Nighttime Bladder Emptying

Nighttime bladder emptying keeps bladder pressures low. This helps keep your child’s bladder safe and healthy while they sleep. A full bladder creates high pressure. This is dangerous to both the kidneys and bladder.

How to Do Nighttime Bladder Emptying

1. Gather your supplies:

• Catheter, lubricant and baby wipes
• Diaper or Foley bag to drain the pee into
• Syringe of water if inflating the balloon on a Foley catheter or medical tape to secure the straight catheter.

2. Wash your hands.

3. Insert catheter using one of the following methods:

Using a Straight or Coude Catheter:

1. Insert your child’s daily lubricated catheter as instructed by the provider.
2. Tape the catheter in place with medical tape and put the end of the catheter into a diaper to drain. Double diapering is an option to keep the catheter clean of stool (see below).
3. Remove the catheter in the morning and continue the normal cathing schedule. If you reuse the catheter, remember to wash it with soap and water between uses.

Using a Foley Catheter Via Urethra:

1. Lubricate the catheter
2. Insert the lubricated catheter into the child’s urethra to the part of the catheter that makes a ‘Y’ shape until you see pee (urine).
3. Inflate the balloon by putting water into the balloon port. The health care provider will tell you how much water to use. The amount to use should be written on the colored balloon port.
4. If you meet resistance inflating the balloon, STOP. Draw the water back out of the balloon and insert the catheter farther.
5. Once the balloon is inflated, remove the syringe.
6. Very gently pull on the catheter until you meet resistance, then stop. The balloon is then right inside the bladder.
7. Place the catheter into a diaper to drain or attach it to a drainage bag. You can tape the catheter to your child’s leg using medical tape to keep it in place.

Removing the catheter:

1. In the morning, remove the catheter.
2. First, take the water out of the balloon. Place a syringe on the colored balloon port and let the water fill the syringe on its own. If water is not draining into the syringe, gently pull back on the syringe stopper. Do not use force.
3. Once the amount of water inserted the night before is in the syringe, gently pull out the Foley catheter.
4. Continue the normal cathing scheduled during the day.
5. Wash the Foley catheter with warm, soapy water. Then, rinse and lay it on a clean towel to dry for later use.

Using a Foley Catheter via Mitrofanoff/Monti:

A Mitrofanoff (me-TROFF-an-off) channel is a small tube connecting the bladder to the outside of the body, usually in the folds of the belly button.

1. Lubricate the catheter.
2. Insert the lubricated catheter into the Mitrofanoff/Monti (the channel on abdomen to drain urine). Once you get pee into the catheter, insert 1 inch more.
3. Draw up the sterile water into the syringe.
4. Inflate the balloon by putting water into the balloon port. The health care provider will tell you how much to use. The amount should be on the colored balloon port.
5. If you meet resistance inflating the balloon, STOP. Draw the water out of the balloon and insert the catheter farther.
6. Once the balloon is inflated, remove the syringe.
7. Very gently pull on the catheter until you meet resistance, then stop. The balloon is then right inside the bladder.
8. Place the catheter into a diaper to drain or attach it to a drainage bag. To keep the catheter in place, tape it to your child’s abdomen.

Removing the catheter:

1. In the morning, remove the catheter.
2. First, take the water out of the balloon. Place a syringe on the balloon port and let the water fill the syringe on its own. If water is not draining into the syringe, gently pull back on the syringe stopper. Do not use force.
3. Once the amount of water inserted the night before is in the syringe, gently pull out the Foley catheter.
4. Continue the normal cathing scheduled during the day.
5. Wash the Foley catheter with warm, soapy water. Then, rinse and lay it on a clean towel to dry for later use.

4. Double Diapering Option: If the catheter is placed into a diaper you can double diaper your child to keep them from being wet all night. After inserting the catheter, place a diaper on your child and bring the catheter outside of this diaper. Then, place a second diaper on your child, keeping the catheter between the two diapers.

Please call the Urology Office if you have any questions or concerns at 614-722-6630.

Nighttime Bladder Emptying (PDF)

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