A catheter is a tube that is inserted into your bladder, allowing your urine to drain freely. The most common reasons for using a catheter are: to rest the bladder following an episode of urinary retention. to rest the bladder after surgery – most commonly bladder, bowel or urinary tract surgery.

A urinary catheter is a flexible tube used to empty the bladder and collect urine in a drainage bag. Urinary catheters are usually inserted by a doctor or nurse.

Top 5 Tips to Help Reduce Catheter Pain

1. Use a catheter with polished eyelets.
2. Use lubrication with your uncoated catheters.
3. If straight catheters feel too painful or difficult to insert, you might need a coudé tip catheter.
4. Get the right catheter material.
5. Switch to another catheter type, brand, or French size.

• Bard.
• Coloplast.
• Covidien.
• Cure.
• GentleCath.
• Hi-Slip.
• Hollister.
• Kendall.

There are 3 main types of catheters:

• Indwelling catheter.
• Condom catheter.
• Intermittent self-catheter.

The word “catheter” comes from Greek, meaning “to let or send down.” Catheters were used as early as 3,000 B.C. to relieve painful urinary retention.

A catheter is a flexible tube inserted into your bladder to empty it of urine. This process is known as urinary catheterisation. Urinary catheterisation reduces the risk of infection and kidney damage by making sure that your bladder is emptied, either continuously or at regular intervals.

Latex. Latex is a very soft and flexible material, providing comfort for the patient. It should always be coated with a protective layer as latex otherwise can cause tissue irritation. Latex catheters are cuffed with sterile water.

“Catheter cramp” refers to the pain caused by bladder and urethral spasms, which are caused by irritation of the bladder wall and trigone by the catheter. Bladder spasms can be strong enough to push on the catheter's inflated balloon and can cause bladder neck and urethral erosion [9,25,26].

Catheter Brands

The most used tip for routine catheterization is the Nelaton tip which is round with two drainage eyes. Due to the challenging curvature of the male urethra, a catheter with a curved tip can be used to ease insertion; this type is called a Tiemann tip and is the second most common.

Silicone is tissue friendly, hypoallergenic, and causes less irritation than latex. Patients with a known latex allergy should not be treated with a latex catheter. Silicone catheters are cuffed with sterile water for use up to 2 weeks; for longer term usage, glycerine solution should be used to avoid fluid diffusion.

Suprapubic catheters are for long-term use. They're inserted into a small incision in the abdomen during an outpatient procedure. Once placed, suprapubic catheters drain the bladder for up to a month. These catheters are ideal for individuals who are immobile or wheelchair-bound.

A long, thin tube is made by pouring the raw material into a room temperature vulcanization (RTV) mold, which is in the desired shape and diameter of the catheter. The material is then cured with heat for a duration of 0.5 to 40 hours. Once it is cool, the tube is pulled out from the mold.

Many people prefer to use an indwelling catheter because it's more convenient and avoids the repeated catheter insertions associated with intermittent catheters. However, indwelling catheters are more likely to cause problems such as infections (see below).

Catheter Materials The most common materials are red rubber, latex, silicone, plastic and PVC. For those looking for a more rigid type, PVC material is the best choice. For those with latex allergy, red rubber is not a good option, but silicone is. Some catheters come already pre-lubricated.