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A urinary catheter is a tube placed in the body to drain and collect urine from the
bladder.
Information
Urinary catheters are used to drain the bladder. Your health care provider may
recommend that you use a catheter if you have:
Urinary incontinence (leaking urine or being unable to control when you urinate)
Urinary retention (being unable to empty your bladder when you need to)
Your provider will use the smallest possible catheter most of the time.
Indwelling catheter
Condom catheter
Intermittent self-catheter
Sometimes, the provider will insert a catheter into your bladder through a small
hole in your belly. This is done at a hospital or provider's office.
An indwelling catheter has a small balloon inflated on the end of it. This prevents the
catheter from sliding out of your body. When the catheter needs to be removed, the
balloon is deflated.
CONDOM CATHETERS
Condom catheters can be used by men with incontinence. There is no tube placed
inside the penis. Instead, a condom-like device is placed over the penis. A tube leads
from this device to a drainage bag. The condom catheter must be changed every day.
INTERMITTENT CATHETERS
You would use an intermittent catheter when you only need to use a catheter
sometimes or you do not want to wear a bag. You or your caregiver will insert the
catheter to drain the bladder and then remove it. This can be done only once or several
times a day. The frequency will depend on the reason you need to use this method.
DRAINAGE BAGS
A catheter is most often attached to a drainage bag. There are two types of bags:
A leg bag is a small device that attaches by elastic bands to the leg. It holds
about 300 to 500 milliliters (ml) of urine. You wear it during the day, because you can
hide it under pants or a skirt. You can easily empty it into the toilet.
You can use a larger drainage device during the night. It holds 1 to 2 liters of
urine. You hang the device on your bed.
Keep the drainage bag lower than your bladder so that urine does not flow back up into
your bladder. Empty the drainage device at least every 8 hours, or when it is full.
To clean the drainage bag, remove it from the catheter. Attach a new drainage device to
the catheter while you clean the old one.
Clean and deodorize the drainage bag by filling it with a mixture of vinegar and water.
Or, you can use chlorine bleach instead. Let the bag soak for 20 minutes. Hang it with
the outlet valve open to drain and dry.
If you have a suprapubic catheter, clean the opening in your belly and the tube with
soap and water every day. Then cover it with dry gauze.
Drink plenty of fluids to help prevent infections. Ask your provider how much you should
drink.
Wash your hands before and after handling the drainage device. DO NOT allow the
outlet valve to touch anything. If the outlet gets dirty, clean it with soap and water.
Sometimes urine can leak around the catheter. This may be caused by:
Bladder spasms
Constipation
The wrong balloon size
Bladder stones
Blood infections (septicemia)
Blood in the urine (hematuria)
Kidney damage (usually only with long-term, indwelling catheter use)
Urethral injury
Urinary tract or kidney infections
Very little or no urine draining from the catheter and you are drinking enough
fluids
If the catheter becomes clogged, painful, or infected, it will need to be replaced right
away.
Endotracheal intubation
If you are awake after the procedure, your health care provider may
give you medicine to reduce your anxiety or discomfort.
Protect the lungs in people who are unable to protect their airway
and are at risk for breathing in fluid (aspiration). This includes people
with certain types of strokes, overdoses, or massive bleeding from the
esophagus or stomach.
Risks include:
Bleeding
Infection
Trauma to the voice box (larynx), thyroid gland, vocal cords and
windpipe (trachea), or esophagus