External Catheters - Properly Take Good Care Of It!
There is a risk of complications with many things in life. Having a catheter put in offers certain risks as well. The use of a catheter often isn’t a choice. You’ll find that some of these complications consist of bladder stones, blood infections, kidney damage, urinary tract or kidney infections and allergy or sensitivity to latex. This isn’t to say that everything listed above is going to happen to you. Understanding the risks and the signs of an impending problem mean a quicker response to potential complications.
Urinary tract infections are among the most common complications from catheter use. The risks of this can be greatly reduce by proper cleaning and disinfecting of the catheter itself, as well as the drainage bag, and thoroughly cleaning the area after all bowel movements. Drinking an adequate amount of fluids will also help to prevent infections. You can talk with your health care provider to learn more about how to care for your catheter.
It’s also important that you are aware of the signs of potential complications that can occur. This will help you to detect the signs early enough to get the proper treatment without much discomfort. Most of them will be easy to recognize.
Blood in the urine, or cloudy or thick urine is the easiest to notice since you can visually see this. If you feel any tenderness around the catheter puncture, have a large amount of leakage, or feel any bladder spasms that don’t go away, it’s important that you contact your medical provider. These are only a few of the signs you need to look for.
Different urinary catheter types will require specific types of care. This is something you will learn when the catheter is placed by your medical health provider. It’s important that you ask questions. A great place to do some research is online, but you should consider this research only. Discuss your findings with your doctor or other health care provider. It is not suggested you attempt to follow the instructions that you find online.
Your medical provider will walk you through all of the steps of properly caring for and cleaning your catheter and every part that is attached to it. Be sure you are paying close attention as you will need to implement the information provided. Drinking eight to ten glasses of water daily will help to not only produce urine but also avoid constipation, which will reduce urine leakage.
There will be many small and large details you will need to pay close attention to in order to facilitate your best experience with catheter use. Write down pertinent information and be sure to ask questions if you are unsure of anything before you need to do this for yourself. This will reduce any unfortunate and avoidable accidents.
There is no problem with using information you find on the Internet, but you should never use this information about Medical Supplies Catheter until you speak with your doctor. Even if the advice seems valid, there is always a chance it could put you in harm’s way. You don’t have any way of knowing if the person giving the advice is a doctor or just a person relaying his or her own experiences. You should consult a Medical Products provider for properly caring for your catheter is more than just keeping it clean, it’s about protecting yourself from infection.
Tags: Catheter, Indwelling Catheter, Intermittent Catheter, Intermittent Catheters, Urinay Catheter
