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Can you irragate catheter with distilled water?

Posted by charleswulf @charleswulf, Jun 29 7:16pm

Can you irragate catheter using distilled water if your out of saline

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Becky, Volunteer Mentor | @becsbuddy | Jun 29 9:16pm

@charleswulf Well, that all depends on what type of catheter you are referring to and what your doctor said! Are you referring to a urinary catheter or one for blood or one that is mostly for medications? I would suggest that before you irrigate the catheter, you call your doctor, you will get the doctor on call and he is the best person to call, being ‘on-call’ means that they will take your call anytime . They will want all the same information that I just asked you.
What plan can you put in place so it doesn’t happen again?

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Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | Jun 29 9:31pm

@charleswulf You can make your own saline solution by boiling one quart of distilled water for 10 minutes, then dissolving 2 teaspoons of table salt in it and letting it cool

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charleswulf | @charleswulf | Jun 30 12:08pm
In reply to @becsbuddy "@charleswulf Well, that all depends on what type of catheter you are referring to and what..." + (show)
@becsbuddy

@charleswulf Well, that all depends on what type of catheter you are referring to and what your doctor said! Are you referring to a urinary catheter or one for blood or one that is mostly for medications? I would suggest that before you irrigate the catheter, you call your doctor, you will get the doctor on call and he is the best person to call, being ‘on-call’ means that they will take your call anytime . They will want all the same information that I just asked you.
What plan can you put in place so it doesn’t happen again?

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Urinary for bladder if it gets clogged

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Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sepdvm | Jul 2 8:32pm
In reply to @charleswulf "Urinary for bladder if it gets clogged" + (show)
@charleswulf

Urinary for bladder if it gets clogged

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Distilled water is not sterile so you could introduce bacteria. Perhaps Sue’s homemade recipe would be a safer choice if it is handled properly after heating to maintain sterility. This was always a fear with my husband’s urinary catheter so we kept Lots of saline around to avoid running out.

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