Bladder Care
After Spinal cord Injury you cannot feel when your bladder is full and you're not able to control when you urinate. Spinal injuries prevent instructions from the brain from reaching the bladder, catheters become a daily necessity. There are different kinds of catheter devices. Indewelling Catheters, stays in the bladder all the time. Ideally need to be changed 4-6 weeks. Urinary Condoms, Placed over the penis & ideally used for single time. Supra pubic Catheters, inserted into the bladder through a cut in the tummy & changed every 4-8 weeks by a Medical Professional. Intermittent catheters, Inserted, on average, every 3-4 hours & ideally single use. To reduce the risk of urinary tract infections, Intermittent catheters are advised, since you change them out with each use.
Bowel Care
Just like with your bladder, SCI can prevent signals from the brain from reaching your bowels. To compensate, it’s important to establish a regular bowel program. There are many kinds of bowel programs, from manual removal, to digital stimulation, suppository, and mini-enemas. Whatever method you use, it’s important to establish and stick to a schedule. After SCI food & water is absorbed but no warning is sent to brain when bowel needs to empty. Bowels may empty when you're not ready.
The aim of looking after your bowl is to have regular production of a formed stool at regular time without accidents or complications.
Stay Active
Maintaining an exercise routine is vital for staying healthy and active following a spinal cord injury. Daily activities that is recommend include arm and leg stretches. It is also recommend engaging in strength training throughout the week. Exercise helps offset the inactivity that SCI forces on survivors, improving health and even helping with mood.
Pressure Release
After Spinal cord Injury skin has reduced sensation & no feeling and thus has greater risk of developing Pressure Sores. Sitting in the same position all of the time can cause sores and limit blood circulation. Taking a minute or two every half-hour to relieve the pressure by stretching or shifting position is crucial for preventing painful sores, skin checks. It is on recommended that you do skin checks every day to spot pressure sores. This way, you have a chance of spotting a pressure sore early and being able to stop it from getting worse. Pressure Ulcers can be very dangerous. The treatment cost of Pressure Ulcers is very high, prone to infections, Long Rehabilitation and even death.