A urinary catheter drains urine continuously from the bladder through a plastic tube and into a bag.   The catheter is held inside the bladder by a small balloon filled with sterile saline.  The catheter eliminates the need to use a bedpan or toilet for urination, but a bedpan is still needed for a bowel movement.  The following tips can provide comfort and help to prevent bladder infections in the person with a urinary catheter.

• Wash your hands with soap and water before and after handling the catheter, tube or bag.
• Keep the bag below the level of the patient’s bladder at all times.
• Check frequently to be sure there are no kinks or loops in the tubing and that the patient is not lying on the tubing.
• Do not pull or tug on the catheter
• Wash around the catheter entry site with soap and water twice each day and after each bowel movement.
• Do not use powder around the catheter entry site.
• Periodically check the skin around the catheter entry site for signs of irritation, redness, tenderness, swelling, or drainage.
• Offer fluids frequently, especially water or cranberry juice.
• Contact your hospice nurse if you notice:
• Blood or cloudiness in the urine
• A foul odor to the urine
• Irritation, redness, tenderness, swelling, drainage or leaking around the catheter entry site
• The patient develops a fever or complains of pain

Your Hospice nurse will change the catheter and drainage bag as often as needed.

Special Instructions:

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Please feel free to call your Suburban Hospice, Inc. team at 833-888-7222 any time for questions or concerns you may have about urinary catheter care. Your Hospice team wants to be responsive to your needs and concerns.