I am 13 and have a backbrace for scoliosis... How can i keep it and me smelling good while wear it in the heat

Question

i want to look pretty and smell nice while wearing this chunky piece of plastic around me in 100 degree weather..

Answer 1

hey emily.

it sounds like we both have the same problem! I am 13 and I just found out about 2 or 3 weeks ago that I have scoliosis with a 39 degree curve at the top and 28 degrees at the bottom. I cried for days because I would have to wear a brace...so..I am getting fitted for my Boston brace nxt week and I am so nervous. i am used to dressing really cute and i have no clue what I'm supposed wear in this hot summer weather!! so I guess you can wear those cute colorful cotton shorts that you can get at old navy and bigger t shirts. u can still look cute:) please emal me at [e-mail]

I really an stressed out just like you and it mkes me feel beter that there are other girls that are going through the same thing. good luck and hope to hear from you soon! xoxo

Answer 2

Long, but I hope it helps...

In 1984, I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was 12 during one of those junior high screenings. I was very scared at first, but got in with a good group of doctors at Shriner's Hospital and they put me so at ease. I wore a Wilmington brace from under my arms to just over my hips for 10 mo., then had surgery shortly before I turned 14 (1985). They prefer that you have had your period for two years before they do it so you grow as much as you can, but my curve was getting too severe. My top curve was fused using stainless Steel Harrington rods and bone chips from my hip. I had to go back into a brace about a year after my surgery for 10 mos. because my bottom curve was not completely stabilized.

With both braces I had to wear them for 23 hrs./day. You have to have a strong sense of self and not let it mess with your idea of body image. It's clunky and you don't look/feel like everyone else, but keep in mind why you are wearing it. You want to keep your body as healthy as you can and try to correct your back.

Liking your brace...The first few nights, it was hard too fall asleep in. Once you get used to it, sleeping wasn't too bad. But now, some days if I'm feeling a little achy, I miss it. You could be lazy and let the brace do the support work your muscles usually do.

The braces...oh, how figure flattering they are, not! You'll have to adjust your size. Some braces are larger than others, some more visible than others. Being where mine was, axilla to hips, it wasn't very visible. I wore loose flowy tops in the warm weather, and sweat shirts and sweaters in the cool. You may be able to go up a size or two, but also check out plus size or maternity clothes (some of the same designers  for juniors and misses are designing for maternity and plus). Pants and shorts had to go up a size or you can uses one of those expand a waist button extender things.

Hot weather in a brace...I was only allowed out an hour a day. I stayed inside as much as possible (although our AC broke one summer, ugh!). Read, go to movies (it's always freezing in our cinema), the library, shopping, etc.

-On mild days, I laid on the floor in front of an open sliding glass door, the breeze would blow in a little between the brace and my skin…spent lots of time reading that way.

-Always wore a fitted sleeveless undershirt (A-shirt) under the brace (mens come in packages of 3 and are cheaper than womens)

-On days I was outside, when I came back in I wiped any skin that was under the brace down with rubbing alcohol to remove the sweaty, grimy feeling (get your mom to do your back); wiped down the inside of the brace; and changed into a fresh undershirt.

-I was only allowed out of the brace an hour a day, unless I was in the water swimming. So I swam whenever I could talk my folks into taking me. But you have to be in the water, not just hanging out at the pool.

If you need surgery...There are risks with every surgery, even minor procedures (I'm an OR nurse now). You and your folks will have to make an informed decision about surgery. If your curve is severe and you are not corrected it can affect your ability to breath or carry a pregnancy.

Someone with more recent experience might be better to ask about the physical therapy. I never had to do physical therapy when I was wearing the braces or after surgery.

I'm as normally functioning as anyone (are any of us really "normal"?). I never got off schedule with school. Graduated college at 20 and have been an OR nurse for 16 years, one of the most physically demanding areas of nursing (lots of lifting and lots of standing in one place for long periods). I've had 2 children without difficulty (didn't even use an epidural). I love to travel (I don't set off metal detectors), yoga (though the fusion prevents some positions), and SCUBA dive. I can pretty much do anything I want.

Are you being treated at a Shriner's Hospital/Clinic? Absolutely the best place for scoliosis patients under 21! If you are, ask the docs/nurses if they can arrange for you to visit/talk with other patients or people who will be involved in your care. Other places may do this too, but I think Shriner's goes above and beyond for their kids.