Clothing
- Choose clothes that will facilitate access to the genitals (vulva, penis) when there is a need to undress.
- For independent children in wheelchairs, consider clothing with elastic or Velcro closures. Talk to your healthcare team for specific suggestions.
- Children with a Mitrofanoff stoma should wear comfortable clothes that are not too tight. It is not necessary to cover the stoma with a bandage; urine should not leak from the stoma because of the valve.
Bathing and swimming
- Clean your child’s genitals or the Mitrofanoff stoma every day, when bathing and showering, and before each catheterization. Your child should participate in this care, if able.
- Use a washcloth, warm water and mild body soap, that is fragrance and additive free (eg, “Dove”).
- Do not use antiseptic soap because it can irritate the skin and cause infection.
- Girls: open the labia gently, clean the vulva, inner labia and the perineum to the anus (going from front to back); rinse with water in the same way.
- Boys: clean the penis, including the area under the fold of the foreskin if uncircumcised; rinse with water.
- Mitrofanoff stoma: gently wash the stoma and the skin around the stoma and rinse with water.
- Baby wipes that are fragrance and additive free can be used, without rinsing, for cleaning or before catheterization.
- Your child may take a bath, shower or swim without special care.
Sleeping
- Consider meal times and your child’s need for hydration to determine, with your healthcare team, if it is necessary to do catheterizations during the night.
- For some children, wearing a diaper at night may help.
Nutrition and hydration
- With your healthcare team, determine the schedule of daily catheterizations for your child according to:
- the organization of the activities planned for the day (eg, travel, school, medical care, social activities, sports),
- the best length of time in between two catheterizations, considering the child’s comfort and the risks of urine flowing backwards into the kidneys.
- Take note your child’s liquid intake and the amount of urine collected during the day, as recommended by your healthcare team.
- Encourage your child to drink throughout the day; smaller amounts in the evening may allow for the child to not need catheterization during the night.
Activities
- Your child can usually continue his regular daily activities.
- It is recommended to do a catheterization immediately before play or engaging in a sport.
- Follow the recommendations of your team which are tailored to the specific needs of your child.
Travel and transportation
Always carry a ”spare kit” in case a catheterization is needed outside the house:
- hand soap
- cleaning wipes
- two clean catheters
- water-based libricant
- container to collect urine