Prevent Disastrous Catches And Pulls That Can Tear Your Catheter Out
I was given several Grip-Lok LFC catheter “stickers” when I left the hospital. But after I ran out, I discovered I couldn’t get them from the Urology clinic. They only had the ones that stretch around your leg and hold on with a velcro attachment. If you are ambulatory, the stretchy kind are – in my opinion – dangerous. They offer no protection against “pulls” on the tube, which can be painful or downright disastrous.
I was lucky in that the ER had several more on-hand. But usually the Grip-loks only come in boxes of 100, which is fine if you have to deal with a catheter long-term. Those boxes of 100 cost about $400 (US).
The GRIP-LOK is the safe alternative (alternative to using the stretchy velcro-type of holder) for securing your urinary catheter.
The Tidi Grip-Lok LFC (Large Foley Catheter) catheter securement device is a “stick-to-your-leg” type device (as opposed to the common stretchy-fabric kind that too easily slides down your leg, especially if you are ambulatory. The Grip-Lok adheres to your leg and holds the catheter securely in a channel created by a small length of foam and two Velcro® straps.
This allows you to prevent the catheter from pulling down and out, away from the insertion site. And for those with a suprapubic catheter, the Grip-Lok allows you to provide yourself with just the right amount of slack between the insertion site and the straps so you can maintain comfort while also providing “traction tension” to help hold the balloon of the Foley against the wall of your bladder.
* Safer for ambulatory users compared to the common securement devices that simply wrap around your leg via stretch-fabric only (no adhesive). This is based on my personal experiences, which you can read about here: Tip To Avoid Tearing Out Your Foley Catheter and Tips For Holding Your Catheter In Place.
Below is a video from Zefon showing how to use the Grip-Lok LFC:
If you don’t like things that stick to your leg, you might want to check out something new and actually vastly better than the Grip-Lok. It’s called the Freedom Belt.
Find out more about that here: Get Active Again With The Freedom Belt