Guest guest Posted August 22, 2004 Report Share Posted August 22, 2004 Hi, I'm glad I found this group. My daughter, 4 months old, just got out of the casts...yea! But, this new phase, the Boot and Bar is much more difficult than what I imagined!!! How did your children react to the change from Casts, where they have independent movement of their legs, to the boot and bar where they are limited to the independence of their leg movements? I totally screwed up, I did not check her feet on day 2 (after we got the boot) and left it for 36 hrs...and now she's got the nastiest blister on her right foot, right at her heel (by where they did the Tenotomy). She's been out of the boot and bar for 1 week b/c the blister has not healed yet....I'm totally dealing the process of putting her back into it. She's been soooo great, she's so sweet, but, boy she hated the boot and bar. She was such a bear. I don't know how much of it was that her boots hurt her, and how much it was that it was just plain uncomfortable. She sleeps with us and I nurse her and the whole thing is very awkward...any suggestions. How long does it take for kids to adapt to the new system? Thanks a Sofia 4-14-04 1-19-02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 23, 2004 Report Share Posted August 23, 2004 When you put the shoes back on cover the blistered area with something. Like Blister blockers by Band-aid or Duoderm. Check her feet every few hours. That spot will be very tender and prone to more sores (from my experience). Did you tell the doctor about the blister? If it isn't healed enough yet she might need to get a cast while it heals. I agree with ee, check the boards. There is a wealth of info on this topic. It is true that sores on the clubfoot are usually caused by those reasons. You might think of cutting the heel out of the boot (if that is where the sore is) to relieve pressure while the area heels more. Nursing and holding her will get easier. Kaitlin lays on her side at an angle so that her foot rests on my side instead of in the air or twisted back. You could try a pillow, but I found that to be more difficult because after she fell asleep she couldn't turn as easily. Freeman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 23, 2004 Report Share Posted August 23, 2004 a Im glad you're here. On the home-page of this group ( nosurgery4clubfoot ???) there are a lot of files, photos, etc., that you can link to. Many of those will give you information regarding the DBB (boot and bar) - how to apply it properly, how to avoid blisters, how to treat blisters, common causes of blisters, etc. You can search the archives also. There's a ton of information here. The blister is generally caused by one of two reasons (or a combination of the two). Either the foot is not corrected completely before the DBB is used, or the shoe is at issue (too big or not applied properly). Someone will probably answer you more specifically but you can do your own research here for reasons and cures to problems. Co-sleeping with a baby in a DBB is a booger, sadly we gave it up at that point because in a double bed with that bar between us no body got any sleep, including the baby. If you want to continue trying it though I recommend you swaddle the baby tight so her legs don't kick all night and get tangled in the covers. There are " Sleep Sacks " I've seen for sale at Wal-Mart and other places that work great for this, but what we used was just his " sack coat " - a bag style coat for infants. I plan on getting a larger one (or making one) for this winter because sleeping with the bar on the baby gets tangled up in his own covers and then gets cold because they fall off, etc. so sleeping in a sack coat seems to solve all of that. I still nurse my baby (11 months old) - but we bring him out of his bed to nurse and put him back now at night. Another thing, in a regular crib he hit the bars with his boots and often got his boots stuck between the bars at night so we switched to sleeping him in a play pen. Hope some of this helps. best wishes, s. Shoes that hurt Hi, I'm glad I found this group. My daughter, 4 months old, just got out of the casts...yea! But, this new phase, the Boot and Bar is much more difficult than what I imagined!!! How did your children react to the change from Casts, where they have independent movement of their legs, to the boot and bar where they are limited to the independence of their leg movements? I totally screwed up, I did not check her feet on day 2 (after we got the boot) and left it for 36 hrs...and now she's got the nastiest blister on her right foot, right at her heel (by where they did the Tenotomy). She's been out of the boot and bar for 1 week b/c the blister has not healed yet....I'm totally dealing the process of putting her back into it. She's been soooo great, she's so sweet, but, boy she hated the boot and bar. She was such a bear. I don't know how much of it was that her boots hurt her, and how much it was that it was just plain uncomfortable. She sleeps with us and I nurse her and the whole thing is very awkward...any suggestions. How long does it take for kids to adapt to the new system? Thanks a Sofia 4-14-04 1-19-02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 24, 2004 Report Share Posted August 24, 2004 Have you been in contact with her Dr? Sometimes they have to be recasted while healing from blisters. They can lose correction in a very short time in the beginning. Pam and (8-12-01) > Hi, > I'm glad I found this group. > My daughter, 4 months old, just got out of the casts...yea! > But, this new phase, the Boot and Bar is much more difficult than > what I imagined!!! > How did your children react to the change from Casts, where they > have independent movement of their legs, to the boot and bar where > they are limited to the independence of their leg movements? > I totally screwed up, I did not check her feet on day 2 (after we > got the boot) and left it for 36 hrs...and now she's got the > nastiest blister on her right foot, right at her heel (by where they > did the Tenotomy). She's been out of the boot and bar for 1 week > b/c the blister has not healed yet....I'm totally dealing the > process of putting her back into it. She's been soooo great, she's > so sweet, but, boy she hated the boot and bar. She was such a > bear. I don't know how much of it was that her boots hurt her, and > how much it was that it was just plain uncomfortable. > She sleeps with us and I nurse her and the whole thing is very > awkward...any suggestions. How long does it take for kids to adapt > to the new system? > Thanks > a > Sofia 4-14-04 > 1-19-02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 24, 2004 Report Share Posted August 24, 2004 Hi, thanks for your reply...I'll look for those products and put them on when we go back to the shoe. I did talk to the Dr. and we are going to try the shoes again when the blister heals...it's one big nasty scab now, so, we just need it to fall off. I asked if there was a concern about regressing w/o having anything on, but, they don't seem concerned. Sofia's feet look good now....we've been streching her feet in order for the tendon not to get tight....but, I know that when we go back to the boots, she's going to hate it. thanks a > When you put the shoes back on cover the blistered area with > something. Like Blister blockers by Band-aid or Duoderm. Check her feet every few > hours. That spot will be very tender and prone to more sores (from my > experience). Did you tell the doctor about the blister? If it isn't healed enough yet > she might need to get a cast while it heals. > I agree with ee, check the boards. There is a wealth of info on > this topic. It is true that sores on the clubfoot are usually caused by those > reasons. You might think of cutting the heel out of the boot (if that is > where the sore is) to relieve pressure while the area heels more. > Nursing and holding her will get easier. Kaitlin lays on her side at an > angle so that her foot rests on my side instead of in the air or twisted back. > You could try a pillow, but I found that to be more difficult because after she > fell asleep she couldn't turn as easily. > > Freeman > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2004 Report Share Posted August 25, 2004 At 09:58 PM 8/24/2004, you wrote: >Hi, >thanks for your reply...I'll look for those products and put them on >when we go back to the shoe. >I did talk to the Dr. and we are going to try the shoes again when >the blister heals...it's one big nasty scab now, so, we just need it >to fall off. >I asked if there was a concern about regressing w/o having anything >on, but, they don't seem concerned. a, this is a HUGE Red Flag!! Sorry if it sounds alarmist, but she should not be out of the brace more than a day, maybe two but even that without putting them on a few times in the meantime is a scary thought. There is a huge concern about relapse, they should not be conveying to you that it's not a big deal. She should be in a healing cast till the sore heals. As soon as you put her back in the shoe there is a very good chance not only will she get the same sore back, but because of being out of them so early in her treatment she will have lost valuable correction and then you have a whole new set of sores or blisters. Sores and blisters are not fun - we've BTDT but it is imperative that she be in one or the other, either cast or brace while that sore is healing. You can put her back in the shoes if you fix whatever problem it was that caused the blister (shoes loose because heel is not seated is usually the culprit) and remove the portion of the heel area of the boot that's putting pressure on the sore. It will give it time to heal and I would bet my right arm you'll be surprised when you put the shoes on like you normally do and see inside what's really going on. But if you can't get her in a cast (and that brings up a whole 'nother can of worms about the Dr.) cut that hole and put the shoes back on. I hope you will call the Dr. tomorrow and demand a healing cast because I would love to hear that they understand the very real risk of relapse. As Naomi said, it is very distressing hearing about Dr's (or nurses) who tell parents there is no concern in this situation. It is very true that blisters and sores are most often caused by partially corrected feet. But it can happen that the feet are good, but the application of the shoes is the problem (that's what happened to us). Either way, the answer is the same. FIX the problem however you must and go back to the brace. If it involves getting the feet fully corrected (maybe a second opinion?), then so be it. If it's changing how you apply the brace, cut the hole so the sore can heal, use it as a window to be sure everything is good inside and keep it on. If the problem is the correction, this time out of the brace will not help at all and it'll be worse when you try again. I remember once I wasn't getting Darbi's foot tight enough and she was slipping unbeknownst to me (I'd started using a different hole and had been for a couple weeks by the time I noticed her slipping one morning) and suddenly her foot started pulling up at the heel and she didn't put as much weight on it. I kind of freaked out and tightened her back up and the problem went away. Whether or not it was a real problem or not, I saw what just a little slipping at night can do (not enough to really see - I took her shoes off for a couple of weeks every day after she crawled around in them for 6 hours and didn't notice it). Darbi was always considered mild, which is one of the factors for being released at 3 or 4 but even her foot didn't handle slipping well. Not being braced is just not a good idea. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, it is only meant as helpful. I know the pain of the sore, as does my daughter. These babies do not deserve scabs and sores and blisters. It's horrible. But it's not the fault of the shoes even if we see them as the problem. I remember throwing Darbi's DBB off the end of the bed in frustration she was so miserable. But I swear it was night and day as to how happy she was once we got her foot in properly and nothing was rubbing on that sore area. I had it healed once after two healing casts and it came right back it's so sensitive once you break the skin there. Removing the heel area was the best option for us, and it opened up a whole new appreciation of making sure that heel is planted firmly in the bottom of the shoe. >Sofia's feet look good now....we've been streching her feet in order >for the tendon not to get tight....but, I know that when we go back >to the boots, she's going to hate it. no, she won't. Because you're going to know how to make it not hurt. Whatever way you can, there's enough people here to help you find the answer to this problem. Remember, we all know how frustrating this is. And we're here for you. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and you and Sophia will be very happy soon. I promise! Oh, have the Dr. give you DuoDerm. Great stuff! I just used it to heal a sore on Darbi's heel on her scar and it worked like a charm - yet again. It protects the area while helping it heal. You cut an oval piece and stick it to the sore and leave it till it falls off. It will accelerate the scab falling off and new skin growing. Kori Mama of Kenton 6/98 Merek 3/00 Darbi 3/03 - Rt. CF - DBB 12hr/day (¨`·.·´¨) `·.¸(¨`·.·´¨) `·.¸.·´ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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