There are 2 main types of catheters for hospital and home use. One is the Foley catheter and the other kind is referred to as an indwelling catheter. Both types of devices are available at home medical supplies stores if you need to purchase some for a patient living with you at your house.

You will need catheter devices for elderly relatives living with you at home if they can no longer control their bladder. It is also a useful tool for patients recovering from surgery if their movements are limited. Relatives can be trained to insert or remove these devices at home so you won’t need to call a nurse to come over to do these tasks.

To remove an indwelling catheter, look for the inflation port on the side of the device. Insert a syringe to it to remove the fluid that inflates the balloon attached to the other end of the plastic catheter tube. This will enable you to withdraw the tubes from the patient’s body. Once the fluid is removed, pull the tube slowly.

If you don’t have a syringe at home but need to remove the catheters from the patient’s body, you can cut the balloon port tubing with scissors to empty the fluid from the balloon. Be sure that all the liquid is removed from the balloon before attempting to pull the catheter tube out.

To remove a Foley catheter, take the inflation valve and cut it to remove the fluid in the balloon. If the liquid refuses to drain properly, there might be an obstruction somewhere along the tube. In this case, you can remove the liquid by inserting a lubricated fine-gauge wire into the tube. The liquid should drain along the length of the wire.

You should be able to find a fine gauge wire for catheters at home medical supplies stores online. If the fluid still refuses to drain, you can call a nursing aid to come over to your home to assist you in removing the catheter. Never force a catheter out of a patient’s urethra as this will cause extreme pain and discomfort.