Sometimes in our life there are diseases that require an artificial connection with the vessels or body cavities for the introduction of drugs into them, or emptying of the urinary fluid. This process is called catheterization. Used for medical reasons.
Catheters. Species
A catheter is a medical instrument, which is a tube through which the patient receives the necessary medicinal solutions and liquid, and also removes fluid from the bladder when he cannot perform this function.
Catheters are vascular and cavitary. The most common abdominal catheter is the urinary urethral catheter. It is designed to be placed in the urethra to empty the bladder of accumulated fluid when this cannot occur naturally. Urinary catheters require constant wear, so they are fixed to the skin at the injection site. The most common in medical practice is the urological Foley catheter. These are two or threecatheters designed for long-term or short-term bladder catheterization during medical procedures.
Catheters need cleaning
The installed urinary catheter needs to be cleaned and treated with special solutions from time to time. Therefore, the patient himself and his relatives need to know how to flush the catheter correctly. According to the rules, it is necessary to monitor what fluid passes through the catheter. Since the frequency of flushing the tube that passes this liquid depends on it. The tube is supposed to be flushed weekly, although in practice this happens every two weeks.
Urine retention in the bladder can cause many unpleasant and even serious consequences, since stagnant urine is an ideal environment in which various pathogens feel very comfortable and actively develop. They can cause infections. Therefore, flushing the bladder through a special catheter is a very important procedure, which makes it possible to protect oneself from many diseases in the genitourinary tract. In order to reduce the risk of infection to a minimum, the catheterization method is used. Its essence is that a special tube is inserted into the urethra, to which a reservoir is attached - a urine collector. It contributes to the timely removal of urine from the bladder, preventing the development of infection processes in its cavity.
To resist the development of infections, you need to know how to properly flush the catheter. In medicalinstitutions, this issue is de alt with by qualified personnel. In this case, the risk is reduced to almost zero. But at home, you should carefully follow all the rules and recommendations for cleaning the catheter, so as not to aggravate the patient's condition with inflammation of the bladder. If a person is forced to wear a catheter, bladder infections are highly undesirable and can be avoided if you know how to flush the urinary catheter. When caring for this device, it should be remembered that all necessary manipulations should be carried out only after the most thorough and prolonged washing of hands, and even with medical gloves.
Catheter cleaning
To properly carry out the procedure, you must follow these recommendations:
- washing the skin around the catheter with soapy water twice a day to prevent infection from developing and getting into the catheter;
- after each bowel movement, the patient must be washed and gently dry the skin with a towel or napkin;
- for women, when washing and wiping the perineum, it is necessary to move from front to back so that the bacteria in the rectum do not get into the urinary tract and catheter tube;
- daily wash the urinal with a solution of 3% table vinegar with water in a ratio of 1: 7;
- while emptying the urinal every 3-4 hours;
- keep the urinal below the level of the bladder;
- report any discomfortattending physician immediately;
- clogged catheter that has begun to hurt the patient needs to be replaced immediately;
- do not pull on the catheter and disconnect it only for flushing, replacement, and after each emptying of the urinal.
In order for the patient to feel comfortable at home with the catheter in place, he or his family should be taught how to flush the catheter at home. This procedure is not so complicated, but requires care and attention.
Cleaning frequency
In order for the device to be cleaned efficiently, it is necessary to know how often the catheter is flushed. According to medical recommendations, this procedure should be performed daily, and if the case is rather simple, then it is enough to do a flush with a slightly warmed saline solution. This daily procedure will protect the patient from pathogenic bacteria. The amount of solution for washing the bladder is determined by the full volume of the organ. When this organ is filled with urine, you need to measure the amount of urine excreted and apply a disinfectant solution in the same amount.
Furacilin wash
If flakes or sediment appear in the urine, you need to rinse the catheter with furacilin. You can prepare a solution of furacilin suitable for disinfection at home by dissolving two of its tablets in 400 ml of slightly cooled boiled water. Having passed the solution through double gauze, it can be used. But still it is better to buy this solution in a pharmacy or use 3% boric acid or dioxidine,diluted 1:40, either miramistin or 2% chlorhexine.
Preparing for catheter flushing
The patient's relatives often panic, having no idea how to flush the bladder catheter so that it is effective and does not add new problems to the patient. But do not worry: every serious and responsible person will be able to cope with this task. You just need to carefully read the recommendations of experts and follow them step by step. However, before proceeding with washing, preparatory manipulations should be carried out:
- Wash your hands thoroughly and protect them with sterile gloves.
- Disinfect the desired surface with a disinfectant solution and let it dry.
- Remove the cork from the saline bottle and treat the neck with alcohol. To achieve the desired sterility, you need to do this for at least 15 seconds.
- Do not touch the neck with your fingers or put them inside.
- Use a sterile syringe.
- Insert the needle into the saline solution in a vertical position, immersing its tip in the liquid.
- Draw a solution into the syringe and remove excess air from it, do not put the needle anywhere else.
Flushing the urinary catheter
Now let's talk about how to flush the urinary catheter. Starting washing, you must again wash your hands very well, and then perform the following manipulations:
- Wipe with alcohol the place where the drainage channel and the catheter touch, doing this for at least 30seconds.
- Wait for the skin and the device to dry naturally.
- Have a towel and some kind of container to collect urine and other liquids at the site of catheter flushing.
- Disconnect the drainage tube from the system, close the end with a sterile tip and set aside for a while.
- Insert an empty syringe into the catheter and pull the plunger to check if there is urine left, drain it into the prepared container.
- Pull out the contents of the catheter completely.
- Take another saline syringe, insert it slowly and as carefully as possible into the catheter until resistance appears. Pause for a few seconds after each infusion of 2 ml of saline, infusion of 2 ml again and again a short pause until all the solution is poured - this is how to perform this manipulation.
- Squeeze the end of the catheter, pull out the syringe, close the valve on the catheter.
- Let the catheter drain well, make sure it is empty.
- Wipe the catheter where it connects to the drainage tube.
- Wash your hands again and rub alcohol on the end of the catheter where it connects to the tube, let it dry.
- Then, on the other side of the tube, remove the protective cap and also wipe the end with alcohol.
- Insert the dry tube into the catheter, making sure that the fluid flows out normally.
If you are in doubt about how to flush the catheter, it is better to use the help of a urologist. The doctor will be able to show the whole process, point out mistakes in home catheter flushing.
Foley catheter. Features
It should be separately discussed how to flush the Foley catheter. Some operations are performed in the same way as when flushing a conventional urinary catheter, but there are also features:
- wash hands for 15 seconds with soap and water, disinfect them well with an alcohol wipe;
- wipe the work surface with disinfectant, let it dry;
- pull out the plastic stopper from the saline bottle, wipe the neck of the bottle with alcohol;
- wipe the rubber neck for at least 15 seconds;
- after treatment, do not touch the disinfected surfaces with your hands;
- use a sterile syringe for flushing;
- attach the needle to the syringe along with the cap, which can be removed before use, making sure it is firmly connected to the syringe;
- do not touch the needle with your fingers;
- pulling the plunger, fill the syringe with air exactly to the 10 ml mark;
- inserting a sterile needle into the rubber cap of the bottle, expel the air directly into the bottle, keeping the needle strictly vertical;
- turn the saline bottle upside down and fill the syringe with 10 ml;
- needle must remain inserted into the cap of the saline solution, be below the liquid level so as not to trap air;
- remove air bubbles with a pat on the syringe, carefully push them outward by lightly pressing the plunger, while the needle remains in the saline solution;
- pull out the needle by capping it.
Folley Catheter Flushing
Preparatorypart is finished. Now directly about how to flush the catheter. Here we also act by analogy with the above method:
- wash hands thoroughly, dry with paper towel;
- clean the catheter and drainage tube by rubbing alcohol for 15-30 seconds, let dry without speeding up the process;
- prepare a towel and a container for draining liquid and urine;
- disconnect the drainage tube from the catheter, close the free end with a cap;
- next, repeat the same list of manipulations as when flushing a conventional urinary catheter.
Catheter in vein
We should dwell a little more on how to flush a catheter in a vein. Through intravenous infusion, injections are made directly into the venous bed. After each infusion, the catheter should be flushed with saline to minimize drug interactions and prevent vascular occlusion. The catheter is washed with the usual 0.9% saline solution or a mixture of heparin and sodium chloride in a ratio of 0.02 ml per 1 ml, respectively. This should be done before and after the catheter is used.
Speaking about how to flush a venous catheter, it should be noted that this process is performed as follows: after the end of intravenous infusion of drugs, the catheter is filled with 5-6 ml of dissolved isotonic sodium chloride with 2500 IU of heparin, then the cannula at the catheter is closed sterilized rubber stopper. Flushing is carried out after each infusion 2-3 times a day.during the day.
Conclusion
Flushing a catheter is an important topic. Knowing this will help provide patients with sterile care for catheters, protect them from infections and inflammation of diseased organs.
