Nothing will work short of restraints, which are really not used anymore.Is this in because she is RETAINING urine, or because she is incontinent? I don't see how, if this continues, she can continue to have the bladder. Her pulling pulls the balloon, which is inflated within the bladder against her urethra with each tug. One along is enough to set up a urethritis, and the feeling she need to go constantly, which will cause more pulling. This may need to be removed. Speak with whomever ordered the catheter for solid advice where to go now with this. Hoping she doesn't need this because of retention of urine, as is the case so often with males, as then you are between a true rock and hard place.
Thank you. She had retention of urine in the hospital after a minor stroke 2 weeks ago. I will ask the hospice nurse tomorrow for suggestions or if the cath can be removed.
My mom was given a catheter during a weeklong hospital stay (uti, shingles, falls), and it was not removed on discharge bc of urine retention. During home rehab, it was removed and then she practiced emptying her bladder by leaning forward (expelling more urine) after she thought she was done urinating. She passed a subsequent void test and has had no problem now for 6 months! Wishing you a similar good result.
If mom is living in your home (or her home) NOT a facility you can use restraints. Mittens to cover her hands so that she can not grasp the catheter will prevent her from pulling it out. This often happens with dementia patients and ANY "attached" item. IV's, Catheters, Feeding Tubes, Oxygen, Medication Patches...... Ask Hospice if this is something that could be ordered.
Give her something to fidget with. A fidget quilt or FidgetFiddle placed on her lap will hide the catheter and distract her from it by giving her hands something else to do!
My mother asked for, and received, first, a supra pubic catheter which she didn't like (gosh, if you can LIKE some thing like that) and that failed so many times, b/c she could still leak-she requested a permanent catheter. She loves it. (Again, she must have nearly no feeling down there, a permanent cath would make me insane!)
It did take some getting used to--and it did require a learning curve that perhaps your mom no longer has. Just emptying and cleaning this is a chore. Mother can handle it, but does not ever get the cath bag completely clean and has had multiple UTI's as a result.
She does have to strap the cath bag to her leg, and she does still have 'overflows' b/c she doesn't want to have to fuss at this thing more than twice a day.
The fidget spinner or something for her hands to keep her busy is a good idea. If she continues to fuss with the cath, I'd ask to have it removed and move to re-training her toileting or use Depends. You actually CAN pull one of those out, if you're determined enough and that would set up a lot of other issues.
Wishing you a similar good result.
Mittens to cover her hands so that she can not grasp the catheter will prevent her from pulling it out.
This often happens with dementia patients and ANY "attached" item. IV's, Catheters, Feeding Tubes, Oxygen, Medication Patches......
Ask Hospice if this is something that could be ordered.
It did take some getting used to--and it did require a learning curve that perhaps your mom no longer has. Just emptying and cleaning this is a chore. Mother can handle it, but does not ever get the cath bag completely clean and has had multiple UTI's as a result.
She does have to strap the cath bag to her leg, and she does still have 'overflows' b/c she doesn't want to have to fuss at this thing more than twice a day.
The fidget spinner or something for her hands to keep her busy is a good idea. If she continues to fuss with the cath, I'd ask to have it removed and move to re-training her toileting or use Depends. You actually CAN pull one of those out, if you're determined enough and that would set up a lot of other issues.