Limb Hygiene and Care

You need to inspect your residual limb every day. Keep it clean and dry to prevent infections and skin problems.

• Wash your hands thoroughly before handling your residual limb. Also make sure that anyone else that touches your limb (doctors, nurses, therapists, etc.) wears gloves and washes their hands.

• Wash your residual limb with mild soap and water every day.

• Use a clean washcloth and softly scrub the entire limb.

• Use a mirror for the areas you can’t see, like the back of your leg.

• Completely dry your residual limb.

• If you are wearing a shrinker sock or using an elastic bandage make sure they are clean and dry.

• Eat a healthy diet to facilitate the healing process.

• Stay hydrated.

• DO NOT smoke.

Immediately following surgery your residual limb is going to be sensitive. Since your residual limb is going to be bearing the weight of your body it is important to desensitize it.

• Massage your entire residual limb every day. Start gently and gradually increase the pressure – as much as you can bear but being extra careful until your suture line is healed.

• Flex the muscles in your affected limb. It helps to close your eyes and visualize moving your phantom limb throughout the normal range of motion. It will feel strange, but it’s important. Controlling the muscles in your residual limb may be uncomfortable at first, but the end results will justify the effort.

• DO NOT use lotions or hand creams. Lotion will soften the skin. Your skin needs to be tough so it won’t break down inside your prosthesis.

As your tolerance increases you should be vigorously massaging the area. The less sensitive your residual limb is the easier it is going to be for you to start walking.

Call your doctor immediately if the area around your sutures becomes infected. You should be concerned if:

• the incision opens

• the incision becomes hot, red, swollen

• you see pus

• you notice a bad odor

• you have an increase in pain, tenderness, or sensitivity