How To Care For Your Foley Catheter

What is a Foley catheter?

A Foley catheter is a sterile (germ-free) tube that is inserted through your urethra and into your bladder to drain urine. The catheter has a small balloon filled with solution that holds the catheter inside your bladder. A Foley catheter is also called an indwelling urinary catheter.

What is a closed drainage system for my Foley catheter?

The drainage system consists of your Foley catheter and a sterile urine drainage bag attached to the catheter. This forms a pathway that goes from the tip of the catheter inside your bladder to the urine bag. It is a closed drainage system when there are no leaks or disconnections. Your urinary system normally is sterile and a closed drainage system prevents germs from getting into it. Your catheter should always be attached to other equipment to form a closed drainage system. Do not disconnect parts of the closed system unless it is necessary such as when changing the bag. Always close the drainage spigot after emptying urine out of the drainage bag.

What is a Foley catheter-based infection and how can I help prevent it?

Urinary catheter-based infections are common and can lead to serious illness and death. An infection can be caused by bacteria (germs) that get inside the catheter or tubing when the drainage system is opened. This can happen when a urine bag is changed or a urine sample is collected. You can also get an infection if the catheter equipment is not cleaned well or if you do not wash your hands. The following are ways you can help prevent catheter-based infections:

• Drinking liquids: Adults should drink about 9 to 13 cups of liquid each day. One cup is 8 ounces. Good choices of liquids for most people include water, juice, and milk. Coffee, soup, and fruit may be counted in your daily liquid amount. Ask your caregiver how much liquid you should drink each day.
  
  
• Good hand washing is the best way to prevent infection. Always wash your hands with soap and water before and after you touch your catheter, tubing, or drainage bag. Do this to remove germs on your hands before you touch these items. Do this after you touch these items to remove germs that may have been on them. Wear clean medical gloves when you care for your catheter or disconnect the drainage bag. This will help stop germs from getting into your catheter. Remind anyone who cares for your catheter or drainage system to wash their hands.
  
  
• Always do proper care and cleaning of the catheter, the insertion site, and the drainage bag.
  
  
• Ask your caregiver when your catheter will be removed or replaced with a new one. Your risk for infection is greater the longer you have a catheter.
  
  
• Keep the catheter drainage system closed.
  
  
• Keep the catheter tube secured to your skin or leg to ensure that it drains well.

How do I care for my Foley catheter and drainage system?

• Keep a closed drainage system: Your Foley catheter should always be attached to other equipment to form a closed drainage system. Do not disconnect any part of the closed system unless it is necessary such as when changing the bag.
  
  
• Secure the catheter tube: Secure the catheter tube so you do not pull or move the catheter. This helps prevent bladder spasms (painful cramps). Caregivers will show you how to use medical tape or a strap to secure the catheter tube to your body.
  
  
• Do catheter care every day as directed: Clean your catheter and the area around it with soap and water when you shower. Ask your caregiver if you can take a bath while you have a catheter.

How do I care for my drainage bag?

• Use good hand hygiene: Keep your hands clean and as free of germs as possible. Always wash your hands before and after you touch the catheter or insertion site. Wear clean medical gloves when you care for your catheter.
  
  
• Position the drainage bag and tubing:
  
  
  • Allow gravity drainage: Do not loop or kink the tubing so urine can flow out.
    
    
  • Position the drainage bag properly: Keep the drainage bag below the level of your waist. This helps stop urine from moving back up the tubing and into your bladder.
    
    
  • Keep the bag off the floor: Do not let the drainage bag touch or lie on the floor.
  
  
• Care for the drainage bag:
  
  
  • Empty the drainage bag when needed: The weight of a full drainage bag can pull on and hurt your urethra. Empty the drainage bag every 3 to 6 hours or when it is ½ to ⅔ full.
    
    
  • Clean and change the drainage bag as directed: Ask your caregiver how often you should change the drainage bag. You may buy a special solution to clean the drainage bag, or you may make a solution with tap water and vinegar or household bleach. Wear medical gloves if you must disconnect the tubing. Do not allow the end of the catheter or tubing to touch anything. Clean the ends with a new alcohol pad or as directed by your caregiver before you reconnect them.

What problems may occur with my Foley catheter and what should I do about them?

• No urine is draining into the bag:
  
  
  • Check for kinks in the tubing and straighten them out.
    
    
  • Check the tape or device used to secure the catheter tube to your skin. Make sure it is not blocking the tube.
    
    
  • Make sure you are not sitting or lying on the tubing.
    
    
  • Make sure the urine bag is hanging or secured below the level of your bladder or waist.
    
    
  • Contact your caregiver if urine is still not draining into the bag.
  
  
• Leaking urine:
  
  
  • Check if the closed drainage system has accidently come open or apart. If it has, clean the catheter and tubing ends with a new alcohol pad and reconnect them. Then contact your caregiver.
    
    

When should I contact my caregiver?

Contact your caregiver if:

• You have skin changes such as a rash or itching where the catheter tube is secured to your skin, or there is pain or numbness in the leg or foot that the strap is around.
  
  
• You see a layer of crystals inside the tubing.
  
  
• Your catheter comes out.
  
  
• There is less urine than usual or no urine draining into the bag.
  
  
• Urine leaks from or around the catheter, tubing, or drainage bag.
  
  
• The closed drainage system has accidently come open or apart.

When should I seek immediate help?

Seek care immediately if:

• You have a fever.
  
  
• You see blood in the tubing or drainage bag.
  
  
• You suddenly have material that looks like sand in the tubing or drainage bag.
  
  
• You are confused or have other changes in the way that you think.
  
  
• Your urine smells bad.
  
  
• Your urine is not straw-colored, or it has changed color.
  
  
• You have pain in your hip, back, pelvis, or lower abdomen.
  
  
• It is painful to urinate or you are urinating more often than usual.

Care Agreement

You have the right to help plan your care. Learn about your health condition and how it may be treated. Discuss treatment options with your caregivers to decide what care you want to receive. You always have the right to refuse treatment.