Catheters

[Loopylou38]

Hi , just seeing if anyone has had a relative with a Catheter? My dad had one fitted a couple of months ago while in hospital due to retention
Hes experiencing uti’s every couple of weeks the last one being the worst he was hospitalised on an intravenous drip and was delirious
I have asked the hospital Dr to remove it evict they did but it had to be fitted again due to retention
I’ve asked several tiles for a urology referral and have been told that it can’t be done while he’s in hospital but on discharge
isn’t it better to find the cause and treat accordingly instead of fitting the catheter constantly ?? My poor dad has no quality of life with infections

My dad had one as he had urine retention due to prostate cancer, sadly due to his age there was no alternative.

It caused him no end of issues and, due to his dementia, he wasn't managing it hygienically.

District nurse here. No one wants a patient to have a catheter unless it’s absolutely necessary, if your Dad goes into retention when it’s removed, then he may need to have it in situ for the long term. The most likely cause of the retention is an enlarged prostate, which will be investigated. Has he been referred to his district nursing team ? They will provide catheter care when he’s discharged and waiting for a follow up. Regular bladder washouts and monitoring should help.

Hi Thankyou for your reply , my dad is still in hospital after recovering from the worst uti
I was told yesterday that a referral hasn’t been sent to urology as the pathway is he would be seen as an out patient , yet last week the ward manager informed me that it would be dealt with while he’s there it just doesn’t make sense My dad no longer Walks either so it would mean an ambulance but even so surely sticking catheters on and not knowing the cause can’t be a good thing .

when they removed the catheter before, he went into retention, so he was unable to pass urine , so he has to have a catheter, the cause of his retention can be investigated at a later date. Retention of urine is incredibly painful and a catheter is the only solution. Once he’s home the District Nurses can do a trial without catheter, but it’s unlikely it will be successful. Hope this helps .

My dad had a catheter as his prostate is enlarged due to cancer (currently under control). Although he's pretty fit, he had several UTIs with it, which involved rather more time in hospital than anyone wanted. He's since had surgery to fix it (I think they enlarged the space for the urethra in his prostate, but I'm not sure), which has been successful, and things are going well without the catheter, so it's sometimes possible. It's worth reiterating that my dad is fit, so a good candidate for surgery; he's delighted he can cycle again, rides of up to 50 miles (on hills). He's in his early 70's (and was 71 when he had surgery).

Ask about Hiprex. It is an anti-infective medication. Once you get rid of a uti it prevents them from returning. Can be taken long term too.

They could also use silver coated catheters which are anti bacterial

Thankyou all so much for your replies and advice . the catheter was removed just over a week ago initially he was retaining but seems to be settling today it was 54ml
Im praying that it stays that way but it’s early days