Catheter Care

[esunada]

Stupid question but I have to ask: if a person has a foley catheter in place can they not sleep on their side? Will it pinch? I've only seen people on their backs and I was wondering if that was the case but it seems awful as far as bed sores.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

persons with foley catheters can lie in any position of comfort or as needed for appropriate care.

make sure the catheter is not pinched under a hip or being pulled to avoid injury. the drainage tube should always be placed below the level of the bladder, with no u bends, so the urine drains and does not pool in a loop.

males should have the catheter secured to the lower abdomen (with the member pointing up towards the navel-- not pulled tight, though) to avoid pressure injury to the bulbourethral junction. a lot of people don't do that, though.

women should have it secured to a thigh, but make sure that if the thigh moves there's no traction on the catheter, so the balloon doesn't compress hard up against the origin of the urethra and damage it.