Urological and Incontinence Care - Do's and Don'ts
Do’s
• Drink 8 to 12 glasses of water every day.
• Empty your urine bag several times a day.
• Wash your hands whenever you handle your urine bag.
• Clean the insertion area with hot water twice a day.
• Turn your catheter when you clean it so that it doesn’t stick to your bladder.
• Keep any dressings on the area until the insertion area is healed.
• Tape the catheter tube to your body so it doesn’t slip or pull.
• Eat foods to help you avoid constipation, such as fiber, fruits, and vegetables.
• Continue any regular sexual activity.
Dont’s
• Do not use any powders or creams around the insertion area.
• Don’t take baths or immerse your insertion area in water for a long time.
• Avoid showering without covering the area with a waterproof dressing.
• Resist reinserting the catheter yourself if it falls out.
Urological and Incontinence Care - When to get Medical Advice
Contact your provider if:
• you develop severe or ongoing bladder spasms (like stomach cramps)
• your catheter is blocked, or urine is leaking around the edges
• urine is bloodstained or has specks of blood in it (you may have accidentally pulled on your catheter, for instance); contact your community nurse if you continue passing bloodstained urine, or urine with blood specks
• you’re passing bright red blood (contact your GP surgery as soon as possible)
• symptoms of a UTI, such as lower abdominal pain, a high temperature and you feel shivery
• your catheter falls out (if it’s indwelling and you have not been taught how to replace it)
Urological and Incontinence Care - Diaper Rash
Diaper rash is something that most people wearing absorbent undergarments will experience at some point. Moreover, the good news is there are ways to prevent it from happening.
Change diapers every 4 to 6 hours, or when they become soiled, for example. Furthermore, keeping your skin healthy is another key to preventing diaper rash. For example, use gentle, mild soaps like Dove, or even simply allowing warm water to run over the area and patting it dry.
Don’t keep skin wet and moist as a result it can be a breeding ground for yeast and bacteria. Furhermore, using a barrier such as a diaper rash cream with zinc oxide can also help to prevent diaper rash.
