Foley Catheterisation Procedure

Foley Catheterisation is a common medical intervention performed to ensure adequate urine drainage by inserting a Foley catheter when a patient is unable to urinate. Foley Catheter - a thin, flexible tube is inserted into the bladder through the urethra to drain urine from the bladder.

What is a Foley catheter?

A Foley Catheter is a device that drains urine (pee) from the urinary bladder into a collection bag (Urine Bag) outside of the patient's body when you can’t pee on your own or for various medical reasons. A Foley catheter is also said to be an Indwelling Urinary Catheter.

It consists of a thin, flexible rubber or plastic tube that goes through urethra and into the patient's bladder. The tube has two separate passages (channels) along its entire length. One passage is a drainage port. This allows urine to drain from your bladder into a collection bag. The other passage connects to a balloon at the tip of the tube in your bladder. Home Nurses use this channel to fill the balloon with sterile water. The filled balloon holds the Foley catheter in place in your bladder.

While you’re awake, the catheter connects to a collection bag that attaches to the patient's leg. While you’re sleeping at night, you may wear a larger collection bag that hangs from a hook or rests on a flat surface near your bed.

Foley catheterisation is considered safe for the patients. They come in different sizes so that people of any age or size can use them easily.

A Foley Catheter Insertion - Step-by-Step 

Firstly Gather all the Supplies:

• Foley catheter
• Sterile gloves
• Lubricant gel
• Antiseptic solution (e.g., iodine)
• Sterile drapes
• Syringe (for inflating the balloon)
• Sterile water (to inflate the balloon)
• Collection bag

Prepare the patient before starting the procedure

• The home nurse will explain the entire procedure to the patient.
• Give the patient the proper position, by having him lie on his back with his legs slightly apart.
• Place a sterile cloth on the patient's lower body.
• Ensure patient is suitable and consents

Clean the area

• The nurse will wash her hands thoroughly then put on sterile gloves.
• Clean the urethra and the surrounding areas with a cotton-ball dipped in antiseptic solution, from front to back (for women) or from tip to outside (for men).

Apply Lubricant

• Apply Lubricant During Foley Catheterisation with water-soluble jelly to the tip of the catheter liberally for ease insertion.

Insert the catheter

• Carefully insert the catheter into the urethra.
• Female catheterization: For inserting catheter, The female urethra is short compared to the male urethra and is located above the vagina in the pelvis. Insertion of the catheter is facilitated by having the patient lie down on her back with the buttocks at the edge of the examination table. To provide adequate exposure of the urethra is obtained by elevating and supporting the legs by stirrups or placed in a frog-legged position. Finally, the labia are separated to expose the urethra for allowing catheter insertion easily.
• Male catheterization: For inserting catheter, The male urethra is longer as compared to the female urethra. A catheter is placed while the patient is lying down or in the frog-legged position. If there is a foreskin, it is retracted to its maximal limit before the catheter is gently inserted.
• Advance the catheter 2 to 3 inches until urine starts to flow properly.
• Once urine starts to flow, advance the catheter another inch.

Hold the balloon inside the Bladder

• To inflate the balloon, Attach the syringe filled with sterile water to the catheter port.
• After inflating the balloon, the balloon holds a catheter tube inside the bladder.

Secure the Catheter

• Gently pull the catheter back until resistance is felt to make sure the balloon is seated in the bladder. If the catheter is stuck, the balloon is firmly seated in the bladder.
• Secure the catheter on the patient's thigh using tape to prevent it from moving.

Attach the Collection Bag

• At the end, Check the catheter is connecting to the urine collection bag properly or not, where urine will be stored.
• Place the bag below the level of the patient for proper drainage. In the hospital, the urine drainage bag will be hung on the bedside railing by a hook on the bag, but at home, you can place it on a flat surface or use a nail you hammer into the bed as a hanger, and hang the bag.

Foley Catheterisation is important for patients with various medical conditions that prevent them from urinating naturally. Proper Foley Catheterisation ensures that urine drains effectively, minimizing complications and providing relief to the patient.

Foley Catheter Uses

Foley Catheters are used to drain pee from the patient's bladder when the patient can't pee naturally. Some medical purposes:-

• Urinary Incontinence - When anyone has urinary incontinence, you may experience uncontrollably leaking urine can be an embarrassing issue for many people and can impact the patient's life negatively. This is commonly seen in older adults and women who have given birth or gone through menopause. Other Causes are Urinary tract infections (UTIs), pelvic floor disorders, and an enlarged prostate.
• Urinary retention - Human bladder is like a storage tank for waste products - Urine (Pee). When the human bladder is full, try to urinate but, if you have urinary retention, your bladder doesn’t completely empty because blockages, medications or nerve issues can cause it.
• Prostate enlargement - Benign prostate enlargement (BPE), A condition that can affect how you pee (urinate). BPE is common in men aged over 50 who need foley catheterisation. 
• After Surgery - To keep bladder empty during and after surgery.
• Epidural - Foley Catheter use at the time of Epidurals are a common procedure to provide pain relief or a lack of feeling during labor and childbirth, certain surgeries, and certain causes of chronic pain.
• Chronic Conditions - To manage chronic conditions that affect bladder function, such as spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, or advanced prostate enlargement.

Other Foley catheter uses include

• Draining a bladder during surgery.
• Getting an examination of the exact rate of urine production in a hospital setting.
• For Controlling bleeding that occurs from an injury or during surgery.
• Delivering medicine directly to your bladder.

Foley Catheter Types

Foley Catheters are made of different materials such as latex, silicone, Teflon and other materials. They also vary in different sizes depending on anatomy. For example men urethra is longer than women so, women need a shorter catheter.

• 2-Way Catheter - Foley Catheter with two way paths, one for pee draining and another is for injecting fluid or medication into the balloon that holds it in the bladder.
• 3-Way Catheter - Three way paths catheter, one for pee draining, one is for injecting fluid or medication into the balloon, and other is for flushing water into the bladder.
• Coudé catheter - The catheter with a 45° bend at the tip that can help it easily pass through an enlarged prostate.
• Councill tip catheter - A Catheter with a small hole at the tip that can be passed over a wire.
• In/out Foley Catheter - A Foley catheter that's a double open-ended tube with no valves.

How Do Our Nurse Care for Foley Catheter at Home?

They wash their hands with soap and water before and after handling a Foley catheter and collection bag that is most important for hygiene. Washing the hands helps prevent the spread of germs that can cause an infection. They should also clean the catheter tube at least twice a day with soapy water and a wet paper towel or washcloth. Gently pat the tube dry.

They empty urine collection bags every two to three hours. If you have a larger collection bag, they empty it every 7 to 8 hours.

Nurse procedure to empty the bag

• Wash the hands.
• Remove the stopper or open the clamp that keeps the urine collection bag shut.
• Empty the collection bag into a toilet. Careoxy will give you a container to measure how much pee you remove from your collection bag. 
• Nurse cleaned the drainage port with soap and water. Wipe away (down) from the drainage port to remove germs.
• Pat the drainage port dry.
• Replace the stopper or clamp.
• Wash hands again.

To change the bag

• Wash hands.
• Empty the collection bag. And measure the amount of pee with a measuring container. 
• Use soap and water to clean the connection between the patient's catheter and the collection bag. Wipe away to push germs away.
• Pinch the catheter tubing with fingers just above the connection.
• Disconnect the bag from the catheter.
• Connect the new bag then release the tube.
• If Foley catheter is going to be in longer than a week or if it smells, they wash the used bag with soap and water.

Foley Catheter Removal

• Firstly, empty the bag of urine if needed.
• Wash the hands with soap and warm water and Dry them well before starting the work.
• Nurse gathered all the supplies including a syringe, wastebasket, a towel, and a syringe that was given to you by Careoxy.
• Put the syringe into the balloon port on the catheter to remove water. 
• with a firm push and twist motion.
• Empty the water from the balloon into the syringe. Our nurse repeat this process several times until all of the water is out of
• the balloon.
• Once the balloon is emptied, gently, they pull out the catheter.
• Put the used catheter in the wastebasket. Also throw away the used syringe.
• Use the towel to wipe up any spilled water or urine from the urethra and surrounding area if needed.
• Wash the hands again.

If you want Foley catheterisation - Insertion, Change, Removal or care for catheter, We provide professional nurses that are available 24/7 for your home patient. Our nurses are highly qualified, skilled and certified. We provide all types Urine Catheterisation at home.

Some Knowledge for Patient

How long will it take to use a Foley catheter?

Ans - It depends, Patients may only need to use a Foley catheter while healing from a treatment or condition. Once patients recover then no longer need to use it. However, if a patient can’t pee naturally, may need to use a Foley catheter for weeks or months.

In some cases, patients may need to use a Foley catheter permanently. In that case our Nurse will teach the patient how to insert and care for the catheter so it doesn’t stop you from participating in your normal activities, including going to work, bathing, swimming, travelling and having sexual intercourse.

What are the different types of Indwelling Urinary Catheters?

Ans - There are mainly three types of indwelling Urinary Catheters.

• Intermittent catheters
• Suprapubic catheters
• Condom catheters

How long can a Foley catheter be left in the Patient Bladder?

Ans - It will be changed at least every three months.

Can Patient sleep with a Foley catheter?

Ans - Yes, patients can use a Foley catheter while you’re sleeping. Patients can sleep in any position as long as the collection bag is below the patient bladder for easy drain.

What are the potential benefits of Foley catheters?

The primary benefit of a Foley catheter is that it allows Patient to drain pee from the bladder continuously. who are not able to fully empty their bladder naturally can cause to use it:

• Swelling in your bladder (distended bladder).
• A urinary tract infection (UTI).
• Permanent damage to your bladder or kidneys.

Is a Foley catheter painful?

Ans - Yes, Inserting a Foley catheter can be uncomfortable or painful. So, before Using a catheter we use numbing gel that can help reduce pain during insertion

Does a Foley catheter hurt when removed?

Ans - Yes, Removing a Foley catheter may feel uncomfortable or painful. It may sting or feel for the patient like something is slithering through urethra.

What is the difference between a catheter and a Foley catheter?

Ans - A urinary catheter is a tube that is used to quickly drain pee from the bladder, usually if something is blocking the urinary tract. But, patients don’t use a urinary catheter over a long period.

A Foley catheter has a small balloon at one end to hold the catheter in place in the bladder. Patients can use Foley catheters over a long period.