You will use a catheter (tube) to drain urine from your bladder. You may need a catheter because you have urinary incontinence (leakage), urinary retention (not being able to urinate), prostate problems, or surgery that made it necessary.
Urine will drain through your catheter into the toilet or a special container. Your doctor will show you how to use your catheter. After some practice, it will get easier.
Sometimes family members, a school nurse, or others may be able to help you use your catheter.
Your doctor will give you a prescription for the right catheter for you. There are different types and sizes. You can buy catheters at medical supply stores. You will also need small plastic bags and a gel such as K-Y jelly or Surgilube. Do NOT use Vaseline (petroleum jelly).
Ask your doctor how often you should empty your bladder with your catheter. Usually it is 3 to 6 times a day. Always try to empty your bladder first thing in the morning and when you go to bed at night. You can empty your bladder while sitting on a toilet. Your doctor or nurse can show you how to do this correctly.
Follow these steps to insert your catheter:
Clean your catheter every day. Always make sure you are in a clean bathroom. Do NOT let the catheter touch any of the bathroom surfaces (such as the toilet, wall, and floor).
Follow these steps:
Throw away the catheter when it becomes dry and brittle. Some kinds of catheters are meant to be used only once.
Call your doctor or nurse if:
Clean intermittent catheterization - male; CIC - male
Moy ML, Wein AJ. Additional therapies for storage and emptying failure. In: Wein AJ, ed. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 70.
Wierbicky J, Nesathurai S. Spinal cord injury (thoracic). In: Frontera, WR, Silver JK, eds. Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2008:chap 147.
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.
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