More on Catheters

Tom here:

Yesterday I called Bard Medical Division, the maker of my catheter, and tried to get in touch with their R&D department and tell them about my idea for catheter that actually works, because it controls both in internal urine and any external leaking with the addition of an external catheter. I talked to a nice lady in charge of product complaints, she took my number and said "I will try to transfer you to R&D" which didn't work and I was eventually disconnected. I never received the call back, and will try again today.

I don't know what the state of the art is in external catheters, but the basic idea is very familiar to me since my Dad wore one for the last 14 years of his life and in the final two years I would help my mother install it when Dad's dementia robbed him of the ability to do it himself. Basically it is a large, condom like sheath, the outer part collects the urine and sends it to a collection bag, the inner part is rolled up just like a condom, then rolled onto the member which helps keep it in place and protect the area from urine. A strap kept it all in place.

It had to be cleaned everyday and was a hassle, but a much better alternative that diapers, since my Dad's surgery left him without a sphincter (the barbarians) and he would have been in the same situation I am now with my catheter leak... no possible relief from urine exposure.

I also talked to my doctor's nurse about this issue, she said catheter leaks are very common.

With all of my conversations, I kept getting the feeling that the people I was talking to didn't really get it. I guess none of them have had to live with a leaky catheter for a month. This is a BIG deal. Thousands of dollars and hundreds of nurse hours are lost dealing with something that could be fixed. Not to mention the suffering of the patient, up every two hours changing pads and diapers and trying to keep a rash at bay. Fix it!

I'll keep trying, but I get the feeling it might take a more persuasive voice than mine to get the company to pay attention.

Oh, to you ladies out there, you might be pleased to know that I am using Maxi-Pads to extend the life of my "brief" (nurses word for a diaper when talking to patient. When talking to another nurse it is a diaper). Yes, I am getting to enjoy a bit of your world. If you feel in some strange way revenged, that is fine with me.

Tom