Over the years I’ve read on various Facebook TPN groups and blogs of people swimming with Hickman lines and they’ve usually done it one of three ways:
1) they’ve ignored the doctors advise and just gone swimming regardless
2) they’ve bought a specially adapted drysuit from Hammonds. These keep you and your line dry but do cost upwards of £400
3) they’ve used stoma bags to cover the line and keep it dry
I really missed swimming and asked my consultant at St Marks at almost clinic appointment if he was sure I couldn’t swim. And every time his answer was the same: no swimming. Because I’ve had soooo many infections in my Hickman line I was considered especially high risk so swimming with a stoma bag over the line (or nothing at all) would really not be a good idea. In 7 years I’ve had 14 Hickman lines and most of the lines I’ve lost due to infections and line sepsis (probably only 2 or 3 have been because the line was damaged or blocked). This is pretty unusual and even after being prescribed 70% alcohol to lock my line the bugs still managed to get through!! Most people have a line in place for 5 or even 10 years (and I think there’s one lady in one of the Facebook groups that’s had the same line for almost 25 years!!)
I went to a clinic appointment before lockdown and I mentioned swimming again but this time I got a different answer. There was a new product out designed to help renal catheter patients keep their lines dry in the bath/shower and because it was completely watertight patients with Hickman lines were using it to go swimming I was given the details and when I left the appointment I rang the company that manufactures them to request a sample.
Now that sample pack has sat in my wardrobe for the last 2 years because my health started to deteriorate so I didn’t think going swimming was a wise idea and then I got so poorly getting out of bed was an achievement. Then the world went to shit, lockdown started and I was shielding so there was no point in trying out the sample as all the pools were shut. Plus I was getting sicker and sicker and was in and out of hospital so it was the last thing in my mind. But over the last couple of weeks my health has improved somewhat and I feel like my body is getting stronger; I definitely think that going to yoga and walking the dog is helping with that and the fact I’ve not been really poorly since September has given my body chance to recover a bit.
So I was having a bit of a clear out the other day and came across the sample box…
After yoga last night my body was really tired and aching so I decided I would have a bath and give it a go. If it kept my line dry in the bath then it’s a pretty good indicator that it would keep my line dry in a swimming pool. Just to clarify, it’s not the water that’s the problem, it’s the bugs and germs contained in the water. So I’m able to get the line wet in the shower no problem but baths aren’t really recommended as you’re basically wallowing in your own filthy water for up to an hour and that gives the germs a chance to get in and cause infections, same as in a pool or open water.
It was pretty simple to apply- it was very much like a stoma bag, except it was see through, which made applying it easier. Here are the instructions for anyone reading this that might be interested in using one themselves.
Before I stuck the bag on I had to remove the dressing that’s used to keep the line clean and dry as I figured it would be better for the bag to stick directly onto the skin. I did find it a bit tricky to get the line all the way into the bag but after a bit of wiggling and faffing around it went in. When I initially went to stick the bag down there was a lot of air inside it which puffed the bag out and would have made it very visible under a swimming costume. I pulled back part of the seal and squeezed the air out before sticking it back down again. Here I am ready to get into the bath… I covered my boobs up as nobody wants to be seeing those!
I spent an hour in the bath and made sure I filled it right up, almost to the point it was overflowing, so my chest would be submerged. I also laid on my stomach for some of the time to simulate swimming. I really wasn’t sure if it would work so was really pleasantly surprised that when I got out the bath, dried myself and took it off that my line was completely bone dry. It stuck so well that I had to use an adhesive remover wipe to get it off!
So after my test run in the bath the next step is to try it out in the pool. I rang the manufacturer this morning and placed an order for a box of 30 but before they can deliver them they have to get my GP to approve the prescription. Hopefully this won’t be a problem and I should get my box delivered within the next two weeks. Although I’m really excited to be able to go swimming there is a part of me that’s still terrified that I will end up getting an infection. And if I do I will know I only have myself to blame. I’ve spent so much time away from Hubby and the kids that I do wonder whether it’s the right thing to do incase I end up in hospital but one thing that my illness has taught me is to seize the day. I have no idea what the future will bring and so I think that if swimming will help me get fit and strong for the surgery next year plus help with my mental health then that can only be a good thing. Yes, there are risks but getting in my car each day carries risk and I do it without a second thought.
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