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Urinary catheters - what to ask your doctor
You have an indwelling catheter (tube) in your bladder. This means the tube is inside your body. This catheter drains urine from your bladder into a bag outside your body.
Below are some questions you may want to ask your health care provider to help you take care of your catheter.
Alternative Names
What to ask your doctor about urinary catheters
Questions
How do I take care of the skin around the catheter? How often should I clean the area?
How much water or liquid should I be drinking?
Can I take a shower? How about a bath?
Can I walk around or exercise with the catheter in place?
What supplies do I need to keep in my home to care for my catheter? Where can I get them? How much do they cost?
How often do I need to empty the urine bag? How do I do that? Do I need to wear gloves?
How often do I need to clean the urine bag or catheter? How do I do that?
What do I do if there is blood in my urine? If my urine is cloudy? If my urine has an odor?
If I use a leg bag, how often do I need to change it? How do I empty it when I am in a public bathroom?
Should I switch to a larger bag for nighttime? How do I change this kind of bag?
What do I do if the catheter comes out or off?
What do I do if the catheter stops draining?
What are the signs that I have an infection?
References
Goode PS, Burgio KL, Richter HE, Markland AD. Incontinence in older women. JAMA . 2010;303(21):2172-2181. PMID: 20516418 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20516418 .
Hashim H, Abrams P. Evaluation and management of men with urinary incontinence. In: Wein AJ, Kavoussi LR, Partin AW, Peters CA, eds. Campbell-Walsh Urology . 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2016:chap 72.
Newman DK, Burgio KL. Conservative management of urinary incontinence. In: Wein AJ, Kavoussi LR, Partin AW, Peters CA, eds. Campbell-Walsh Urology . 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2016:chap 80.
Tailly T, Denstedt JD. Fundamentals of urinary tract drainage. In: Wein AJ, Kavoussi LR, Partin AW, Peters CA, eds. Campbell-Walsh Urology . 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2016:chap 6.
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Urinary incontinence
(Alt. Medicine)
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Urinary incontinence
(In-Depth)
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Prostate cancer
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Eucalyptus
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Review Date: 10/4/2016
Reviewed By: Jennifer Sobol, DO, urologist with the Michigan Institute of Urology, West Bloomfield, MI. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
