foley balloon size

[bebop1]

I have a question about the balloon in the foley cath. I have recently moved to a new state, and here they seem to use a lot of 30 cc cath sizes. I am not used to using this size of cath for everyday cath patients. These patients seem to "leak" a lot. It was my understanding this bigger bulb cometimes causes irritation in the bladder and can make the bladder spasm more and thus the leaking? or am I totally wrong here? I am a home health nurse, and these patients are long time foley cath patients, and long time "leak" patients too. I am not sure. I am just always used to using the standard 10 cc bulbs.

any information would be great.

thanks.

[HHNurse<3]

All I know is that I have been told you have to inflate it all the way. A lot of patients request to only put 15 or 20 cc in but the urologists always recommend inflating it all the way to 30 cc.

[WV_heart_RN]

1. yes, you correct , the larger balloons can be irritating and lead to leaking. can you request a smaller catheter? in a long term dwell the patient should have a smaller balloon. when you go to ask take some stats with you. get info from wocn.org

2. yes, to the previous poster who said you have to fill the balloon up to the amount listed on the balloon. if you do not you risk the balloon laying incorrectly inside the bladder and irriating it and leading to leaking.