There are two main reasons for catheterizing yourself. One is to empty your bladder on a regular schedule and to keep yourself dry. Another reason is to keep your bladder from getting over-distended. This keeps your kidneys healthy and prevents infections.
- In order to have healthy kidneys and a healthy bladder, you should plan to start by catheterizing yourself 1 to 3 times daily.
- If you are able to urinate at all on your own, you should catheterize immediately after you urinate if possible. This allows you to measure your post-void residual.
- If you find that your post-void residual is consistently less than 4 to 6 ounces or 100 cc’s, you may be able to catheterize less often. Call our office or ask one of our nurses for further advice.
- If you find that your post-void residual is consistently more than 4 to 6 ounces or 100 cc’s, you may need to catheterize more often. Call our office or ask one of our nurses for further advice.
What you need (equipment)
- Mirror with a stand
- Catheter tube
- Washcloth with soap and rinse water
- Container to collect urine
- Lubricant for catheter tip (this is a water soluble gel — Lubafax or KY Jelly — not Vaseline)
- Anti-bacterial soap (liquid) for soaking catheters.
What to do
- Have catheter ready for use.
- Open lubricant and have it ready or on tip of catheter.
- Have washcloth ready with soap on one side and clear water for rinsing on the other.
- Urinate if you can.
- Wash hands well with soap and water.
- Select most comfortable position for doing this task. Place mirror so that you can see.
- With fingers of one hand, hold open the vaginal folds and cleanse the area around the urethra by wiping gently from front to back. Use a different section of the washcloth to wipe again.
- While holding the folds open, take the tip of the catheter tube and lubricate it.
- Hold the catheter 2 inches from the tip with the other hand, and gently insert the tube in the urethra opening. You can look in the mirror to see where it is.
- Have the other end of the tube in a container to collect the urine.
- Insert the tube until the urine comes out of the catheter.
- Keep in place until the bladder is empty (until no more urine is coming out of the catheter).
- Remove the catheter and dry the area. Wash catheter with anti-bacterial soap and water and allow to air dry.
Care and storage of catheter
- No one should handle the catheter except you, a family member, or the person who will be doing your catheterizations.
- These techniques are not sterile. However, good hand washing before and after the procedure and cleaning the equipment is very important.
Other things to know
- Your health care practitioner will tell you how often to catheterize yourself.
- You will be shown how to keep a record of the amounts of urine if this is needed.
When to call your health care practitioner
- Cloudy, foul smelling urine.
- Fever (temperature over 100.4ºF. or 38ºC.) or chills.
- Burning when passing your urine.
If you have any questions or concerns during office hours, call the nurses at (617) 732-4838 and press #2. If you are having difficulty and the office is closed please call the office and press #0 and you will be connected with the Partners Paging System. The page operator will contact the provider on call.
