Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean604
Lastly, does anyone have a sure fire answer to swimming with a Hickman line, whether it's a one time dressing or a special swim shirt. I have a pool, and for exercise I really miss swimming. Does anyone have a solution be it one off or every day?
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Dean,
NIH Patient Education says
One month after catheter insertion, you may be able to swim in a chlorinated pool. Check with your health care team if you can go swimming. If you can, make sure that the pool has a regularly monitored chlorine content. You must also protect the exit site with a watertight dressing and change it after swimming if the dressing becomes wet. Do not swim in lakes, rivers, oceans, or use hot tubs.
For the opposing viewpoint we go to the
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, which says
You may shower, but you must completely cover your dressing and connections with plastic wrap and tape or a dressing cover such as Aquaguard™. Do not let your catheter go under water, in the tub or pool.
It's clear that water at the exit site is a possible source of infection, so it's risky to immerse yourself unless the dressing is water-sealed in a fool-proof way. I've learned that food wrap like Glad Press 'n Seal can keep water away from a dressing during a shower -- just pretend you're "leftovers" and use a lot of it to wrap yourself up! But swimming is more than immersion, since it also involves major movement of your arm and shoulder muscles, so I don't think that type of solution would be safe enough. Perhaps there's a way to thoroughly protect your catheter, but if it was me I'd stick to other forms of exercise until I know it's safe to swim again.
As all of the guides say, talk to your doctor when you're unsure about which activities you can safely engage in.