[hipcrip]

Geez, I hope it doesn't appear that I'm trying to 'jack the forum now that I have a few of the more recent questions on the boards -- I'm just so excited to hear from people like me and benefit from your wisdom and experience. Having never had access to a urologist since starting to use a Foley -- let alone someone versed in SCI issues -- these boards are invaluable.

A reply to another post from doublelibra about the fact that she exclusively uses new overnight bags to help her avoid infections (by keeping her system closed almost all of the time) got me wondering about the precautions taken to avoid infection by folks who do change bags when they go out in public.

Specifically:
Do you reuse your overnight bags and/or leg bags? If so, how do you clean and store them between uses to prevent contamination by bacteria? How many times to you clean and reuse a bag before you pitch it?

And on a somewhat different track, has anyone here ever tried the Belly Bag?

Once again, thanks in advance for all replies!

--HC

[ronz8674]

hello HC
I use condom cath/leg bags and havent had to change in public[touch wood] for ages if I need to drain can usually find disabled toilet but have other emergency plans!! As for washing I change bags when I change condom and wash with warm water and an anti- bacterial washing liquid the bags seem to go on forever. Not heard of the stomach bags

[longhaul]

HC I use a Urocare reusable latex leg bag and "Alpine Fresh" urinary appliance cleaner that I add Grapefruit seed extract and Colloidal Silver to to kill bacteria. I use two bags one in the cleaner one on the leg and rotate them I replace both bags every two months. So far so good no UTI s and it's been years.

[russ1]

I have an supra pubic cath and use leg bags - I'm a big fan of manfred sauer products, I use a new leg bag every 3 or 4 days and chuck out the old one. I also connect a new night bag every night. While in the UK we're lucky that the NHS is happy to fund new bags and doesn't require us to reuse I understand that it's necessary elsewhere but if you can avoid it it's a lot easier and is supposed to help avoid infection.

Don't understand the comment about changing bags when going out in public though? Leg bags generally(1) stay on permanently for 3 to 4 days and night bag connects to leg bag overnight.

(1) I do take them off to shower/bath and for sex and then reconnect them which isn't quite the recommended procedure but hasn't yet caused me any problems

[hipcrip]

Sorry about causing so much confusion with the phrasing "changing bags to go out in public." What I meant by that is changing between leg bags and overnight bags. I only change over to a leg bag when I leave the house -- otherwise I just leave my night bag connected. I keeps my system closed for longer periods of time, and cuts down on the number of bags I need to clean.

@russ: Just like you were confused by me, I need some clarification from you about keeping your leg bag attached for fours days straight but using an overnight bag too. When I connect to an overnight bag, I take my leg/belly bag off, clean it, hang it to dry, and then store it until my next use -- sometimes there isn't a need for the storage part because I put it on the next morning. When the leg/belly bag goes on, the night bag gets cleaned. Do you just leave your leg bag on, but not connected, at night and cap off the entry port somehow? How do you keep germs from entering when it's not hooked up to your cath? Leaving a leg/belly bag in place for that long would be an invitation for pressure sores with me -- my legs wouldn't tolerate having a bag in the same spot for that many days in a row.

Ah, if only Medicare would adopt your NHS attitude about clean bags so I could avoid reuse! Medicare will pay for two overnight bags for me each month -- and by pay for, I mean pay 80 percent of the cost. This means I have to clean the overnight/leg bags between each use, or pay the full cost when bags cannot be reused (e.g. when recovering from a UTI.)

@longhaul: am I understanding it correctly that you use a leg bag 24/7 and just switch between two legs bags? If so, how often do you switch? I guess what I'm trying to find out is the actual process of cleaning -- do you leave the leg bag not in use filled with cleaner until the moment you put it into use? That's an interesting thought -- and would solve the hassles of trying to dry and store a bag so that it doesn't mildew and remains as sterile as possible for a bag that is being reused.

If you do use a night bag as well, do you reuse a bag or use a fresh one each night?

Am intrigued very much by your use of colloidal silver. Do you make your own? Do you use it for anything besides cleaning your bags?

@ronz: sorry to confuse you! When you wash your bags, how long do you soak them? How do you dry and store them between uses?

[Meredith]

My bf is a para and uses leg bags and overnight bags and does NOT change them frequently. He gets a wicked infection about every 3 months and I never connected it to the bags! This may seem like a dumb question, but could it be????

[russ1]

Meredith, on Jan 4 2009, 12:36 AM, said:

My bf is a para and uses leg bags and overnight bags and does NOT change them frequently. He gets a wicked infection about every 3 months and I never connected it to the bags! This may seem like a dumb question, but could it be????

Errr - almost certainly

[russ1]

hipcrip, on Jan 4 2009, 12:04 AM, said:

Sorry about causing so much confusion with the phrasing "changing bags to go out in public." What I meant by that is changing between leg bags and overnight bags. I only change over to a leg bag when I leave the house -- otherwise I just leave my night bag connected. I keeps my system closed for longer periods of time, and cuts down on the number of bags I need to clean.

@russ: Just like you were confused by me, I need some clarification from you about keeping your leg bag attached for fours days straight but using an overnight bag too. When I connect to an overnight bag, I take my leg/belly bag off, clean it, hang it to dry, and then store it until my next use -- sometimes there isn't a need for the storage part because I put it on the next morning. When the leg/belly bag goes on, the night bag gets cleaned. Do you just leave your leg bag on, but not connected, at night and cap off the entry port somehow? How do you keep germs from entering when it's not hooked up to your cath? Leaving a leg/belly bag in place for that long would be an invitation for pressure sores with me -- my legs wouldn't tolerate having a bag in the same spot for that many days in a row.

When I was in hosp. they used to take the leg bag off at night and connect the night bag - however on leaving my district nurse showed me how to connect the night bag to the bottom of the leg bag (most systems should be designed to facilitate this) thus draining through the leg bag and keeping the system closed for longer. Using wide straps and a thigh bag means that the leg bag doesn't affect my skin - however I usually loosen off the straps at night. You can always move the bag around without disconnecting it.

Personally I'd hate being around the house trailing a night bag around but that maybe just me.

[Meredith]

russ1, on Jan 4 2009, 10:30 AM, said:

Meredith, on Jan 4 2009, 12:36 AM, said:

My bf is a para and uses leg bags and overnight bags and does NOT change them frequently. He gets a wicked infection about every 3 months and I never connected it to the bags! This may seem like a dumb question, but could it be????

Errr - almost certainly

Duh, right. So uhhhh would anyone on here mind telling him? hahaaa. He hates when I suggest things, he takes it as I am saying he doesn't know how to take care of himself........I'll just mention this little post somehow. He's a member of a Rutgers SCI Forum but I don't think he is on this one. I keep this one to myself b/c sometimes there are things I need to throw out there and if I am going to be honest, it could hurt his feelings, ya know....(i.e. my recent post about my mother-i don't tell him everything about that bc there's no need, it would only hurt him!)

[Izziwhizzi]

I'm lucky that the NHS fund a new leg and night bag for me every day - yep sounds like a luxury.

They still leak on first days though sometimes - well, thinking about it maybe not for quite a while - so maybe they are getting better.

One of my pet hates about being around some paras, is that some smell of either stale urine from a smelly re-used bag, or even the opposite when all you can smell is disinfectant.

I use a coloplast bag that has a fleecy - nonplastic - side to go against my leg.

And yes, I think my use of non reused bags is why my infection rate is low.

I had trouble with circulation veins in one lower leg when I was pregnant and unfortunately this happens now again when my legs swell over the day with my bag straps. So I am stuck to using one leg which I don't like. I may opt for the night bag in a bag under my chair, threaded out from my waist as I do with shorts. Don't worry I don't allow for wee coloured tubing to show under my chair, I have black cloth tubing that goes over my bag tube and hides it. Thats how I wear my bag with shorts too.

[Susi]

Hi there All
I have not contributed much in the past as I feel my circumstances are SO different to all of you in the UK, Canada, America, etc., sometimes I just look, read and don't add a comment.
But I hope to rectify this this year!
We here in Namibia or South Africa are not so ?lucky as our fellow paras/quads on the other side of the world.
I am amazed to read of all these UTI's everyone has, DESPITE all the help you get!!!
My experience 6 years post injury is;
Legbags and Overnight bags, change 1x a month. New ones.
Daily maintenance: Clean bags with a Jik (it is a household anti-bacterial bleach solution) 1 part Jik to 10 parts water. (The best anti-bacterial solution)
I have NEVER smelt in public EVER, neither have I leaked and neither have I had a UTI since leaving Rehab.
This whole infection thing I think stems from hygiene 1st and foremost. Sometimes using the most basic tools handy for circumstances beyond our control, works better than having all at your disposal and still end up getting UTI's in the bargain.
I was told all this in rehab as most of us in Africa have to be self-reliant as we are not a welfare state.
My experience is changing leg bags and overnight bags every day or every other day invokes more chances of inviting infections than leaving it on a month to month basis.
Good luck out there.

[Quad65]

I've used a condom-cath and leg-bag set-up for about 43 years. I also use an overnight bag when I sleep. The condom-cath is changed about twice a week; more frequently when my wife and I are intimate. Leg-bags are changed about every six weeks to two months, depending on how brittle they get. I try to go as long as possible to save $$$. Same with night-bags. I try to change them before they spring a leak. Nothing like a boot full of piss to ruin your day. All I've ever done is rinse them out at night or morning with water. No special cleaning or disinfecting agents.

With a condom-cath, there is no back-up of contaminated urine from tubing or bags back into the bladder. It might be a different case with an indwelling catheter. I could see where special cleanliness would be helpful to prevent UTIs. In my case, UTIs only became a problem because I had too high a residual and wasn't draining my bladder fully. A couple minor procedures corrected that.

[china]

My partner usea condom drainage and changes condom and leg bag daily after bathing,

He also changes his night bag every night, He never has uti's.

We do get enough each month to be able to dispose of the used ones daily.

so we are lucky in that respect.


maria

[Illinois Boy]

Quad65, on Jan 10 2009, 01:56 PM, said:

I've used a condom-cath and leg-bag set-up for about 43 years. I also use an overnight bag when I sleep. The condom-cath is changed about twice a week; more frequently when my wife and I are intimate. Leg-bags are changed about every six weeks to two months, depending on how brittle they get. I try to go as long as possible to save $$$. Same with night-bags. I try to change them before they spring a leak. Nothing like a boot full of piss to ruin your day. All I've ever done is rinse them out at night or morning with water. No special cleaning or disinfecting agents.

With a condom-cath, there is no back-up of contaminated urine from tubing or bags back into the bladder. It might be a different case with an indwelling catheter. I could see where special cleanliness would be helpful to prevent UTIs. In my case, UTIs only became a problem because I had too high a residual and wasn't draining my bladder fully. A couple minor procedures corrected that.

Same here........

And strap the leg bag to your calf of your leg, not your thigh.......

Jim