CATHETERS

(NOTE: This is not meant to be an authoritative document. It is not written by, nor has it been endorsed by any medical professionals. Some of the data presented here may be erroneous. We bear no responsibility for any errors that may be presented here! The information has been gathered from various medical texts and various personal experiences. It is believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed to be reliable.)

WARNING: If you do not insert, and use, catheters properly, you can cause physical harm to your body, as well as extreme discomfort. When properly inserted, and used, catheters can be a safe source of pleasure and comfort.

WHAT IS A CATHETER?
A catheter is a tube that is inserted into the bladder through the urethra. It bypasses the sphincter that controls the emptying of the bladder. Once the catheter has been inserted, the person has no control over their bladder, until it is removed.

WHO USES CATHETERS?

Infantilists like catheters since it allows them to feel more like babies with no control over their bladder. S&M scenes quite often use catheters so the Master can humiliate the slave by removing that control from the slave. Some people wear catheters so they have the freedom of not having to find a toilet when the need to urinate arises. Some really like the comfort of the bladder always being empty. Doctors use catheters in cases of prostate problems. They are also used medically when a person is unable to empty their bladder. Catheters are used for diagnostic purposes to explore the urethra  for stenoses or injury, to discover residual urine in the bladder after voiding, and to introduce contrast medium into the bladder. They are used therapeutically to relieve urinary retention.

SIZES:

Catheters are most commonly calibrated in the USA according to the French (fr) scale. Each number on the scale equals 0.33 mm. Therefore, a 30fr catheter has a diameter of 10mm.

For long term retention requiring maximum comfort, getting the right size is important. The catheter should fit snugly inside the urethra. If it is too large, then it will stretch the urethra and be uncomfortable. If it is too small, it will 'rattle' around inside the urethra and cause discomfort. The correct size depends solely on the diameter of the urethra.

THE FOLEY CATHETER:

For the discussion here, we will be focusing only on the Foley Catheter.The Foley Catheter is a self-retaining catheter. Which means that it is able to retain itself in place, once it is inserted.

PREPARATION:
In preparing to insert the catheter, the MOST IMPORTANT part is cleanliness, and sterility! You are going to insert a foreign object into a human body. You are inserting something that (in the eye of the human body) does not belong there. Things are not expected to go in there, only to come out of there. There is no natural defense mechanism within the urethra and bladder to fight off any germs that might get in there. So, it is VERY important that you maintain a high level of  CLEANLINESS and STERILITY!

Thoroughly wash your hands with Betadine, or a similar disinfecting solution. Dry them with a fresh, clean towel. Thoroughly wash the penis with Betadine, or something similar. Thoroughly dry the penis. It's best if you have some sterile gloves to use on your hands - especially if you are inserting the catheter into someone else.

LUBRICATION:
Use a water-soluble, sterile lubricant. Do NOT use Vaseline, or petroleum based lubricants. Nor, should you use vegetable oils, etc. Make sure that it says on the tube that it is sterile. Look for lubricants that are used for gynecological exams that are water-soluble. (People have been known to die from using vegetable oils as a lubricant!)
In order to properly lubricate the urethra, you should use a syringe to get at least 15 ml of lubricant injected well down into the urethra. If you only apply lubricant to the catheter, it gets wiped off as it enters the urethra, and the catheter goes in dry.
You can get a large syringe, squeeze part of the tube of lubricant into it, and put the plunger back in place. Insert the end of the syringe into the urethra as far as it will go, and push the plunger down, injecting the lubricant into the urethra. Make sure that there is no air in the lubricant! You may want to de-sensitize the head of the penis with something like Anbesol (for sore teeth) spread around the glans, before injecting the lubricant.

INSERTION:

After proper cleansing and lubrication, the catheter can be manipulated with a sterile gloved hand.  It is simpler, however, to grasp the catheter near it's tip with a sterile clamp, and to hold the other end of the catheter between the fourth and fifth fingers of the same hand. The catheter can then be advanced with the clamp without being touched by the unsterile hand.

The penis is stretched taut with the other hand, pulling the penis up around the catheter.  Once the penis has been pulled all of the way up, slide the catheter and the penis, as a unit, back into the body. Shift the grip on the catheter with the clamp, and, holding the catheter steady, pull the penis up around the catheter. Repeat this procedure until urine comes out of the catheter.

Shortly before the urine flows, the subject will feel an uncomfortable sensation as the catheter passes through the sphincter muscle that controls the bladder. This sensation is only while the catheter is being passed through. Once it has been passed through that muscle, that discomfort will go away.

LOCKING IN PLACE:
Activating the balloon that holds the Foley Catheter in place is done through the use of a syringe, without a needle. Fill the syringe with 10 cc of sterile water (for a 5 cc balloon) and put it in the inflating nozzle to inflate the balloon. The water should be sterile in the event that the balloon breaks. Water should be used instead of air. Air can be compressed, water can't. If it is filled with air, it is possible for it to slip out a little, causing extreme discomfort.

COLLECTION DEVICES:

Now that it is in, urine will be coming out all of the time. Whether it comes out as a stream, or by dripping depends, of course, on how much liquid you put in your body. Something needs to be done with that urine. Infantilists like to wear diapers to catch it. Masters will usually simply have it go in a pail, or on the Dungeon floor. Bags are available that are strapped to the leg. The output of the catheter is connected to the leg bag. The bag then gets emptied when needed. For night time use, bags are available that hang on the bed frame with a tube that connects to the catheter. You can also plug the end of the catheter with something like a golf tee - but, that defeats the purpose of the catheter :-) There is also a bag that is called "The Belly Bag". This is worn around your waist under your clothing and the catheter hooks into this and the urine is collected there. It holds 1000cc, or approximately 1 quart.

DOWNSIDES:

If you haven't thoroughly cleaned things, and observed the sterility precautions with the catheter, the person can develop cystitis, or non-specific-urethritis. This is especially true if your hands, or his penis has been playing in the anal area. Quite often just washing with soap and water will not kill the bacteria that gets picked up in the anal area. The symptoms of cystitis is a burning sensation when urinating (after the catheter is removed), extreme discomfort after wearing the catheter for several days. And, lower back ache.

If the person has never been catheterized before, he is going to feel discomfort for a few hours after the catheter has been inserted. This discomfort gradually goes away - within 4-6 hours. If he has been previously catheterized, subsequent times usually go a lot better, with little or no discomfort. Typically, within 6 hours the person is going to find it to be quite comfortable. If this does not happen, deflate the balloon and slowly remove the catheter from the penis and throw it away.  Give the tissues 2-3 days to recover and try it again.

The newer catheters are being made with a silicone coating, or entirely of silicone. These are usually easier and more comfortable to insert, as well as more comfortable to wear.

NEVER re-use a catheter! Unless you have an autoclave, there is no way that you are going to get them properly sterilized!

MISCELLANEOUS:

You can masturbate with the catheter in place. In fact, the pleasure is often heightened. The catheter passes through the middle of the prostate. Masturbation causes the catheter to internally massage the prostate. Inserting a finger in the rectum and massaging the prostate that way, at the same time will drastically heighten the orgasm. However, the actual ejaculation is nothing more than an oozing out around the catheter. You will also experience some discomfort in the urethra after the ejaculation that may last for a few hours.

As you walk around, because the catheter passes through the middle of the prostate, and because the catheter moves in and out of the urethra, anchored by the balloon in the bladder, the catheter provides the prostate with a continual massage.

This page was last updated Nov 2 2008 .