Leg bags provide you or your loved ones with freedom to leave the house.
Those with paralysis, bladder incontinence or certain urinary system impairments rely either on an internal or external catheter attached to a drainage bag. Although it is convenient to use a large drainage bag overnight, switching to a smaller leg bag during the day provides patients with more freedom. If you are a home care worker, family member or nurse, you can teach your client or loved one use a leg bag, a receptacle that is more discrete and allows for increased mobility.
Instructions
1. Show your patient or family member attach the leg bag. First lay down a towel or blue pad just in case there is some urine spillage. Detach the larger overnight drainage bag by slowly peeling off the catheter's rubber tubing. Wipe both the catheter's and leg bag's tubing with a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol. This serves to disinfect the tubing but also allows the rubber tubing to slide on more easily.
2. Demonstrate effectively place the leg bag on your patient's leg. Make sure it is positioned in a good spot so that when she needs to empty her leg bag, she need only lift her pant leg a little to reach the spigot (spout). Generally halfway down the calf is a good spot for the spigot to be. That way all of the leg bag and tubing are concealed. As you are showing her attach the adhesive straps, make sure she knows not to fasten them too tightly to the point of interfering with blood flow.
3. Show him empty the leg bag. Display open and close the spigot. Tell him that the spigot should always be closed unless he is emptying the bag over a toilet or basin. Remind him that since the bag is smaller than his overnight bag it needs to be emptied more often. Tell him not to drink less fluids to avoid emptying the bag.
4. Demonstrate how she should clean her leg bag and drainage bag. When she is using one bag she can clean the other. This should be done everyday. Rinse out the bag with warm water several times and then pour in some bleach solution (one part bleach to ten parts water). Let it soak for one or more hours and empty it out to dry.
Tags: family member, good spot, rubber tubing, your patient