Taking Care of Your Urinary Catheter Bag

You have an indwelling urinary catheter. This drains urine from your bladder into a bag. The bag can be one that is used at your bedside. Or it can be a smaller bag that is strapped to your leg. Follow the steps below to care for a urinary bag.

• Always wash your hands before handling your catheter bag or tubing.
• Always keep the drainage bag below the level of your bladder. This will help keep urine from flowing back into your bladder.
• Check often to see that urine is flowing through the catheter into the drainage bag.
• Empty the drainage bag when it is half full. This will keep it from overflowing or backing up.
• When you empty the drainage bag, do not let the tubing or drain spout touch anything.
• Keep the cap that comes with the tubing, and cover the tip of the tubing when not in use.

• Wash your hands well with soap and water to prevent infecting the urinary catheter and bag.
• If the short drainage tube is inserted into a pocket on the bag, take the drainage tube out of the pocket.
• Hold the drainage tube over a toilet or measuring container. Open the valve.
• Don't touch the tip of the valve or let it touch the toilet or container.
• Wash your hands again.
• Some bags are disposable while others may be cleaned. Ask your care team for advice for your bag.

• When the bag is empty, clean the tip of the drainage valve with an alcohol wipe.
• Close the valve.
• Reinsert the drainage tube into the pocket, if there is one.

• Wash your hands well before and after cleaning your skin.
• If you have a catheter (such as a Foley) that enters through the urethra, clean the urethral area with soap and water 1 time(s) daily as you were taught by your doctor. You should also clean after every bowel movement to prevent infection.
  • Don't pull on the tubing when cleaning so you don't injure the urethra.
  • Don't apply antibiotic ointment or any other antibacterial product to the urethra.
  • Don't use lubricant on the urethra.
  • Don't apply powder to the genital area or to the tubing.
• If you have a suprapubic catheter, your doctor will tell you how to clean your skin around the catheter. This is a catheter that was surgically placed into the bladder through the lower belly (abdomen).

• Check the tubing. If there are kinks, cracks, clogs, or you can't see into the tubing, you'll need to change to new tubing as you were shown by your doctor.
• If the current tubing can still be used, wash it with soap and water. Always wash the tubing in the direction away from your body. Don't pull on the tubing.
• Dry the tubing with a clean washcloth or paper towel.

When you change from the one type of drainage bag to the other, follow these directions to clean the bag that is not being used. Your doctor may advise that you use a certain solution to clean the bag. Ask your doctor if and how often you should clean your bag and what solution you should use to reduce odor and keep the bag free of germs.

• Rinse the bag with cold water, wash with warm, soapy water, and rinse very well with cold, clear water.
• Then fill the drainage bag with the solution your doctor advised you to use. This can be done with a syringe through the drainage spout.
• Shake the solution a bit and allow it to remain in the bag for 30 minutes.
• Drain the solution and rinse the bag with cold tap water.
• Empty the bag, and let it air dry.

Follow these steps when you change from one type of drainage bag to the other:

• Wash your hands well with soap and water.
• Empty the drainage bag that is attached to the tubing and catheter. Do not touch the tip against the container or the toilet as you empty the urine.
• Put a clean towel under the tubing attached to the bag.
• Clamp or fold the catheter tubing to stop urine flow.
• Use an alcohol wipe to clean the tip of the tubing on the bag to be connected.
• Then securely connect the bag tubing to the catheter tubing.
• Use straps to fasten the bag to your calf if you are attaching a leg bag. You may need to secure the tubing to your thigh with tape. Be careful not to pull the catheter tubing too tight.
• Wash your hands well with soap and water.

Contact your doctor right away if you have any of these:

• Little or no urine flowing into the bag
• Urine leaking where the catheter enters the body
• Pain, burning feeling, or redness where the catheter enters the body
• Bloody urine (a trace of blood is normal)
• Cloudy or bad-smelling urine, or sand-like grains in your urine
• Pain in your lower back or lower belly (abdomen)
• Your catheter falls out
• Fever of 100.4° F ( 38°C ) or higher, or as advised by your doctor
• Shaking chills