What should you know about white plaster of paris?

Plaster of Paris is a powder mixed with water to create a workable paste. A clinician shapes layers around the affected body part before the material hardens. The cast limits movement, helps hold a fracture in position, and can support correction when a limb or foot needs gradual positioning. It is different from a removable support because it stays in place until a clinician checks the injury and removes it.

A new cast can feel warm as it sets. The skin around it should remain comfortable, and the fingers or toes beyond the cast should keep their usual colour, warmth, movement, and sensation.

Keep the cast dry unless your care team gives specific instructions. Do not push objects inside it, trim its edges, or place powders beneath it. Rest and elevate the limb when swelling is present, and move uncovered fingers or toes gently if you have been told this is suitable. Check the cast and exposed skin each day for cracks, soft areas, rubbing, drainage, or an unpleasant smell.

Follow the weight-bearing and activity instructions you were given. For a broken bone, read more about [Fracture Casting](/treatments/trauma-and-fracture-care/fracture-casting/). Casting may also be part of care for a child with foot positioning concerns; [Clubfoot Casting](/treatments/reconstructive-orthopedic-surgery/clubfoot-casting/) explains that pathway.

Contact your care team promptly if pain or swelling is increasing, the cast becomes wet or damaged, or you notice numbness, tingling, burning, or reduced movement. Seek urgent medical help if fingers or toes become pale, blue, cold, severely swollen, or difficult to move, or if pain is severe and does not settle with the advised measures.

Ask what the cast is protecting, how much weight or movement is allowed, how long it is expected to remain, and which changes require an urgent call. Confirm how to bathe safely, when follow-up is planned, and what to do if the cast cracks or becomes tight.