Suprapubic Catheter Care at Home (for a temporary catheter)

Purpose of the suprapubic catheter:

• To drain urine from your bladder after surgery
• To have long-term when your bladder does not function properly or to prevent skin breakdown

The catheter may be connected to your skin by a suture or stitch. There is also a balloon in the bladder that keeps it in place so you don't need to worry about it falling out.

How long will I have the catheter?

Removing the catheter varies from days to weeks, depending on your bladder function and the type of surgery.

Living with a catheter

While you have a suprapubic catheter you may:

• Eat the foods you normally eat.
• Wear comfortable, loose clothing.
• Drink plenty of liquids ( this includes water, soft drinks, juices and other beverages, gelatin, yogurt and soup). Unless you have been told to limit how much you drink for other health reasons, drink eight glasses each day.
• Go for a walk every day, take care of your personal needs, and limit your home responsibilities to light housework for the next three to four weeks or as your doctor advises. No heavy lifting of more than 25 pounds or as directed by your doctor.
• Shower instead of taking a tub bath. On days that you don't shower, wash the skin where the catheter exits your body. Rinse and dry well.
• Do not tug on the catheter. Tuck it inside your underwear. Tape your catheter to your abdomen to keep it from getting caught, irritating the skin and pulling out.
• Wash your hands before and after touching the catheter.
• Follow the guidelines you receive for bladder retraining.

Supplies for use at home

• A container to urinate into and to measure urine
• Rubbing alcohol pads/wipes
• Bandages and tape
• Catheter plug

What is bladder retraining?

When the bladder goes for several days or longer without filling, it becomes lazy. Bladder retraining is a schedule of times the catheter is clamped to allow it to fill and unclamped to empty urine as it would normally. When the bladder is lazy it may hold old urine even when you try to empty it. Removing the catheter without retraining may lead to very frequent trips to the bathroom, problems emptying the bladder, discomfort and a chance of infection.

How to do bladder retraining:

1. Try to empty your bladder every two hours.
2. It is important to be aware of your bladder comfort. When you feel you need to empty your bladder, go ahead and try without pushing or bearing down. Measure this amount of urine. If you feel you cannot empty your bladder and you feel uncomfortable, open the catheter and drain your bladder. Measure and record this amount of urine.
3. When you have emptied your bladder as much as possible, open the catheter so it can drain completely. Measure how much urine drains from the catheter. This is called residual urine.
   • If your residual urine plus the amount you emptied on your own is less than 100 cc, you may wait longer to empty your bladder the next time.
   • If your residual urine plus the amount you emptied on your own is greater than 400 cc, you should not wait so long the next time.
   • Check for residual urine three times a day and /or when your bladder feels full and you are unable to empty.
4. Clean the plug and end of the catheter with the rubbing alcohol wipes. The plug needs to be pushed securely into the open end of the catheter. When draining your catheter you will want to keep the plug in your hand or place it upright on a flat surface to keep it as clean as possible.
5. Close and clamp or plug the catheter.
6. Keep a record of each time you empty your bladder. Write down the date and time you passed urine, the amount of urine passed and the amount of residual urine. Use the chart.
7. At night, empty your bladder when you feel the need. If your rest is interrupted by a frequent need to empty your bladder, limit how much liquid you drink just before you go to bed.
8. Change the gauze bandage around the catheter when it becomes dirty or wet.
9. When you go to your doctor's appointment, take your urine record with you.

Call your doctor if you have any of these problems:

• Pain in your lower abdomen or back.
• Catheter will not drain.
• Catheter falls out.
• Burning when you pass urine.
• Temperature higher than 100 degrees.
• And any other signs of problems your doctor tells you to watch for. At first you may expect some blood in your urine.

When can the catheter be removed?

When the amount of residual urine is under 100cc every time you empty, your catheter can be removed. Call your doctor's office to schedule an appointment to have your catheter removed. After your catheter is removed, the small opening in your skin will seal on its own. The opening may leak for several hours or days so you should continue to place a gauze bandage on this area. You probably won't need a dressing after that.

Whom may I call if I have questions? You may call your doctor's nurse at the office.