19 replies to this topic

[nnnnnnn]

For cathing we are always told "wash hands." I don't know about you but for me this is not realistic. Apart from the fact it is hard to reach the sink, after one washes the hands, one normally touches the wheelchair wheels, which are extremely dirty.

One can also use those alcohol wipes on hands, but I don't really think those are that effective for very dirty hands, they don't really get all the dirt and stuff off.

I am not sure that the non-sterile gloves packaged in a big box are very clean either after weeks of use. Sterile gloves seem the best solution, but are expensive.

What do you think is the best and cleanest solution for hand sanitation for cathing?

Edited by nnnnnnn, 10 February 2012 - 11:13 AM.

[pikey]

Wash your hands in the sink to get the worst off move to the toilet then use the alcohol wipes, it may help if you use the palm of your hand to push you closer to the toilet as well. I use a Dispos-A-Gloves on the hand I hold my catheter in they are not sterile but come on a paper backing.

If you use non-sterile gloves in a big box take some out and put them in an air tight container to help keep them cleaner till you use them.

[Tetracyclone]

Nothing to add, but having a sink within reach is marvelous.

[Ches]

I use a glove too.. Idk about you guys, but us girls just require the one hand to do our thing.
I dont always have the time to stop and wash/dry my hands and make it to the toilet before I piss, gloves are quicker.

[Zack]

I was listening to the Charge Nurse in Rehab 30 years ago while she was teaching a para room mate next to me how to Cath himself with a sterile technique. Him not being the brightest & very clumsey at keeping it a sterile field. She told him to forget getting the gloves on without contaminating their outside, your not allegic to your own bacteria so just wash your hands and Cath yourself without the sterile gloves!
that was said to a man with the worst hygiene I've ever seen! CRAZY!!

( Not Something I'd recommend ) I just felt like sharing!

[nnnnnnn]

Well am I the only one who feels more comfortable using sterile gloves?

[wiggy]

i just use some hand sanitizer after i've washed the dirt and stuff of me hands. use my bare hands to cath. No i don't suffer from UTIs.

[ZEN12many]

If I am in my own house, I wash my hands at the sink, dry on a towel only I use, wash the head of my penis and cat into a hand-held urinal. Then I empty the urinal into the toilet when I am done.

When I am out, I use a moist wipe that comes in individual packets. (I find the Walgreens brand to be the most moist).

[Trinity]

wash hands then alcohol gel and a good non-touch technique is the way forward, I rarely use gloves unless I have real problems washing them before.

Zack although you aren't "allergic" to your own bacteria as such, if you get that bacteria in the wrong place you will get an infection for example, the majority of UTI's are Ecoli which lives harmlessly in your gut, however get it in your bladder and BAM

Admittedly it's probably easier for girls as Ches said, it only takes one hand and minimal handling, you can also get those all in one cath kits which means the catheter doesn't need handling at all

[dom]

Trinity, on 10 February 2012 - 09:39 PM, said:

wash hands then alcohol gel and a good non-touch technique is the way forward, I rarely use gloves unless I have real problems washing them before.

Zack although you aren't "allergic" to your own bacteria as such, if you get that bacteria in the wrong place you will get an infection for example, the majority of UTI's are Ecoli which lives harmlessly in your gut, however get it in your bladder and BAM

Admittedly it's probably easier for girls as Ches said, it only takes one hand and minimal handling, you can also get those all in one cath kits which means the catheter doesn't need handling at all

yes i agree Trin i never use gloves and hardly have UtIs i cannot see how anybody would touch the catheter anywhere but the end that doesn't go into the urethra???

[wiggy]

dom, on 10 February 2012 - 09:43 PM, said:

yes i agree Trin i never use gloves and hardly have UtIs i cannot see how anybody would touch the catheter anywhere but the end that doesn't go into the urethra???

that's the only way i can feed the bugger through.

[cdngrl]

I use a baby wipe...it works for them and it is compact and travels well.

[mellowgator]

i wash my hands with soap when possible and if i can't or have to roll to a toilet i use a baby wipe on my hands and i also use on on my uretha area. i don't use gloves because my hands are clean.

so i think clean hands with clean gloves will suffice. but try not to let the cathater tip touch anything and you're good as your'e gonna get.


mellowgator

[dom]

wiggy, on 10 February 2012 - 10:41 PM, said:

dom, on 10 February 2012 - 09:43 PM, said:

yes i agree Trin i never use gloves and hardly have UtIs i cannot see how anybody would touch the catheter anywhere but the end that doesn't go into the urethra???

that's the only way i can feed the bugger through.

yes i can understand that a bit what type do you use wiggy? i notice if i use warm water the cath is more flexible and harder to push in from the end so i generally use cold water so it's more rigid, how is your hand function?

[Ches]

There has been times that I've gotten myself into a stall, all frantic (on the verge of pissing all over myself out in public) only to realize Im out of gloves and already on the potty.. times like that I do as others have mentioned and just DONT touch the catheter near the tip.

One good thing about gloves is this.. If youre in a loud place, and you cant hear your stream ( or see it-girls) then the glove gives me the freedom to stick one finger under the stream n check that Im still going..

[qbounce]

No gloves here either.While out in public, after washing my hands, I've learned to simply palm the wheels to the stall to minimize contact. I too have to touch the cath with my hand as I apply the lube. I can't use the slick caths, as they're to slippery for my grip, and the cath cover doesn't work for my technique, which includes using the sheath as a funnel dropping the urine directly into the toilet.
I met a guy who knew a guy who used spit to wet his catheter for years, no lube required.I guess it's true, your body does get used to it's own bacteria.

Edited by qbounce, 11 February 2012 - 09:33 PM.

[pikey]

[dom]

qbounce, on 11 February 2012 - 09:30 PM, said:

No gloves here either.While out in public, after washing my hands, I've learned to simply palm the wheels to the stall to minimize contact. I too have to touch the cath with my hand as I apply the lube. I can't use the slick caths, as they're to slippery for my grip, and the cath cover doesn't work for my technique, which includes using the sheath as a funnel dropping the urine directly into the toilet.
I met a guy who knew a guy who used spit to wet his catheter for years, no lube required.I guess it's true, your body does get used to it's own bacteria.

Ha Ha Q that made me laugh, 'when men were real men' lol i don't touch the slippery bit at all i only touch the small funnel bit at the end to insert it,i did try thse ones you have to self-lube at the hospital and couldn't be doing with that lol it seemed over complicated to me


Those were the days........
Blockage of urine in the bladder, due to syphilis and other venereal diseases, was fairly common at a time when antibiotics were not available. The urinary catheter – a metal tube inserted through the urethra into the bladder – was first used in the mid-1300s. When a tube could not easily be passed into the bladder to relieve the obstruction, other procedures to enter the bladder were devised, some quite novel, though all probably as painful and dangerous as the condition itself.

Here is a description of the treatment of kidney stones: "If there is a stone in the bladder make sure of it as follows: have a strong person sit on a bench, his feet on a stool; the patient sits on his lap, legs bound to his neck with a bandage, or steadied on the shoulders of the assistants. The physician stands before the patient and inserts two fingers of his right hand into the anus, pressing with his left fist over the patient's pubes. With his fingers engaging the bladder from above, let him work over all of it. If he finds a hard, firm pellet it is a stone in the bladder... If you want to extract the stone, precede it with light diet and fasting for two days beforehand. On the third day, ... locate the stone, bring it to the neck of the bladder; there, at the entrance, with two fingers above the anus incise lengthwise with an instrument and extract the stone."

[wiggy]

dom, on 11 February 2012 - 12:18 PM, said:

yes i can understand that a bit what type do you use wiggy? i notice if i use warm water the cath is more flexible and harder to push in from the end so i generally use cold water so it's more rigid, how is your hand function?

full hand function, 14 fr. silicone

[dom]

Ok that's good my silicone ones have a small funnel on the end and i use that to insert them,