Difficult Foley insertion

[Deernc]

Call me indifferent but my graduate coworker nurses claim the DON told them to put the foley in the freezer to firm it up, not the refrigerator, not cold water, but the freezer, before inserting into a difficult male client, because he proved impossible to cath with a flimsy catheter. Seems to me this could fall under many titles such as abuse, it could cause perhaps shock, and this is a LTC skilled facility not a OR or carefully monitored situation. It Seems wrong and I would like someone to prove different.

[TriciaJ, RN]

Personally, I think that that's a rather novel idea. The cath is straight and will 'soften' in about 30 seconds or so.

Do any of us more senior nurses remember doing something similar with the 'red rubber' NG tubes?

I don't recall ever reading in any textbook about flushing GTs with ginger ale, but staff do it. And they use scissors to cut the inflation port on foleys for removal - not in any text I read.

Here's why you don't cut the inflation port for removal: sometimes the sterile water doesn't drain and then you have no way to get it out. That's what I was told by more seasoned urology nurses. I never saw this myself; didn't want to take the chance.

[amoLucia]

RE: the freezer 'chilling' of the foley cath. (1) It would be put into the freezer with the original sterile wrap intact. (2) It would 'soften' by the time you got it from the freezer to the pt's bedside. I remember more now about the old fashioned 'red rubbers' we used to use. They were in their Central Supply wrap, but we put the pack on a basin of cracked ice that we carried to the bedside. So I'm thinking you could put a 'blue pad'/barrier down on some ice and then lay the mfg-wrapped foley on top to chill.

And just to be clear - there would NEVER, EVER, EVER be forcing of any catheter (or other instrument) for an insertion in a procedure. I don't know where that idea ever came up.

(3) Just a little 'firming' up of the cath.

And to TriciaJ - So sorry! I never meant to say it was acceptable to cut the instillation port on the foley. Just the opposite. Sorry I wasn't clearer. I cringe when staff clip the cath for removal, and for just the reason you comment. And staff all do it. I think I'm the only person I knew who would only syringe-deflate the foley. And if the balloon was one of those 30cc caths - oy vey! (I've see similar problems with GTs that won't deflate.)