Guide
Catheter care and reducing infection risk
The single biggest risk with catheterisation is infection, and technique is most of the defense.
General principles
- Wash your hands before and after, properly, every time. This is not a formality.
- Single use means single use. Do not reuse a catheter marked for single use, whatever anyone tells you about washing it.
- Do not force. Resistance means stop and reassess — forcing causes trauma and trauma causes infection.
- Keep drainage bags below bladder level. Urine flowing back is a direct route for bacteria.
- Empty bags before they are full, and do not let the outlet touch the container.
Intermittent catheterisation
- Catheterise on the schedule you were given rather than waiting for the urge.
- Use enough lubrication, or a hydrophilic catheter, or a pre-lubricated one — friction causes urethral trauma.
- If you consistently have difficulty passing the catheter, tell your urologist. A coudé-tip catheter exists for exactly that and needs to be prescribed.
- Closed systems reduce contamination and are appropriate for some people — again, a clinical decision.
Indwelling catheters
- Secure the catheter to the leg so it does not tug at the urethra with movement. Traction causes damage.
- Clean around the insertion point daily with soap and water. Antiseptics are not needed and can irritate.
- Keep the closed system closed — every disconnection is an opportunity for bacteria.
- Do not clamp the catheter unless you have been specifically instructed to.
When to get help
Supply
Running short leads to reuse, and reuse leads to infection. That is why resupply reliability is not an administrative matter in this category — it is a clinical one. Tell us if your catheterisation frequency changes.
Related
About this guide
This is general information written to be useful, not medical advice, and it is not a coverage determination. It does not replace what your own clinician has told you about your own situation — where the two differ, follow your clinician.
We deliberately publish no prices, allowables or fee-schedule figures. Those vary by plan, state and year, and a stale number is worse than none. Call (800) 304-7030 and we will verify your actual benefit.
Not sure where to start?
Call us and tell us what happened — a surgery, a new diagnosis, a discharge date, a supply you keep running out of. We will tell you what is usually needed, check your benefits, and ask your prescriber for the order if you do not have one yet.