Medical Terminology - Urinary Catheter Care (Female)

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Medical Terminology - Urinary Catheter Care (Female)*

GENERAL INFORMATION

A urinary catheter drains urine continuously from the bladder, through a clear plastic tube and into a collection bag. It is held inside the bladder by a small balloon filled with sterile saline.

Urinary catheters come in different sizes.

Catheter size
Balloon size

GUIDELINES

The following suggestions will help you take care of your urinary catheter.

Wash your hands with soap and water (or a moist disposable towelette) before and after handling your catheter, tube, and collection bag.

Do not tug or pull the catheter.

Check the tube for kinks and for loops to make sure the urine has a clear and easy pathway to the collection bag.

Do not lie or sit on the catheter tube or collection bag.

Make sure the collection bag is below the level of your bladder at all times.

Empty the collection bad as often as necessary, but at least every 8 hours. A leg bag should be emptied at least every 3 hours.

Clean the drain of the collection bag with alcohol or a povidone-iodine solution before and after empying the bag.

Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid each day. Water and fresh cranberry juice are especially good.

Keep a record of your daily fluid intake and your daily urine output. The nurse can teach you how to do this.

10.

Wash the area around your catheter with soap and warm water every day. Move the catheter around a little as possible.

11.

Do not use powders or lotions around the catheter.

12.

Change the tube and collection bag

a.	Every 3 days if you are reusing the equipment.
b.	At least every 2 weeks if you are not reusing the equipment.

13.

If you use a leg bag or want to reuse plastic collection bags,

a.	Clean the bag with soapy water,
b.	Rinse the bag well with clean tap water,
c.	Soak the bag for 30 minutes in a solution of one part vinegar to three parts water,
d.	Empty the bag,
e.	Air dry the bag,
f.	Put a cap that has been disinfected with alcohol on the connecting tip,
g.	Store the bag in a clean glass jar pr plastic bag.

14.

Replace tubes and catheter bags that are cracked, hardened, or difficult to see into.

15.

Notify the nurse or doctor if you have

a.	Cloudy urine,
b.	Urine with a foul (bad) smell,
c.	Urine with gritty or crusty deposits,
d.	Urine with blood,
e.	Urine with mucus,
f.	Burning at the urinary opening,
g.	Pain or discomfort around the catheter,
h.	Stomach pain,
i.	A fever,
j.	Chills,
k.	Leaking around the catheter,
l.	Constipation.

16.

Notify the nurse or doctor if the urinary catheter is accidentally pulled out of the bladder.

*This information is taken from an unknown source that was copied and given to us by the home health care nurses. I cannot present any documentation as to sources, etc.

This is only a guide. It is not meant to supercede any physician's or manufacturer's instructions.