Proper Foley Catheter Care and Personal Hygiene

With good foley catheter care you can reduce the chance of a UTI

For anyone with urinary incontinence, or any other problem requiring constant use of a catheter, it is important that it is kept in the best shape possible.

Certain things are obviously easier to take care of than others – an asthma inhaler, for example, is fairly easy to come by and won’t require a huge amount of effort to keep functional – keeping it clean is the main issue. But at the same time, the consequences of not having an inhaler can be a major problem – hence it is always good to keep a spare one with you.

In this sense it is quite similar with catheters, only they tend to require a lot more maintenance to keep them in good condition, especially if they are designed as longer term devices. Obviously being cleaned is one of the major things you have to do for a non-disposable catheter, but you also need to ensure that they will constantly work. If a fault develops with your catheter then the results can be horrible – urinating without the catheter working to collect it, especially in a public situation, can cause a huge and potentially incredibly embarrassing situation.

Foley catheter care itself is different though. Some catheters are designed for reuse, although not advised,Foley catheter care is simply about ensuring you keep it clean before inserting it, and disposing of the catheter in the best way possible. If a Foley catheter is left for too long then there can be an incredibly high risk of infection, so you need to ensure that your Foley catheter care is good in order to avoid this type of infection – as soon as you begin to use it you need to ensure that you can take it out as quickly as possible, and dispose of it in a hygienic and safe way.

For any long-term catheter the main thing to remember is to inspect your body on a regular basis. Get to know how your catheter works, precisely, so that should any fault arise you will be able to tell right away, rather than having to wait for a problem to arise. If you were to wait until you saw a major problem arise, you would have to do a more reactionary course of action – something which is borne out of worry and panic, meaning you may not make the best decision available to you.

As such, it is important to properly inspect the area were your catheter is inserted. Being able to identify a problem in good time means that you can get the medical help needed, and prevent what could lead to a urinary tract infection.  Keeping good personal hygiene is important when it comes to catheter use whether it’s an external catheter, intermittent catheter, or a foley catheter always make sure your hands are clean.

So take some time now to have a look. If you are not sure about anything that does not fell right or look right be sure to consult a trained professional as soon as possible to get proper advice.