Catheter leg bags are made for being attached with leg under any cloth. Leg bags are very helpful if you want to go out or just walking around. Sleeping with catheter leg bag is not a big deal if you know some of the rules and precautions.

It mostly depend on the period of time you want to sleep with catheter leg bag. Using the leg bag for an hour or two does not going to matter as much as for full night sleep. The only thing that matter to sleep comfortably is comfort level of your body and mind. Points mentioned in this blog post will help you attain that level of comfort so you can sleep comfortably with catheter leg bag.

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The general answer would be NO you should not sleep with catheter leg bag. The reason behind that catheter leg bag should not be preferred for sleeping is due to it’s small size and the amount of inconvenience it will provide. The catheter bags generally comes in two sizes, the night catheter bags can hold upto 2000 to 4000ml and catheter leg bags holds less than 1000ml of urine.

Small size of catheter leg bag is designed to attach to your leg during the day time. Due to its small size it’s easy to carry it and allow us to move from one place to another without any problem. Night time catheter bags are made for night time because they are capable of holding higher amount of urine. This benefit let us sleep without emptying the catheter bag throughout the night. 

How to sleep with catheter leg bag

As we know that sleeping with a catheter leg bag will not be a good choice but if you have to sleep with a leg bag due to any type of problem or you don’t want to change catheter bag before an hour long nap. Here are some of the tips and tricks that you can use to get through the sleeping time. 

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Remove the bag from leg

Before doing anything else you should take this one thing in your mind that never get in bed when catheter bag is attached to your leg. Catheter leg bags are small plastic pouch which when get pressed can get damaged. Sleeping with catheter leg bag when it is attached to your leg will not work properly because catheter bag needs to be below the level of your bladder. When it is attached to your leg the attached pipe can get removed by any kind of physical movement. It is extremely important to remove the bag from your leg.

Empty catheter leg bag

Catheter leg bags are smaller in size, therefore they are not able to hold more than 600 to 700 ml of urine(depending on their size). Before getting into the bed make sure leg bag is empty because sleeping with half filled catheter bag will fill up very quickly and you may have to wake up too often to empty it.

Place leg bag lower than bed

As we know that we should not get into bed with catheter bag when it’s attached to your leg because it’s not safe. While removing your bag you should make sure that it’s below than your bed only then it would be able to collect urine properly. You can raise your head to make yourself more comfortable by using a wedge pillow . There are a couple of things you should keep in mind while preparing before going to sleep.

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• Do not place catheter bag directly on the ground.
• Make sure it is straight in position.
• Make sure there is nor blockage in pipe.
• Keep the outlet or cleaning valve of catheter bag closed.
• Hang it on a stand.

Check leg bag once or twice

Due to it’s less capacity it can not hold more urine so we should check the catheter bag once or twice. It is completely dependent on how much time you are going to sleep, the more is the time frequently you have to check the bag. If you are just sleeping for an hour or two you may not need to check the bag but if you want to sleep for full night, you may have to check the bag more than twice. The number of times you should check your catheter leg bag also depends upon how much urine you usually produce each night. You can get an idea if you have slept with catheter night bag.

Drink less water before sleep

When we go to sleep, the amount of water we drank before bed affect the urine production in our body. If we drink more water more urine will be produced and catheter bag will be full in less time. Before reducing the water consumption ask your doctor to make sure it does not affect your body in a bad way.

Maintain good hygienic conditions

While taking care of your catheter bag and removing or attaching it make sure you are maintaining proper hygienic conditions. When you are in bed trying not to touch your catheter bag. After changing your leg bag or emptying it sanitize the connecting tube and wash your hands properly.