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Catheter Bag Confusion

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Posted 12/7/2014 6:59 PM (GMT 0)
Bob's doing great today. Eating and walking around. He's having the urge to urinate but maybe his bladder spasm meds haven't kicked in yet. My question is about the cath bag. I know nurse went over how to clean it, but how often am I suppose to change it? I looked here and couldn't find anything, internet says change out bags every 3 days. It's not in my paperwork anywhere and if the nurse told me it didn't stay w/ me (might be because I was so tired). Last night he had a shower (kept cath bag on for that) then I changed out the bag he had (it was the one he'd had since the hospital so had been on for 5 days), I cleaned that bag out and have it hanging to dry, so when should I do another bag change?
Posted 12/7/2014 7:15 PM (GMT 0)
I never disconnected my bag, and therefore did not run it through a was of any sort. My checkout nurse said that was the best practice, as the problems come when you introduce outside infection sources during the bag change.

I was in for 4 days. Last day they swapped my big bag for a new one, gave me (I'm sure I paid for those somewhere in the dozens of pages in the bill) a leg bag, a tube cap, alcohol wipes, latex-free surgical gloves, and a spare big bag, all with the advice to not change the bag unless a blockage in the neck required it. They also made me sign a checkout instruction sheet which instructed me to contact them if I needed new bags, that they were considered "one time use".

I carried the big one in a shopping bag when I got out to walk.

They took the cath out at surgery +8 days.

The trade off is buying new ones at a real pharmacy, or washing them out. I have met a lot of folks since who wash / reuse them without issue.

As to the shower, I got a big suction hook at WalMart, put it on the tub side, and hung the bag upright on it. Hosed off the bag at the end.

Just remember that when you do a bag change to clean the tube end and bag neck liberally with some alcohol pads. You might want to use some latex-free gloves, just to be sure. I got several UTIs over the weeks after surgery, and don't want to go there again.
Posted 12/7/2014 7:17 PM (GMT 0)
Frankly, I never changed the bag: just emptied it when it was getting full. Only used it for 13 days. No need to change it, unless you somehow break the connection to the tube. Good luck!
Bob
Posted 12/7/2014 7:26 PM (GMT 0)
if he has a leg bag, then 3 days sounds about right. I think a lot of people just keep the larger drain bags (the kind that can hang on a bedside) hooked up from the duration assuming we are talking about 2 weeks. It is a "closed" system and should not be a problem if never unhooked from the catheter. If you are cleaning his bag, some type of cleaner with Clorox will kill most of the bacteria.
Posted 12/7/2014 7:57 PM (GMT 0)
I am so glad to hear your husband is feeling better!! Walking should help him alot. I will add my vote to just wearing the big bag all the time. Leg bag requires too many changings, too much maintenance at the connections and does not hold anything. Hubby stayed connected to the big bag 24/7, i was the shower holder or he out it in a bag outside the shower. Wore cath for 14 days and think we finally changed bag at day 10 or 11 when it started to leak a little from bottom! Cath life is tough on many levels so dont make it worse for yourself by adding extra work for unnecessary cath maintenance. This was a great tip we received from the nurses, who were great on a dedicated urology floor and knew their prsostate cancer stuff quite well!
Posted 12/7/2014 8:30 PM (GMT 0)
I had 1 big bag and 2 leg bags. I changed out the first small one after 5 days. I wore the small ones quite a bit because it allowed me to be more active and keep it discreet. Glad to hear things are better.

Paul
Posted 12/7/2014 8:54 PM (GMT 0)
It never crossed my mind to get a new bag....I used the same leg bag for five weeks.

I was on antibiotics due the lengthy time I had it and not what's in or outside it.
Posted 12/7/2014 10:12 PM (GMT 0)
I am smiling from ear to ear reading your post, Miki!  Sounds like your husband is on the road to full recovery, and I could not be happier for you.    We never changed or cleaned my husband's big catheter bag.  Wiped it down with a clean towel after every bath so the outside would not be wet.  He later went to a leg bag (since he ended up with more than one catheter).  Take good care and glad that you are home!!!!
Posted 12/7/2014 11:13 PM (GMT 0)
Just a humorous aside... When I saw the title of this thread, "Catheter Bag Confusion," I expected this to be similar to the scene in Catch-22:

"Working with a round tin of metal polish, [the nurses] waxed a dim gloss on the dull zinc pipe rising from the cement on his groin. With damp dish towels they wiped the dust several times a day from the slim black rubber tubes leading in and out of him to the two large stoppered jars, one of them, hanging on a post beside his bed, dripping fluid into his arm constantly through a slit in the bandages while the other, almost out of sight on the floor, drained the fluid away through the zinc pipe rising from his groin. Both young nurses polished the glass jars unceasingly. They were proud of their housework... When the jar feeding the inside of his elbow was just about empty, the jar on the floor was just about full, and the two were simply uncoupled from their respective hoses and reversed quickly so that the liquid could be dripped right back into him. Changing the jars was no trouble to anyone but the men who watched them changed every hour or so and were baffled by the procedure."

I think that you're fine as long as they don't take the catheter bag and use it for an IV drip. :-)

- Allen
Posted 12/7/2014 11:18 PM (GMT 0)
Miki, really glad to hear that Bob is up and about.

Re the bag - to those of you who never changed the bag - how do you leave the house with the big bag? You just carry it?

Sorry, I'm new at this, and dumb. about the catheter thing.
Posted 12/7/2014 11:37 PM (GMT 0)
Prato, I think the confusion lies in the terminology. Changing the bag would be changing a used bag to a new bag of same size. Switching the bag from large to leg bag is just that, unplug one plug in the other. Hope this helps, it will be much clearer after your surgery!

Cheers, Doug
Posted 12/7/2014 11:45 PM (GMT 0)
Tall Allen....lol

Pratoman....my husband kept his catheter bag inside of a small duffel bag, so when he left the house (only to go to the doctors office) he put duffel bag next to him on the floor, with long sweat pants you could not even tell he had a catheter on...looking back now, what an experience.
Posted 12/8/2014 12:13 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks to both of you.
The catheter is probably the thing I'm most afraid of
Posted 12/8/2014 12:39 AM (GMT 0)
I had the catheter for a week and stayed home for the week. I had a spare big bag and changed it after 5 days or so, I used the leg bag when I went to get the catheter removed. Prato, dont't fear the catheter, its no big deal after a few days.

Really happy to hear about Bob's progress, keep the good news coming
Posted 12/8/2014 12:46 AM (GMT 0)
Miki, So great to hear that Bob is doing better! You both are still in my prayers.
Posted 12/8/2014 3:09 AM (GMT 0)
Miki,
I just used the large catheter the entire week I had it. No need to empty it as often as a leg bag. I also put it in a canvas tote and carried it around like that when I walked and hung it on a temporary hook in the shower like 142. You can buy the hooks at Walmart. Mine were the removable ones by 3M.

Glad Bob is doing better! As my retired RN sister told me, " A bad beginning makes for a good ending".

Bill from Florida cool
Posted 12/8/2014 4:59 AM (GMT 0)
Prat -

Looking back over the past 5 years, the cath was the least of my issues.
Posted 12/8/2014 1:40 PM (GMT 0)
Miki,

So glad to hear that you and Bob are having the usual problems with catheters and such. They are so much better than the sick-as-a-doc, trapped-in-the-hospital problems a few days ago.

I just used the bags they sent me home with. When I switched to the leg bag I would run a little tap water through the big bag to rinse it out. With the leg bag I would run a bit of diluted Clorox through it every time I was done with it. My thinking was that the big bag was simply downstream from the action and it didn't matter much but, since I wore the leg bag strapped to my thigh, there was some chance it might back up. But mostly I didn't worry about the bags.

When she was giving us the instructions for the catheter before I was released the nurse opened the package with the leg bag, took out the extension hose, and chucked it in the trash. Apparently this is standing orders with my surgeon. The leg bags work great when strapped to your thigh but strapped to your ankle with an extension hose something is always coming loose. My surgeon has found that he can greatly reduce the problems his patients have with their catheters by eliminating the extension hose.

Oh, and have I recommended that you look for some sort of pants with closures (zippers/velcro) near the knee? They are very convenient when a man is out and about with his leg bag. I like REI "convertible" hiking pants (the legs zip off the make shorts.) That zipper is just where you need it to be to get at the drain hose on a leg bag without disrobing. It allows a man with a catheter to pee standing up, as God intended.
Posted 12/8/2014 1:49 PM (GMT 0)
Miki,

So glad to hear that you and Bob are having the usual problems with catheters and such. They are so much better than the sick-as-a-dog, trapped-in-the-hospital problems a few days ago.

I just used the bags they sent me home with. When I switched to the leg bag I would run a little tap water through the big bag to rinse it out. With the leg bag I would run a bit of diluted Clorox through it every time I was done with it. My thinking was that the big bag was simply downstream from the action and it didn't matter much but, since I wore the leg bag strapped to my thigh, there was some chance it might back up. But mostly I didn't worry about the bags.

When she was giving us the instructions for the catheter before I was released the nurse opened the package with the leg bag, took out the extension hose, and chucked it in the trash. Apparently this is standing orders with my surgeon. The leg bags work great when strapped to your thigh but strapped to your ankle with an extension hose something is always coming loose. My surgeon has found that he can greatly reduce the problems his patients have with their catheters by eliminating the extension hose.

Oh, and have I recommended that you look for some sort of pants with closures (zippers/velcro) near the knee? They are very convenient when a man is out and about with his leg bag. I like REI "convertible" hiking pants (the legs zip off the make shorts.) That zipper is just where you need it to be to get at the drain hose on a leg bag without disrobing. It allows a man with a catheter to pee standing up, as God intended.
Posted 12/8/2014 3:09 PM (GMT 0)
I had 2 leg bags and 1 big bag. I had the same ones for 2 weeks. My wife washed them with vinegar and water everyday.
Posted 12/8/2014 7:55 PM (GMT 0)
Miki,
Glad to hear Bob is doing better.
As far as the bag, for the most part I just used my big bag. I did use the little bag a couple of times when I went out. But like others have stated, it wasn't worth the hassle of changing. I wore sweat pants at home and baggy cargo shorts when I went out, so I just hung the bag on the inside of my shorts hooked to my belt.

For showering, my nurse told me to disconnect the rubber hose from the bag and just let it hang down in the shower. This way I wouldn't have to worry about tripping over it. One less thing to worry about, since they didn't want me to face the shower head; no direct spray on the lapro incision sites.

Never replaced the bag.
Posted 12/9/2014 4:20 AM (GMT 0)
Miki,

I am so glad Bob is back home - and with such a caring person!!!!

When I was tossed out of the hospital, the nurse just said to use the small bag when I was out and about town or had company over. It hides better than the large bag! :-) She went over changing the bags and what to look out for.

What I ended up doing was to put the leg bag on every day and switched back every night to the large bag. This forced me to get up and move around every 90 minutes or so to empty the bag. I even forced myself to climb the stairs to use the master bathroom.

As far as care - have him wash his hands EVERY time he changes the bag as well as afterwards. KEEP THINGS CLEAN. If the catheter is going to be removed between 7 and 17 days, then there is no real need to go out and purchase replacement bags unless something breaks. You can wash them out if you wish, but the only thing to REALLY remember is to keep the bag lower than his bladder.

I would shower with the large bag as it was easier to work with than the leg bag which he would have to hold onto. I was told later than some just disconnect the bag totally and shower with it open. (That seemed to be pushing things to me.) After the shower, I simply connected the leg bag and dried the big bag with a clean towel.

Hopefully, Bob got one of those elastic leg bands with Velcro connections for the catheter tubes. It kept things from moving around too much and made changing bags a much easier task.

Again - good to see everyone is home.

DonC
Posted 12/9/2014 4:36 AM (GMT 0)
They sent us home w/ two big bags and two leg bags. So far he won't even look at the leg bags he will only use the big bag. I changed the big bag once and put on one of the new ones they sent home w/ us (it was in sterile packaging so I just wiped off the tip where you attach it w/ the alcohol and put on the new bag), then I rinsed out the one he had in for five days. They said to switch out bags and wash them every day but as you can see others wore the same one for the whole time and I know it's safe for at least 5 days because they kept him hooked up to the same one for that long. I don't want to introduce any bacteria anywhere (I was already a germaphobe and this has made me worse). Ya'll keep talking about him doing the stuff, he won't even empty his own bag (I guess he would if he had to) that's what he's got me for and I'm glad to do it. We've been doing his shower w/ the big bag on, thankfully we have a bar in the shower he can just hang it on. (Note to caregivers, hubby really likes towels hot from the dryer to dry with....yes my husband is spoiled). I have been reading all the posts and still trying to figure out how we are going to get around for doctors appointment for cath removal. He has to wear big bag because it's such a long drive, I can't find the snap down pants anywhere and won't get here in time for doctors appt. if I order online, it's winter so can't wear shorts, I'm trying to figure out how he's going to wear pants, put the cath bag in a tote bag w/o the pant of his leg riding up, can you thread up through the waist band and down to the tote bag? I think I hate that catheter as much as he does.
Posted 12/9/2014 5:13 AM (GMT 0)
Miki,
I bought my basketball breakaway pants 3 days before surgery at a sporting goods store. They were hard to find.

If you can't find the snap up the side pants, just buy some cheap pants and cut the side so he can stick the catheter through and into a canvas tote. Maybe you can add some Velcro so he can close up the slit just for the hose to stick out.

I got a couple of pairs of $10 pants from Old Navy. My wife cut a slit on the side of the canvas bag so I could slide the empty catheter into the bag from the side nearest my leg. The only thing that showed when I walked was about 8" of hose between my leg and the canvas bag. I got a funny look from a 5 year old but no one else looked twice at me. My surgeon provides his patients with blue bags advertising the hospital. I still have it.

I had to have a catheter again for 1 weekend when I had my AUS installed this year. When I was getting dressed to checkout the hospital, I put on the side snap pants, put the catheter through and dropped it in the bag and told the nurse, okay, get me a wheel chair so I can get out of here. She said she never saw anyone do that with the catheter in a bag and snaked out the side of the pants. Glad I kept the basketball pants, I almost got rid of them after the cath was removed the first time.

I believe you said you are in Arkansas. If it is cold there now, a coat will hide the little bit showing. I had my surgery in Florida in July. That wouldn't work for me.

I wore elastic waist band pants the first couple of weeks while the incisions healed. It hurt to wear jeans and a belt after the cath was removed.

You spoil Bob too much! Get that boy to empty his own catheter!, LOL

Bill from Florida cool
Posted 12/9/2014 6:22 AM (GMT 0)
Pants options -
"Basketball" pants from Adidas. They snap up the side of the legs, worked great.
An inexpensive fleece pant from Old Navy. Bought several of those at $10 on sale. For the trip home from the hospital, I split just enough of the outside seam (6", maybe) to pass through the folded (empty) big bag so I could carry it in a shopping bag.
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