In this article we will be answering the following questions :
1.) How many prosthetic shrinkers do I get?
2.) What happens when a shrinker gets worn out?
3.) How do I get this compression garment to be snug again?
4.) How do you make a prosthetic shrinker dry faster?
5.) How do I know what size compression garment I am?
Quantity of Shrinkers
It is not uncommon for a person to get two shrinkers. Some people get more than that actually. There are a few different reasons for this number. One has to do with hygiene, another reason is that a stretched out shrinker loses its quality and the other reason has to do with your overall shrinking process.
Hygiene
1.) Cleaning your shrinker(s) on a regular basis is a very good idea. Not only for obvious hygiene reasons, like wearing clean clothes everyday is also a good idea. As we mentioned earlier in the book, infections are possible and keeping the area clean is just a good practice anyways if you do not even come close to an infection. Having a new shrinker ready to go while you are cleaning your other shrinker can be helpful. Many times people will air dry a compression garment overnight and depending on at what time that garment hit the drying rack then your drying time might vary that day.
Going Down A Size
2.) These shrinkers are a stretchy type of garment. Many of the amputees and future prosthetic users we work with say that after cleaning their shrinker, they then can go back and reapply the size they have been using. If that was a “size 5” or whatever one they are currently using then after they wash it, the shrinker can feel much more snug again after washing it the next day. These compression garments are designed to shrink down the residual limb down. However, they themselves can undergo a prolonged stretch and they can begin to relax and provide less compression as a result.
Therefore, in our prosthetic practice, we remind people to remove themand clean them from time to time for more than just hygiene reasons. Some of the amputees we work with use a compression wrap at night when they are air drying their compression garment, but this is one of those things where we cannot tell you what to do. We don’t know how many shrinkers you are getting and it is best for the doctor to assign treatment ideas in this regard.
While you are in a hospital or a nursing home, you might not have easy access to a drying machine for your garment. But sometimes people feel as though the shrinker they washed the night before is still wet the next day. So, some people will either use a hair dryer on cool or they might try to wrap it up into a towel to help soak up as much extra water as the shrinker will give.
Obviously, try to connect with your prosthetist before doing these kinds of things. Some compression garment manufacturing companies say you can put a shrinker on a low setting in a dryer, so check in with your prosthetist about the garment you got. – The other thing you can do is get multiple shrinkers. More than one will allow you to rotate them for a twenty-four our period to help give the one you just washed more time to dry well.
(Below is a picture of an bandage wrap that can be used while your shrinker is not on).
3.) You can also get a compression garment like this in some cases that is a size 5 and then later on still require a shrinker, but now you needa size 4. This is just a round example and not everyone starts at a size 5, per se. (Some people can start at a size 3 etc.)
What happened there though, in the above example? Well, even if you are not a licensed prosthetist, you can assume that the size 4 is smaller than the size 5, right?
The size 5 has a certain circumferencial size or measurement limit to it. This is put into place by the manufacturer’s guidelines. Each brand name is different too, by the way. So, if you get a size 5 from xyz manufacturing company, a size 5 from “abc” manufacturing company might be totally different. We hear people all the time say, “I wear a size 9 shoe” but every company does not make shoes from the same shoe last. Nor is every size medium the same size. A certain amount of centimeters that the manufacturer recommends a person should be measured at when wearing it.
Over a short period of time, you may have shrunk down, but there is still edema present in the residual limb, nevertheless. While moving down a size is often times a move toward healing the new circumferences dictate a shrinker size that is smaller. Therefore, the change we are talking about here occurs.
Now, while you are moving in the right direction, you might find that new issues come up. In the end, this is probably the type of problem you want to have, if you were going to have an issue with your shrinker. The issue is that you might only have one in a size 4, if you were only given two shrinkers to start this shrinking process. Therefore, keeping in touch with your prosthetist on an agreed upon quantity at each size is a good idea.
Washing Instructions / Soap To Use
There is no perfect washing time table we can give you for washing your new shrinker. I can say that if I were an amputee, I would highly consider washing mine each night, if not every other day at the latest. Just something to consider because clean is good when it comes to post surgical treatment. Foe example, would you wear the same shirt more than one day in a row without cleaning it?
What kind of soap is appropriate to use for my shrinker? That is a commonly asked question and it is very appropriate. The easy answer here is that there are many types of soap you could use. One of the prosthetists that I work with once said to consider using a soap that you would use to wash your body. That way, you know you are not allergic to the soap if there is still some on the garment you are reapplying to your skin. The manufacturer will also have guidelines on the package hopefully.
Disclaimer on Washing & Soap
This is one of those personal washing statements that we leave up the individual user, their prosthetist and also to the instructions from the given manufacturer of the shrinker. There are many different manufacturers when it comes to compression garments. Each will know they cannot copy their competitor word for word so they have slightly different explanations of what to do in this regard.
Some compression garments can go in a washer machine and dryer on a very low setting, while others are made so that the person using the compression garment hand washes them and air dries them over night.
We apologize for not being able to tell you what kind of soap to use, but you can see how this can go sideways if we give you the “almost” correct answer. At least you can feel somewhat ahead of the curve while having a starting point for a conversation with your medical team now after reading this section, right? Now you might be more prepared with the questions you need to ask, that you would have only of thought of later.