Undoubtedly, that I, urologist, was getting used to this thing a “Foley catheterization procedure”. But in the contrary, patients instead that seems to be naïve for this thing here; a urethral catheterization system always terrified them while putting this thing into their urethra. This topic will show on the general frequent asked questions which I always need to educate them before doing the procedure.

Q&A on Foley catheterization procedure
Q: Why do I need to be retaining the foley catheter?
A: There should be a medical indicator; for example, inability to void by yourself or to be monitoring urine in critical ill patients.
Q: Is it painful?
A: I won’t say there’s nothing pain. But let me put it in this way; for me as an expert in this kind of procedure then I was always lubricated your urethra along with the pain killer jelly-like for a while before insert the tube to minimize the pain’s sensation. There have been confirmed literatures that the pre-lubrication method will significantly reducing urethral discomfort during the procedure.

Q: How long will it take to be removed this foley catheter?
A: If no medical indicator requirement for foley catheterization, the catheter will be removed quickly and will let you urinate by yourself again.
Q: Will the catheter possibly causing any complication?
A: Yes, it will! As you know that everything will have their own pros and cons. As as well as the foley catheter does, there are a few examples of the possibility complications could be.
- Urethral injury – Sometimes if it does not handle this procedure by a specialist or skillful, the urethral injury can be occurred as well.
- Catheter-induced urinary tract infection – This problem is the most frequent asked question. Normally, the bladder is a sterile location so when we insert something into this organ, it no longer to be a sterilization location anymore. The answer is “Yes” but not too much risky if we’re always keeping a good hygiene. But please don’t be panic about this fact yet. Like I used to mention earlier that everything will have their own pros and cons, whenever the medical indicator is required, the pros is always a lot better than the cons.

Q: What is the lifespan of a urethral catheter system?
A: The urethral catheter system has 1 month long lasting to use and it need to be changed if the medical indicator still requires putting on.
Q: How do we take care of the urethral catheter system at home?
A: Here are the instructions.
- Always do the hand hygiene immediately before and after handling the catheter and use a cleaning glove while handling the drainage system.
- Urethral catheter can be washed by soap, gentle cleaning agents or water is enough.
- Get the catheter away from kinking and obstructed.
- Always keep the drainage system closed, if it disconnected, change the new one.

If you have any questions, please discuss with your trusted urologist. See you in next article!
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