Foley Catheters - Usage And Risks

By Author: Absr Alleg
Total Articles: 17
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No matter how fit and healthy one is in one's youth, eventually the age factor kicks in leading to a number of problems including regular aches and pains, arthritis, osteoporosis (in women) and various urinary problems.

Urinary problems can affect both men and women as they get past the age of 40 and include problems such as incontinence, benign prostate enlargement, etc. There are a number of treatments available for these urinary problems and one of these is the catheterization using a foley catheter.

Foley Catheter - Usage

A foley catheter is a thin, sterile tube that can be inserted into one's bladder in order to drain urine. It may be left in the bladder for an extended period of time; therefore it is also referred to as an indwelling catheter. It has a balloon - full of sterile water - attached at one end that keeps the catheter in place. The urine may be easily drained via an outlet device in order to test it for various problems including: infection, crystals, electrolytes and kidney function.

A foley catheter is may be used for various procedures, as well as for treating a number of physical ...
... disorders including:

- Urine retention - which leads to straining while urinating, reduced size of the urinary stream, the sensation of an incomplete urination
- Urethra obstruction - when an anatomical obstruction of the urethra occurs leading to difficulty in urination. These may be due to prostate cancer
- Urine output monitoring - in case of an injury
- Collecting urine for diagnostic purposes

Risks

Although the foley catheter is very useful for treating urinary problems, there are also a number of risks associated with it that people should be aware of, including:

- Balloon breakage - the balloon can break during the insertion process
- Non-inflation of the balloon
- The urine may stop flowing into the bag as it is meant to
- Blocked urine flow - this can be a cause of serious concern and will require replacement of the bag or foley catheter (or both)
- Bleeding - in case of bleeding, the physician will need to monitor it
- Infection - in case the foley catheter is not properly sterilized, an infection could be introduced. The risk of infection increases the longer the foley catheter is in place
- Rupture due to balloon - the balloon should never be opened before the catheter is completely in place as this can lead to damage, or even rupture of the urethra. In some cases this can lead to long term problems.

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