DIY Soft Cast Using Duct Tape

Intro: DIY Soft Cast Using Duct Tape

All you need is a roll of toilet paper and a roll of duct tape.

This ible illustrates how to make a soft cast for a sprained or broken wrist. it can be altered to accommodate almost any jointed limb. You can use paper towels instead of TP.

Wrap the wrist gently and generously in toilet paper until you have a firm but pliable soft cast. This might take a few dozen wraps. Don't be chintzy. It's only toilet paper. 

Wrap the wrist in duct tape. Be sure to wrap around the thumb to help keep the wrist more stationary. Wrap firmly but not so tight that the circulation is affected.*

Don't apply the duct tape to hairy arms or hairy anything! The removal would probably hurt worse than the sprain!  This isn't a waxing experiment gone wrong.  OTOH... If this person was/is drunk, they deserve it. Go ahead and duct tape away! ;-O) 

To make the sling, simply pull off a long piece of duct tape and apply the sticky side to the bottom of the cast and up the sides. When the underside is taped and the wrist is supported, fold the duct tape in half on itself. Do this on both sides.

Tie it around the neck. Get  medical attention.

*As suggested by suayres, if a broken bone is implicated or suspected, use sticks (or?) to immobilize and reinforce the soft cast. Add more duct tape as needed to secure them firmly into position.

Comments

[angelsheperd]

ha ha this is so funny to see. I actuallt tried this once. My dog jumped out of my truck and did something to her leg. It wasn't broken but needed a cast. I had just moved out on my own and was hard up for money but we took her to the vet just the same. He did give her a soft cast. knowing we had done the right thing spending the extra $ we went to bed happy. The next morning the cast layed in a wet pile on the floor. She had chewed it off during the night. We took her back to the vet who replaced the cast for cost, we purchased some apple bitter and went on about out day. At night we soaked the cast with the apple bitter and went to sleep. The next morning she had chewed of the cast again. So back to the vet we went. And again he replaced the cast for cost and gave us a lampshade to put around her head. All was well except now I was broke as heck. So the next morning I didn't know what to do when she had managed to start chewing the cast off. I finaly thought of a cheap brilliant plan I would wrap duct tape over her cast. And it worked! She couldn't chew it off. Even after removing the lampshade. But her limp seemed to get worse and worse so two weeks later I was back at the vet. He got a good chuckle at my duct tape cast untill he cut it off of her leg. Inside her leg was raw in spots. the duct tape had not allowed the sweat to escape and so it sat and got wet then it rubbed. Her leg was so water logged it reminded me of when I would get out the tub as a kid. I felt so horrible. But it was the last cast the poor girl wore.

[suayres]

I think that, if a break is suspected, you might wish to immobilize the joint more completely. Consider using anything from sticks to, perhaps a magazine, to be sure the joint and bones can't move at all.

[cloudifornia]

Agreed and excellent suggestion. It would be simple to add sticks to the outside of this soft cast and duct tape them on.