Urine drainage bags collect urine. Your bag will attach to a catheter (tube) that is inside your bladder. You may have a catheter and urine drainage bag because you have urinary incontinence (leakage), urinary retention (not being able to urinate), surgery that made a catheter necessary, or another health problem.
Urine will pass through the catheter in your bladder into the leg bag.
Where to place your leg bag:
Always empty your bag in a clean bathroom. Do NOT let the bag or tube openings touch any of the bathroom surfaces (toilet, wall, floor, and others). Empty your bag into the toilet at least two or three times a day, or when it is a third to a half full.
Follow these steps for emptying your bag:
Change your bag once a month. Change it sooner if it smells bad or looks dirty. Follow these steps for changing your bag:
Clean your bedside bag each morning. Clean your leg bag each night before changing to the bedside bag.
Call your doctor or nurse if:
Leg bag
Cochran S. Care of the indwelling urinary catheter: is it evidence? J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs. 2007 May-Jun;34(3):282-8.
Updated by: Jennifer K. Mannheim, ARNP, Medical Staff, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Seattle Children's Hospital; and Louis S. Liou, MD, PhD, Chief of Urology, Cambridge Health Alliance, Visiting Assistant Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
MedlinePlus Topics
Read More
Patient Instructions
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 1997-2012, A.D.A.M., Inc. Duplication for commercial use must be authorized in writing by ADAM Health Solutions.