Good evening all, I have had a super public catheter fitted, do you have to keep it covered all the time?when mine is uncovered it it is vey uncomfortable.
sue
Mine just has a gauze pad most of the time the rest of the time nothing.
Don
Hi
I had one recently and have a dressing on it all the time, but then it’s still bleeding a little bit. Even when it’s fully healed though I think I’ll probably keep it covered.
Dan
Hi
I kept mine covered at first, when it had real healing to do, but the then the district nurses advised that it should get some air to finish the job. Unfortunately the type of rubber catheter they fitted at first keeps causing a bit of light bleeding but a quick wipe with sterile water (cold boiled water from the kettle) sorts that out and it’s fine. Apparently silicon catheters do better.
Sam
Supra Pubic Catheters - not Super Public. [the mind boggles]
Had mine for 20 +yrs. No l do not cover it - the best way to heal- is as much air as possible. lf you cover it - it stays moist and warm which is the perfect breeding ground for fungal and bacteria infections.
Make sure you only use a silicon catheter - the latex ones can cause you trouble. And l use a colloidal silver spray on it after l have showered in the morning. This kills everything - even the hospital bugs - and is a natural product - you can even spray it into your eyes/throat/ears.
l wear my cath - a short female length - connected directly to a 600ml bag - so no tubing. The bag l tie around my waist and it all sits nice and neat and comfy in my stretchy shorts type nix [tescos]. This way there is no drag on the cath site - less trauma. And it is virtually undetectable. Looks neat inside my tight jeans/leggings etc. AND - l do not connect to a night bag/stand. So the opposite of what l was told to do at the beginning. lt works so well like this - and is good for my self-asteem. Who want a bag of heavy pee strapped to their leg! Not me. As it hold 600ml - l can stay just a l am at night - l do keep a plastic bottle handy [out of sight] just incase l did need to empty at night and did not want to struggle out of bed. lt very rarely happens.
lf you do wear yours with long tubing and strapped to your leg - then every time you move the cath site is compromised. You are causing friction and trauma to an open wound.
The way l manage mine means it drains well and does not kink and block.
Had my spc nearly 2 years and think its much better than the urethral one I had.
I do keep my wound dressed. It gets showered and cleaned daily, with a gentle non soap cleaner on prescription. If it isn’t covered it get a bit pongy.
Pollx
Hi been fortunate with my mine it healed quickly and don’t need to cover it , I think it’s the luck of the draw !
Just make sure you drink plenty .
I kept a gauze dressing on mine for 10 days after it was done, cleaning with surgical spirit each day & replacing the gauze each day. Now I just clean & turn each day when I’m showering with no problems at all, it’s the best thing ever!
Rosina x