Cathether Bag question

Nurses General Nursing

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How do you empty a cathether bag? I know where the "spout" is, but do you detach the bag and empty it into the toilet or what?

Sorry for the stupidity!

Specializes in ER/Tele, Med-Surg, Faculty, Urgent Care.

No, don't disconnect the bag from the catheter. It is a sterile/closed system.

Use a urinal or graduate & open the spout to empty into urinal/graduate. Be sure you clamp the spout so no urine leaks out. Measure & record the amount. Also note the color, clarity & odor of the urine.

:smokin:

the same container s/b being used, whatever it is.

some use a urinal, a (calibrated) container, if you cannot measure the uo in the bag

whatever is being used, it s/b in the bathroom, and marked.

once you collect it, then you dump it in the toilet.

but you do not detach the bag from the tubing.

and no stupid questions here.

leslie

Specializes in Cardiac/Tele/CVICU.

Leslie, I actually think I DO have a stupid question, LOL. What is "s/b"?

Leslie, I actually think I DO have a stupid question, LOL. What is "s/b"?

oops. :omy:

sorry about that.

s/b= should be.

leslie

Specializes in SICU, EMS, Home Health, School Nursing.

Like everyone else said, do not disconnect it. Empty the bag into a urinal or a graduate and make sure you clamp it shut!

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

The only "stupid" question is the one you don't ask.:wink2:

What was said earlier is true: a catheter should never be unhooked from the Y-connection---it's supposed to remain sterile, and the only way to assure this is to maintain a closed system. Besides, you'll wind up with a bed full of pee if you do this! Find a graduated container (these measure body fluids in ml's) and open the spout with gloved hands, then let the urine drain into the container. Just be sure NOT to leave the tubing unclamped..........everyone has probably done it once, but rarely (if ever) does it happen again after one has cleaned up the resulting puddle. LOL

Specializes in Rural - we do it all!!!.

I always use gloves. And I always take 2 paper towels with me. One to set on the floor, put the graduated container on top of it, just to keep the area/and the container clean - floors are always "dirty". And you can use this floor paper towel to wipe up any odd drips on the floor.

The 2nd paper towel, I use to wipe the stem of the drain after the cath bag is mt (empty). Just part of good cath bag care. I don't wipe the inside of the stem, just the outside.

One important point, never let the stem touch the sides of the graduated container - helps to not spread germs back into the cath bag.

And another thing that I do after measuring the contents of the container (on a flat surface), pouring the urine out, is to put a squirt of soap or bleach and water in, give it a swish and a rinse and let dry. Helps keep down on odor.

And if 2 patients are sharing a room - MARK the container with a sharpie!!! You wouldn't share a container any more than you'd share a bedpan!!!

Specializes in Med Surg, Hospice.

Oh yeah, be sure to clamp it again... otherwise you'll have a mess all over the floor. I had a nurse hunt me down to go clamp one and wipe up the mess... just because she couldn't be bothered. She wasted more time hunting me down than the amount of time it would have taken to just clamp it and clean it up herself. :bugeyes:

Specializes in ED.

Just thought I'd share a cute story about the "foley emptying experience" I had yesterday. I got a urinal, set it on the floor, and emptied the urine from the bag into it as usual. I then clamped the bag (important step as already discussed:), stood up, and proceeded to hold the urinal up at eye level to measure the amount. Little did I know that the urinal had a tiny whole in the side and urine squirted out EVERYWHERE...it was like a urine fountain. :wink2: The pt and family got a kick out of watching me sprint to the bathroom with my urine fountain. There was a nice little trail all the way to the bathroom. So my suggestion might be to check the urinal for any holes before filling it with urine!!! :idea:

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