You will have a central line put in if you are having a lot of medical tests, or if you are having a long treatment for a disease. For example, you can have treatments like chemotherapy and antibiotics through a central line. If you can’t eat for some reason, or you are having problems with your digestive system, you can also have liquid food through the central line, too.

After you have had your treatment, you can actually go home with the central line still in place, as it can be left in for weeks or months at a time. If you have to go to hospital regularly for treatment, this makes it very easy for the doctor or nurse to get your medicine into you each time.

The doctor or nurse puts the tube under your skin at your chest, and tunnels it along to connect to your bloodstream at a big vein leading to your heart . The end that comes out of your skin has a clamp to open and close the line, and a bung to stop germs getting in. Sometimes, instead of having the tube coming out of your skin, there‘s a ‘port’ just under your skin.

The part of the tube under your skin has a ‘cuff’ that holds the line in place. The cuff takes a couple of weeks to stick to your skin properly, so the central line will be held in place by stitches at first.

It could be uncomfortable having the central line put in – the doctor or nurse will give you a local or general anaesthetic to make it easier. By the time you wake up, the line and all the stitches will be in place, but you might have an x-ray so the doctors can check that the line is where it’s supposed to be.

It’s now your job to take care of your central line!

You probably won’t have any pain at all when you are having the central line put in because you will have an anaesthetic first. You might have some pain for a few days afterwards though, in the area where the tube has been tunnelled under your skin. Your doctor or nurse can give you some painkillers to help with this.

Taking care of your central line mainly means making sure it doesn’t get infected by germs and bacteria at the place where it enters your body. The best way to avoid infections is to keep this area clean.

You must wear a dressing over the bit of skin where the line enters your body, and this keeps it clean and dry. You can have showers while wearing the dressing, but it’s best not to have a bath or go swimming. You need to have the dressing changed once every week. A nurse can either show you or the adults looking after you how to do this, or can come to your home and do it for you if that’s better for you.

The line outside your body will be looped and taped to your skin. You musn’t pull or scratch at the line and never remove the bung or open the clamp!

You can still play, but be careful if you’re playing games that involve waving your arms about or rolling around, as these might move your central line.

AND DON’T REMOVE THE BUNG OR PLAY WITH THE CLAMP!

Even if you are very careful and look after your central line properly, there is still a chance that you could get an infection at the place where it leaves your body, or even inside the line itself. Make sure you, or the adults looking after you, get in touch with your doctor or nurse if:

• The place where the line leaves your body gets red or swollen or painful
• you notice strange coloured fluid coming from it
• you get a high temperature

If you have an infection, you will be given antibiotics to treat it, but if this doesn’t work, the doctor might take the line out.

You could get a blood clot (called thrombosis) in your vein where the line goes in.

Things to look out for are:

• Swelling, redness and soreness in your arm, chest or neck on the side of the body in which you have your central line
• A tight feeling in your chest or becoming short of breath

Tell your doctor or nurse straightaway if you notice any of these things. If you do have a clot, your doctor will give you some medicine to dissolve it and might take your line out.

You must not get a break or cut in the line. This only occasionally happens, but if it does, try to clamp or tie your line straight away, just above where the break or cut is. Ask someone else to do this for you if you cannot manage it yourself. Then make sure you or someone looking after you gets in touch with your hospital as soon as possible. You might be able to have the line repaired in hospital, but if not, it will be taken out.

When you don’t need the central line any more, your doctor or nurse will take it out. They can usually do this in the outpatients department of your hospital and it probably won’t take longer than half an hour.

You will lie down and the nurse will clean the area of your skin where the line goes into your body and will numb the area around the cuff with local anaesthetic. The nurse will then make a tiny cut to release the cuff and pull the line out very slowly. This can feel a bit strange and uncomfortable, but it shouldn’t hurt you at all.

If you have any other questions, you can ask your doctor, or chat to other people about central lines in the Medikidz forums and virtual world, Mediland.