Question:
What kind of compress do you use, like an ace bandage or what. I printed out these responses and will pass them on to my son. His fistula is on his upper arm and it has become the size of a magic marking pen. Is that too big or since I have never seen them, I guess I cannot compare and it may be normal. I don't know.

Answer: It's very important to understand that having something compress the area where the fistula is when done improperly can be very dangerous. When it is a torneque situation (as in where the compression occurs over a very specific and narrow region, you can mess things up. The compression I wear compresses over a distributed area around the whole arm where I have the fistula. I have essentially used an old stocking that is more often used for legs with varicose and spider veins. I then cut off the end and tailored it more appropriately to the size I required. Again, it is important that you do not use compression in the same fashion as a torneque (sp?) as this can be very dangerous for the fistula. It also seems to me that the fistula is of normal size so perhaps leave it alone...