Non sterile KY Jelly?

[smokey]

I just called Johnson and Johnson, the manufacturer of KY Jelly, and they told me that 4oz. tubes of sterile KY Jelly will no longer be made. They do still make 4oz. tubes of NON-sterile KY Jelly. When I catheterize myself, I use a clean technique by washing my hands and lubricating the new, sterile catheter by inserting the it right into the tube of sterile KY Jelly. I haven't had a UTI in 4 years. Would it make any difference if the KY Jelly I use in the future is "non sterile" and only used for catheterizations? Should I look for another brand of lubricant? I hate to screw up a good thing. Thanks.

[Emi2]

Hmm, I use the same technique you do except I use a bacteriostatic lube called Muko from the medical supply place. I think it's almost sterile but not technically sterile. It comes in the little packets too.

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow"
~ Anon

[jimnms]

I don't think it will matter because once you open the serile tube, it's no longer sterile. I've only used the non sterile generic lube.

_____
Learn from the mistakes of others, you won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.

[smokey]

Muko? Sounds like something from a swamp!

[SCI-Nurse]

Since you are using a new, sterile cath each time it shouldn't be an issue at all.

I agree with jimnms too that once the tube is open it is no longer completely sterile. If you are using clean technique otherwise everything should be fine. 90% of all UTI's are caused by urinary retention or urine left in the bladder after a void. The other 10% can be attributed to such things as reflux or high pressure problems, catheterization technique or catheter used. PLG

[SCI-Nurse]

I would just add that it is most important that you use separate tubes for bowel care and bladder care, and carefully label them to avoid getting them mixed up. This can be an important source of how bowel bacteria get into the bladder.

Also, there are many brands of surgical sterile lubricant other than KY. If you want to use a sterile product, here are a few others:

Triad

Fougera

Harvard Pilgrim

You can also still find sterile KY:

Sterile KY jelly

I believe Muco is not available in the USA.

(KLD)

[SCI-Nurse]

Thanks KLD ! PLG

[gclark]

I found a good altnernate to KY Jelly. Click here to check out Surgilube -
http://www.allegromedical.com/urolog...e-p193139.html

[ala]

I used to use sterile KY many years ago. It’s not really necessary for people who can use the clean cath technique. I have been using cheap generic KY-type lubricant for at least 8 or 10 years now. I buy it from Walmart or Target.

What KLD says about keeping your cath and bowel lubricants completely separate is extremely important. I once made the mistake of mixing them up and got a killer mean UTI. My urologist told me that even the slightest amount of fecal material can cause an infection that is most hard to get rid of.

[DougM]

Originally Posted by SCI-Nurse

I would just add that it is most important that you use separate tubes for bowel care and bladder care, and carefully label them to avoid getting them mixed up. This can be an important source of how bowel bacteria get into the bladder.

Also, there are many brands of surgical sterile lubricant other than KY. If you want to use a sterile product, here are a few others:

Triad

Fougera

Harvard Pilgrim

You can also still find sterile KY:

Sterile KY jelly

I believe Muco is not available in the USA.

(KLD)

I use the Fougera brand and I buy the plastic flip top tubes for cath and the twist top for bp. It's easy to keep them seperate this way. Buy the box of a dozen, it's cheaper.

http://www.exmed.net/product.asp?dep...f_id=FOU0205xx