Wash or steralize irrigation syringe?

Thank you Joe. I'll ask my Dr. to write a letter asap. There is no reason to be getting sick if it can be avoided and I find it hard enough to keep everything else sterile. Do you get your saline solution locally or is it shipped to you?
Thanks so much, Kathy

Kathy I too got 2 UTI's and wife being a nurse wrote a letter to my Dr at the Univ of Penn to get me Catheters for the month instead of the 8 I was getting per month. He wrote a letter and my wife sent it into my insurance company as a case for medical neccessity and now I get 180 catheters per month. She also did this for the bottles and syringes a medical neccessity and also sent into my insurance company with the Dr's letter and her's and I now get 30 bottles and syringes per month. So my suggestion to you is contact your Dr. and tell him you problem and get a letter of neccessity and send it into your insurance company. There is no need for you to have to go throught this since you need this everyday and they need to be sterile. My catheters are now being paid by insurance company and they pay %80. My wife is now fighting to get them to pay for the other %20 and hopefully I will get this. My wife as I said being a nurse works with the disable and deals with this type of stuff everyday and she is very good at it. So try doing this and see what happens. Joe

Thank you Leigh and Pat for your support. I'll check with my insurance company about the syringes. It's been almost 4 mos. since RC but I find I need to irrigate more than the required twice daily. I'm not having to re-use catheters anymore (what a treat!) so maybe I've seen the last UTI.

If the surgeon prescribes them...they will pay! With Medicare allowing 200 caths a month all insurance companies will follow suit.
The Cleveland Clinic gave me a bottle that measures cc's and a sort of miniature turkey baster for administering the saline solution which is also prescribed..no homemade stuff. I simply rinse the baster with hot water and let air dry...bottle rinsed out as well after each use. I have never reused catheters so no worry of contamination and i've never had a UTI in 5 3/4 yrs.

Dear Kathy,

That is certainly were the UTI's are coming from....

Initially after RC I had to flush my new bladder with saline solution and used a fresh cathether and syringe each time.

Thankfully my insurance covered all costs for me...I am not sure of your situation regarding this.

I hope someone on the forum comes with some great hygiene advise for those that have to re-use equipment.

All the best to you....

Leigh

I had been using the same water container and syringe and kept getting UTI's. I gave my routine some thought and if you put the tip of the syringe in the bell of the catheter, you could transfer some urine to the syringe which then goes back into the same water holder. I have started using a new cup for each irrigation and dip the syringe tip in rubbing alcohol after each use. And I occasionally wash the whole syringe. I haven't had any UTI's since. Is that smart or obsessive compulsive? Does anyone have some ideas on keeping syringe and water "clean"? Thanks, Kathy