home foley teaching

[Nittlebug]

I'm an ER nurse, and every once in a great while we send someone home with a new foley and leg bag. We give them a big bag too to use at night, one that will hook onto the side of their bed. When I used to be a homehealth aid we instructed these people to rinse the bags in a vinegar/water solution and hang to dry. How do you instruct these people to clean/change these bags now? Are they to use soap and water or vinegar or something else?

[disher]

We suggest rinse with warm water, rinse with cold water, fill the bag with 50/50 vinegar and water, soak for 20 minutes drain.

If patient doesn't go home to a hospital bed they can "hang" the bedbag by putting it inside a pillowcase and tucking the top of the pillowcase between the boxspring and mattress.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

If patient doesn't go home to a hospital bed they can "hang" the bedbag by putting it inside a pillowcase and tucking the top of the pillowcase between the boxspring and mattress.

Disher, in my seventeen years of homecare never thought of that great advice!!

Still shows you can learn something new everyday.

[hoolahan, ASN, RN]

That is an excellent idea disher!!

I hope you guys don't mind, but I copied this thread into the home health forum. Not sure if all posts will go to both foums, will test it and see!

(Nope! If you want your response to appear in both forums, apparently you need to post on each one seperately.)

[Nittlebug]

Thanks NRSKaren ! I plan to visit the patient library soon, I found all kinds of teaching brochures there that we don't have in the ED.