Advice for patients changing central line/Hickman dressing:
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water including your
arms up to the elbow.
- Apply alcohol hand-rub and allow to dry on hands.
- Remove old dressing
- Inspect site for: redness; puls; if applicable, check stitches
attached to line and skin; leakage of fluid/blood around line site.
- Spray area with chlorhexidine spray provided.
- Apply new dressing ensuring your fingers do not touch the area
of the dressing which will cover the line entry site.
- If your skin reacts to the adhesive dressing tell nursing staff
and an alternative will be suggested.
- Dressings should be changed every other day or if the dressing
becomes wet/damp.
- If you notice any swelling or discomfort in the neck, shoulder
or arm on the side of the line or feel pain from the Hickman line site, you should contact
the hospital on one of the numbers given to you.
We would rather you contact us, even if your concern seems
trivial.
Further general information Your doctors and specialist nurses are in
an ideal position to give you relevant information on your disease and treatment
as they know your individual circumstances. Cancerbackup
has a help line (0808 800 1234) and a prize winning video
available in English, Italian, Urdu, Bengali,
Gujarati & Hindi explaining Radiotherapy & Chemotherapy. Cancernet.co.uk
has over 500 pages describing cancer, its management, practical tips and tool
which patients, their carers and their doctors have found helpful during the
cancer journey.
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