How To Insert A Male Catheter

Sometimes it is necessary to insert your own catheter, especially if you are at home recovering from surgery. Inserting a catheter into your own bladder can be done easily if you follow the correct instructions.

A catheter is a tube inserted into the body to drain out urine from the bladder. It's important that you follow a few steps while avoiding contamination of any sort to help prevent infection. It's likely that you will have a nervous patient, especially if you are a female nurse, and explaining the process to him also aids the medical personnel or caregiver.

Male Urinary Catheterization can be performed by health care practitioners or by the men themselves. After some practice, men generally prefer to do it themselves due to the privacy.

Male Self-Catheterization

Before you self-catheterize at home, you need to assemble some equipment.

• A urine collecting hat.
• Warm soapy water in a basin.
• Clean washcloth. A Catheter. Catheter lubricant.
• Clean hand towel.
• Re-sealable plastic bag.
• Void into the hat and measure your urine.

Carefully wash and dry your hands. A male can sit on a toilet or lay in a bed with his back and head propped up.

Lubricate the Catheter for a length of 6-8 inches.

If necessary, the male must retract the foreskin. Clean the head of the penis with a soapy washcloth or an antibacterial wipe.

Hold the penis upright and insert the lubricated catheter into the urethral opening. Thread it in slowly until urine flows. It will usually need to be inserted 6-8 inches. 

Allow all of the urine to flow into the urine hat. Slowly pull the catheter out. Wash, dry and store the male catheter. Store it in a re-sealable plastic bag. You can usually reuse catheters for 1-2 months. Measure the amount of urine in the hat and record it in your records.

Never force the Catheter.

If you meet resistance and cannot advance the catheter, remove it and notify your doctor.

Always measure the amount of urine and record it.

Your steps may be slightly different, but this is how to insert a male catheter.

There are options to treat male urinary incontinence. Technology has advanced and can sometimes help control urinary incontinence. The prostate is a centrally located organ. Within the prostate, their are certain muscle groups known as sphincters. The reason that men can control their urine relates in large to how the bladder works.

Incontinence related to the bladder is usually very obvious. If your incontinence is related to the sphincters it is not as obvious. Testing is usually required. Observing the channel in which urine passes is required. This will give your doctor the knowledge to see if it is possibly due to previous treatments such as radiation or surgery.

Men want freedom. Men want to go play golf without the worry of urinary incontinence. Who wants wet pants on the golf course? It's embarrassing. Technology advances has made it possible to build an artificial urinary sphincter to help control male urinary incontinence. These devices can be implanted into the body and not be seen. The artificial sphincter allows a man to control his urinary function.

Having battled radiation damage that has resulted in incontinence, I tried everything...pads, condom caths, catheters, etc...all with terrible side effects and extreme discomfort. I was at my wits end until I discovered this product. The McGuire Urinal has allowed me freedom to live a more normal life. I highly recommend it and wish my urologist had known about it to recommend it to me. Now I'm telling him about this great option.

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