D347. Bladder diaries
{{org_field_logo}}
{{org_field_name}}
D347. Bladder diaries
Q
What is a bladder diary? Should we be using them with our residents?
A
A bladder diary is a record of an individual’s daily urinary habits, kept manually or electronically. The objective is to help doctors understand the details of a person’s problem with incontinence or the risk of incontinence by having as full a picture as possible of what is or might be going wrong.
To be helpful, a diary needs to record all or most of the following information:
- the hours of the day
- the number of drinks consumed
- the number of times the person urinates, whether they experienced powerful urges
- any accidental leaks which occur.
It may also be useful to include some details of the activities the person was involved in, and a doctor may suggest additional items to be recorded such as where a leak occurred and what was going on at the time; activities like movement, exercise or sneezing can provoke leaks.
Usually, three or four days is long enough for a diary to provide information to help a diagnosis, but again a doctor’s guidance should be followed. Many people find that keeping a diary provides insights for themselves, such as that they have been avoiding certain activities to minimise accidents. Clearly, keeping a diary is quite a complicated process and residents in homes may need a good deal of help from staff. Equally obviously, in such an intimate area, such help needs to be provided very sensitively.
Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next review date: this policy is reviewed annually (every 12 months). When needed, this policy is also updated in response to changes in legislation, regulation, best practices, or organisational changes.
Copyright ©2024 {{org_field_name}}. All rights reserved