Cath Dry is a catheter dressing and cover that changed Simon Mayo’s life – and is now available on prescription and for purchase.
When kidney disease sent Simon Mayo’s life off the rails – quite literally – a simple dressing helped him get on with life.
In 2020 railway signalling engineer and polycystic kidney disease patient Simon Mayo had a kidney removed to enable the possibility of a transplant. He faced dialysis for three years while awaiting the transplant, that came in June 2023. During this mentally tough time, he says one simple prescription product really helped him put on a positive face and live a more normal life.
Simon said: “When you start dialysis, you’re mentally pretty drained, and you’ve got all these new things going on. The last thing you want is the stress of being unable to keep your basic hygiene up to scratch.
“I was showering with cling film or sandwich bags and loads of micropore. Then I was lucky enough to try VAP2, which is a shower cover. But we’d heard about this new dressing available in America called Cath Dry. Then we saw it in an advert and that it was available on NHS prescription!
“What we liked about it then was the fact that it wasn’t just a covering, it was an actual dressing. So you just put it on and you ticked all your boxes.”
Simon initially had three weekly dialysis sessions at his regional trust, and then started home dialysis. He says of the experience: “There is a lot of certainly when you first start dialysis. The little things build up, and it’s not just the dialysis itself and your kidney failure that affects you. It might seem really insignificant to a lot of people, but it’s a major thing being able to step into a shower and know full well that you’re not going to have any issues with your line. It’s massive. And with all these little things, your mental health soon gets a lot better.
“I had a neck line in for just shy of three years. Infection doesn’t come from the line, it comes from hygiene. Most of that was under home haemodialysis, and I never had a single infection. As long as you adhere to the correct procedure, you can stay safe and prevent infections.
“I was able to go to Mykonos in Greece and could swim and use a hot tub. I always felt I had 100% protection from the dressing, which even warns you if any moisture gets in. It’s just overall a brilliant product.”
While Cath Dry made a huge impact to Simon, he is frustrated that more people can’t seem to get it on prescription. He continued: “I would go to dialysis with a box of these dressings, and the nurses knew nothing about it. At the beginning, we found it very difficult to get acceptance of it, even though we were lucky enough to get it on prescription and delivered to my home through Patient Choice.
“A lot of GPs won’t prescribe them for some reason. I don’t know why. Why shouldn’t people be able to have a safe shower or a bath? Why shouldn’t they? And there’s a lot of GPs out there denying people that basic option. And it’s quite frustrating, to be honest.
“There are still lots of people using sandwich bags and cling film like I did and they’re putting themselves at risk. People really do need it. That’s the crux of it. I tried to explain that they’re saving money to start with on dressings, and then your infection risks are going to be lower. And that in itself saves the trust money.”
Simon added: “I wouldn’t say I’m young, but I’m of working age and I’ve still got a lot to offer. And I’ll do as much as I can for myself to be able to do that. Little things like this dressing helped me carry on and get back to work, even part-time while on dialysis. And I, for one, will be always grateful for it.
“I’m still involved in the local kidney patients association, sharing my experiences good and bad, and educating people as best I can. It’s not all rosy by any means and I’m just trying to put people’s minds at rest about things, such as these dressings.”
Shower covers such as VAP from Independence, and Cath Dry dressings, are available on Drug Tariff for prescribing in the UK. For purchase and prescription of Cath Dry visit https://cathdry.direct
