healed with the Port he could shower and go swimming without the Press and Seal.

Julie

My mother has cancer and has a port. She was given a special cleaner that she uses due to reactions to soaps. However, she just seals it off when she takes a shower and then still cleans around it really well when done. Keeping the port clean is important because of infections. She has had this for 5 years now and had no problems, but she is diligent in her routine with her port.

It is amazing how much of this is just learned by patients rather than any training.

CHR..did they not give you any instructions? ASK?
Pat

Other than the "Press and Seal" for showering, how much maintenance does a port require? Do you irrigate it? Is it similar to a PICC line? On a daily basis I can see a definite advantage but how about only weekly infusions? Thanks in advance for any answers.

My Dad, who has a urostomy with ileal conduit, uses the Press n' Seal to cover his wafer when he showers between "appliance" changes. He says it works great and keeps the wafer nice and dry. Amazing what uses you can find for stuff!

I'm not sure where to put this since there isn't a "chemo" category so I'l try it Metastatic. I wanted to share this helpful tip. My husband has a port in his chest for ease in administering chemo treatments. His regimens have included mutiple treatments in the same week. He prefers to keep his port accessed to keep from getting "stuck" each day. The challenge was keeping the port area dry when showering. We have found that Glad Press 'n Seal (regular) does a fantastic job keeping the area nice and dry. FYI to all of you chemo patients out there.