Has home health ruined your bladder?

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I've been doing this for about a year now. I do rural home health and often drive 30 miles with no stores between towns to see my patients. Now my post void residual is >100 ml and my urologist says its a "nurse thing" and he sees it frequently with nurses who hold their bladder. No damage done yet, but I do have trouble completely emptying my bladder when I do get the chance to go because it is so full. He says if I don't start urinating more frequently that I will have problems later on. Anyone been through this mess?

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Specializes in Home Health.

I would ask the patients with clean homes if I could use the bathroom. Or I would invest in the "she-wee" and pull off on a dirt road.

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My bladder was shot long before I started working full time in home health. Can't blame hh for my bladder condition. I think lots of us mess up our bladders. That's partly how those incontinence products got to be so popular.

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Googled the "She-Wee"... LOL oh my. When you gotta go, you gotta go I guess.

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Specializes in Clinical Documentation Specialist, LTC.

I'm hoping to get into HH soon, and can see how it would be difficult to find a potty when you need one between visits, however, LTC and clinic work has ruined my bladder lol! This past Friday I was so busy at the clinic I had no choice but to make a patient wait an extra 3 minutes for an injection. I really had to pee :bag:

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Specializes in Pedi.

Not in the least. When I worked in the hospital, I frequently went 14 hrs without peeing. Now my shifts are only 8 hrs long. Before I was diagnosed with DI, I was always someone who only used the bathroom 3x/day anyway. Now I'm on DDAVP with good effect. I work in the city so I can usually find somewhere to pee if I have to- I do a lot of lab draws via central lines/ports so I use the bathrooms at the hospitals when I'm dropping those off.

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Keep a bottle and wipes if there are no Mc Donalds (get your car glasses tinted). BTW I never use their toilet paper as it is surely contaminated. I also never use patient bathrooms unless there is an emergency.

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

Even though a nurse in an urban area, I was sometimes in neighborhoods with no suitable public bathrooms.

I frequently used the patients bathroom unless it was a total mess. Never a problem.

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
Keep a bottle and wipes if there are no Mc Donalds (get your car glasses tinted). BTW I never use their toilet paper as it is surely contaminated. I also never use patient bathrooms unless there is an emergency.

Paranoid, much?

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Nope, no probs. I drink a ton, too. In urban areas bigger chain gas stations and fast food places are usually good bets. In rural areas I've found people to be pretty understanding if you ask nicely to use theirs.

Personally for me, the very minimal risk of catching something in a less than sanitary bathroom is outweighed by the very real potential for UTIs or other issues caused by holding it. Just wash your hands well of course. Or if their sink is cruddy there's always your trusty sanitizer.

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I pee when I have to pee. If it's in a patients house, and I feel comfortable, I'll ask. If I have to go bad enough and it's dirty, I hover...very carefully as to not make a mess. If I'm in the middle of nowhere, it's a gravel road for me. I never held it in the hospital either. I'm sorry, but even in the ICU a patient can wait for 3 minutes while I pee so I can focus again!

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Specializes in ER, Forensic Nurse, SANE.

Never drink DIET COKE!!! OMG that makes you have to pee!. Only drink water.

:yes: You have to plan your route/ stops. Make sure your stopping at 10am and 2 pm.

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