My husband uses a catheter only on road trips, not at home. It is usually continent, usually. I keep a listening ear for your call and hope to take you wherever you need to be to answer the call of nature.
* A bedside urinal is kept on your nightstand for overnight use. Sometimes he feels safe enough to use the urinal himself without waking me up. It’s fine when it works. He uses the urinal lately, puts it back on his nightstand without my help, and then a couple hours later tries to use it again when he still has urine from the previous use. You can guess what’s going on… I started placing reusable bed bumpers on the floor against the bed and hanging the side of the bed to catch accidental spills. You can never have too many bed pads.
* I have considered using an external catheter at bedtime. I know of a family where the husband does use a Texas catheter at night. Apparently, that man is not as restless as my husband. I’m afraid the way my husband tosses and turns as part of his Parkinson’s disease, he would be wrapped in the tube and the collection bag would be useless. So the urinal is our only option for now. And a couple of reusable bumper pads on the bed. You might get lucky with the catheter, or the absorbent underwear. My husband will not wear underwear at all.
* There is a urinal in the bathroom for when you can’t stand on the toilet. One in the basement for when you’re working in the shop, one near the kitchen table for sudden urges that don’t make it to the bathroom. A urinal is stored in the basket of his scooter, stored indoors in a discreet cloth bag. With a box of packed tissues next to it.
* Pop-up facial tissue boxes are everywhere for use with the urinal or for wiping your nose.
* A box of disposable latex gloves is kept in the bathroom for use as needed.
* Adapting clothes helps to dress and groom. Try to have the male patient wear pants that are loose around the waist and hips and have a long zipper. Try to remove underwear. I changed the zipper on his pants to be longer, extending to the crotch seam. Zippers can be added to the legs to go over braces. Zippers can open up a tight neckline. Velcro can be used instead of zippers. A seamstress can fix/tailor clothing to make it easier to dress and function. My experience is with a male patient. I can’t imagine how a woman comfortably copes with incontinence.
* To protect the wheelchair seat from getting wet accidents, small absorbent pads can be used, such as a miniature bed pad. In the absence of special pads, a layer of folded hand towels will help.
* A waterproof and reusable bed pad and a bed pad with handles can be useful to protect bedding from getting wet accidents and to move the patient around the bed. If the bed pad has handles, it is easier to grab the handles than to grab a fist full of cloth to change the patient’s position. A bed pad with handles can also be used to protect a recliner and help position the patient.
* If you use a bed bumper to reposition the patient, to lift them toward the head of the bed, remember that when you lift the bed bumper, the bedding is now exposed without protection. You will want to have a second absorbent pad under the pad that will be used for repositioning, so that when you pull towards the head of the bed, there is still protection under the patient. I use a total of 5 bed bumpers in various positions on the bed, including the one with handles. Plus the one I left on the floor.
* My husband uses a men’s split front toilet seat. He helps him position himself so he can use the bathroom correctly. When he sits for an extended period of time, I place one or two pillows behind him, since this type of seat does not have a cover to lie down on. I make sure the pillows are “old” in case they get dirty or fall in the toilet.
* There are grab bars around the perimeter of the bathroom. When I roll her wheelchair into the bathroom, she can hold on to the bars along the wall to help her get up and onto the toilet. I stand behind him and help him up by holding him under the arms until he stands up, or as close as I can get. Then I stand to the side and pull the wheelchair out of the bathroom so it’s behind me and then, getting into position behind him again, I can help him into the bathroom or up if he’s willing to try. On days when he is not so strong, he will use the potty sitting in the wheelchair, or I will use the seat belt to transfer him to the bathroom.
* Sturdy grab bars were installed on each side of the toilet for him to hold on to when standing on the toilet or getting on and off the toilet. They work great. We had them professionally installed during some other modification work. They are almost 2″ in diameter, protrude from the wall on either side of the toilet and swing out of the way when not needed. VERY handy when I have to climb around it to get into the bathroom, as for his morning wash. First I take it in the wheelchair and then I have to move to face him I have to get between the sink and his wheelchair To do this the grab bars need to be up to make room for me to Once I pass in front of the wheelchair, if he decides to use the bathroom, I move to the side as best I can and go under the bars. My husband says our bathroom is the size of a postage stamp. It’s a little bigger than that, but not much: 6 ft. x 8 ft. We also widened the bathroom door frame, so his wheelchair could fit through the opening.
