Male Urinary Continence Product: 3 Facts About Drainage Bags

When someone starts using a male urinary continence product like a catheter, their goal is to be able to perform routine activities as effortlessly as possible. While it can take a minute to get used to the catheter, most men find dealing with drainage bags quite challenging.

What You Need to Know About Drainage Bags

Here are a few useful facts about urine drainage bags:

Know The Different Types

Drainage bags collect urine from a catheter and are connected by a tube. 

These bags come in different sizes and can be worn on the belly (for suprapubic catheters) or on the leg (on calf/thigh). Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of drainage bags: leg bags (for daytime usage) and night bags (for nighttime usage).

Leg Bags 

These drainage bags are meant to be used during the day and they need to be strapped to your lower leg or thigh for urine to flow into the bag. 

When you’re using leg bags, make sure you never raise your leg above your bladder or the expelled urine can go back into the bladder and cause serious health complications.

Night Bags

These bags are larger than leg bags and have a design for nighttime use. They must also be worn below the level of your bladder (on your leg or thigh) 

There is also a second option; you can hang the night bag below your bed to get an unbroken, deep sleep. 

Practice Good Hygiene Habits

As you can imagine, a bag full of urine must be cleaned routinely to reduce the risk of infections. Remember, prevention of a catheter-associated urinary tract infection is much easier than its treatment. Ask your doctor or healthcare provider for thorough instructions as to how to clean the catheter and the leg bag every day. The best way to clean a drainage bag is to fill it with warm water and liquid soap and then drain it.

You can go a step further and fill the bag with a vinegar and water mixture. And then leave it for 30 minutes before draining. This will effectively kill any germs or bacteria that may have accumulated inside the bag.

Wear Loose Clothing

One of the biggest issues with wearing a male urinary continence product is keeping the leg bag hidden when you’re out and about. Many men feel self-conscious about their appearance when they have to get out of the house wearing a catheter.

If you want your leg bag hidden, you may want to say goodbye to wearing tight-fitting pants and shorts, at least in public. But other than that, it’s not so hard to hide the bag. Since you’ll be wearing it on your thigh or under the knee, you can easily conceal it under loose-fit pajamas or wide-legged trousers.

Another benefit of choosing loose clothing is you’ll stay comfortable throughout the day. Clothes that fit too snugly around your male urinary continence product or the leg bag can become irritating.

Looking for a Male Urinary Continence Product? Check Out Men’s Liberty

Men’s Liberty is an external urine collection device that is 100% non-invasive. And we don’t make it with a natural rubber latex.

If you’re looking for an effective and inexpensive alternative to external catheters, you can trust that Men’s Liberty is the solution. Most major health insurance providers cover it! (Standard deductibles and copays apply.) Call us at 800-484-4819 or visit us online to get your very own Men’s Liberty today.