Catheter bag placement?

Kidney and urinary tract
1

I’m investigating a Foley catheter after my recent difficulty using an intermittent catheter due to some kind of urethra tension/narrowing.

I know the care provider is supposed to handle this, but I’ve seen so many variations of catheter lock placement, bag placement and strap placement.

I would prefer calf placement, as thigh placement would not keep the urine below the bladder if you’re sitting. It would also allow me to watch TV in bed and hang my calf over the bed.

I’ve seen the calf straps placed above the knee, so it doesn’t slip, but this means the bag would bend with the knee. This does not seem like a bright idea.

They seem to place the Statlock on the inner thigh of a female and the top of the leg for a male. I get the mechanics here, but if you’re wearing underwear and you’re not hung like a Moose, the inner thigh would seem a safer option. They also show the catheter lock near the knee, but the Foley catheters I’ve seen are not overly long.

The final question is, how are you securing your night bag? I’ve seen some really cheap plastic hangers, but they don’t seem very sturdy and the mounting methods don’t look too flexible. There are no instructions for the night bag brands though, so it’s a bit unclear. Coloplast does make a folding plastic stand that looks much simpler to use.

2

I find the straps really uncomfortable (they roll up and when supporting a non-empty bag the weight dragging down means they slip). I use the mesh sleeves instead. They are a soft mesh fabric partial stocking, about 8” long, you wear like a garter, they keep the bag flat against your leg. The NHS don’t supply them (at least not in my area) but they are inexpensive to buy and are far superior to the straps IMO. Search ‘catheter elastic sleeve’ to find suppliers (or Amazon carry them).

Don’t worry about thigh placement not keeping the bag below the bladder when sitting, it’s not a problem. You will likely find that you pass most of your urine overnight, and during the day just standing up, making a coffee or simply straightening your leg periodically allow plenty of drainage. Unlike ISC, Foleys drain all the time, and aren’t reliant on you performing complex gymnastic routines to achieve a full drain. It’s simply set and forget. So it’s not a question of keeping the bag below all day in order to catch ‘bursts’, there is lots of flexibility.

As for valve placement, there are various options. You can have the Foley fitted with a high tap that is only a couple of inches below the urethra, and use day and night bags with long tubes. Or have a lower valve placement and use day bags with a shorter tube. Ask your continence nurse to show the options, there are several.

For night bag, I find the best place to hang it is at the foot of the bed, you can run the tube straight up the mattress to your Foley. I then place a towel over the tube, which helps avoid it getting snagged or crimped during the night, as well as protecting you from the valves/taps which can be uncomfortable to lie on. The advantage of this arrangement is that you can turn over without having to adjust the tube, which saves a lot of waking up through the night.

You can hang the bag on a plastic hanger which in turn you hang on the of the bed, or you can stand the hanger on the floor with the bag attached. The hangers don’t look very sturdy, but they don’t need to be, they literally just stand/hang there overnight, I’ve never had a problem with them. You may want to consider buying or making a bespoke bag hanger that you can fix to your bed, which would make bedtime routine very simple.

Don’t forget to open the valve before you go to sleep! And just as important, remember to close the valve before removing, emptying and disposing of the night bag each morning. Ask me how I know this :slight_smile:

I hope these tips help, and good luck with your foley.