Gentamicin Bladder Washes

Some patients with recurrent urinary tract infections or clean intermittent bladder catheterization will need gentamicin bladder washes for several weeks. CHOC Urology Center provides gentamicin bladder washes instructions for families. The following is only for reference. These instructions should not replace any information from the doctor or nurse practitioner. Your health provider will give the medicine amount that will be used.

Instructions for Gentamicin Bladder Washes

• Catheterize your child as usual and completely empty the bladder.
• Fill a syringe with about 10ml of sterile water and set within reach.
• Next, use the sterile needle provided by the pharmacy to pull back on the syringe. Take in room air past the amount of medicine needed.
• Then, insert the needle into the medicine bottle and push the air into the bottle.
• After, pull back on the syringe part to fill the syringe to the amount instructed by the child’s doctor or nurse practitioner.
• Activate the safety mechanism of the needle. The pharmacist will show you how to do this.
• Unscrew the needle from the syringe and dispose of in a marked sharp container.
• Push the medicine into the catheter end where the urine came out of. Completely empty all medicine into catheter then remove syringe. Then, attach the syringe filled with water to the catheter and push the water into the bladder as well.
• Now remove the catheter without draining the water back out. This allows the medicine to sit within the bladder until your child is due to catheterize again.
• Perform this procedure three times per day for the first week. Twice per day for the second week and then only before bed daily for the third and final week.

How to Make Sterile Water

• Boil water for 10 minutes on the stove in a clean pot.
• Cool the water off the stove until it is room temperature.
• Keep extra unused water in a clean container in the refrigerator. Warm it to room temperature before using it next time.