FAQs for Kids: Pediatric Catheters

For you to be able to go pee, your bladder and brain need to be able to talk to each other. The bladder needs to say ‘I need to be emptied’; the brain needs to reply ‘get to the bathroom, and let your muscles relax so you can pee’ and the bladder needs to reply ‘I am empty now, thanks, the muscles can tighten again’. Without talking to each other, the brain doesn’t know that you need to go to the bathroom. It can’t tell your bladder to squeeze your pee out, and it can’t tell it to stop peeing either. Catheters help you to get all your pee out when your bladder and brain are not able to talk to each other.

Most kids get urinary tract infections (UTIs) because they are not too good at washing their hands (some adults do too!). If bugs on your hands get onto your catheter they go into your bladder and cause infection. Bugs can also get on your catheter if it touches your clothes or the toilet before you use it. If that happens you should throw it away and use a clean one. This is all made worse if you do not drink enough or if you don’t empty your bladder properly. You should always wait until no more wee comes out before you take your catheter out, even if you are in a rush. Talk to your doctor or nurse about how much you should be drinking.

You can decide who you want to tell about your catheter, you don’t have to tell anyone that you don’t want to. Some children might not tell any of their friends, some might tell just one or two, it’s up to you. Remember that once you have told someone – you can’t un-tell them. If you fall out with them, they might tell other people. Sometimes it’s safer to tell someone you don’t see at school, for example if you do any out of school activities, friends there might be safer because they don’t know your other friends and you are less likely to get into arguments with them. If you are not sure who to tell, then speak to your parents or nurse first, as they will usually be able to help you. Your nurse might even be able to tell you about a group of people who live near to you who use catheters too, you can meet them and they can be your new friends. You will be able to talk to each other easily, as you will both know what it’s like to use a catheter.