Bathing and showering with a CVAD information sheet
About CVADs
Showering or bathing your child daily is important for personal hygiene and to prevent infections. But there are a few things to remember when bathing or showering your child with a Central Venous Access Device or CVAD.
Ask your Clinical Nurse Consultant or ward nurse to show you how to cover your child鈥檚 CVAD when in hospital.
Our nursing staff are always happy to help you shower/bath your child in hospital until you feel comfortable to do it on your own.
Types of CVADs
There are three types of CVADs, each with different functions:
- Central Venous Catheters
- PORT
- PICC (Peripherally inserted central catheter)
The CVAD must be covered to prevent it getting wet.
PORTs do not need to be covered, unless they are accessed.
It's important you know which CVAD your child has, so you can care for it appropriately.
If you're unsure, you can ask your treating medical team to clarify.
Useful definitions
Lumens: A lumen is the small tube at the end of the central line. It contains one clamp on each lumen, and a connection at the end which allows medications and fluids to be administered when in use. Lumens will be locked with a solution when not in use.
Accessed PORT: your child's PORT will be accessed by nursing staff when they are in hospital. This involves using a special needle to access the soft silicone disk under the skin. A dressing is placed over the top, so it can stay in place up to 7 days. The special needle will be removed by nursing staff upon discharge home.
How to shower or bath your child with a CVAD
Feel confident
Ensure you feel confident covering the CVAD for showering and bathing before performing.
If you require support or additional help during this process, ask your ward nurse before commencing.
Check the CVAD
Ensure the child's dressing is secured and intact.
Cover the CVAD dressing
Use a clear covering such as a plastic sheet, plastic bag or cling wrap to cover the CVAD dressing and lumens.
If your child is admitted to hospital and has medication lines attached, please seek guidance from nursing staff to cover these lines and/or ask for the possibly of removing medication lines to facilitate personal hygiene depend on your child鈥檚 requirements.
It is essential if medication lines are attached the lumen and line connection points are covered so water does not come in contact.
Tape the covering in place
Secure the plastic covering with tape over the edges. Ensuring that there are no gaps which would allow water to enter.
Use micropore tape or transpore tape, which you can purchase from your local hospital or chemist.
Minimise exposure to water
Once the above steps have been completed, your child can now shower or bath.
Do not submerge the CVAD under water or spray directly with water.
Dry the covering
When the shower/bath is finished, pat the plastic covering dry prior to removing.
If required, you can wipe the skin area which was covered by the plastic covering with a damp face washer or cloth to clean the surrounding skin. Ensure not to wet the central line dressing.
The skin underneath the dressing will be cleaned by nursing staff when a dressing change is attended too.
Check the CVAD dressing again
Make sure the dressing is dry after the shower or bath.
If the dressing is wet
If the dressing is wet, the dressing will need to be changed to prevent infection.
Dry the dressing with an absorbent cloth to remove any excess water and contact your treating team or go to the Emergency Department for the CVAD dressing to be changed.
This is important to prevent infection.
Note: Hair Washing
If you need to wash your child's hair, tilt their head backwards and ensure water flow is running down the child鈥檚 back to protect the CVAD from the flow of water.
Alternatively, hair can be washed using a hand-held shower head over a bath or sink.
If your child is a patient in hospital, the ward may have hair washing caps available, which facilitates washing hair without the use of water.
Video: How to cover a PORT-A-Cath
Video: How to cover a PICC
Video: How to cover a Central line
