7.1 Introduction
The elimination of waste products from the body is a basic need. It is also a natural process, and most healthy people have regular fecal and urinary elimination habits. When people become dependent on others for care, elimination habits are often disrupted, and control can be lost. As HCA students, you will become familiar with alternative ways of assisting clients with their elimination needs.
There are two types of care activities:
- Tasks: care activities that HCAs are educated and trained to perform as part of their assigned HCA role.
- Restricted activities: higher-risk care activities outlined in health professional regulations that an HCA cannot perform without authorization (delegation) by a regulated health professional, such as a registered nurse. Restricted activities are not considered HCA tasks.
When assisting clients with urinary and bowel elimination, it is important to understand what type of care activity is required to help the client meet their needs.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this unit, the successful student will be able to:
- Describe the guidelines for maintaining normal urinary & bowel elimination.
- List the required observations for urine & bowel movements.
- List factors affecting urinary & bowel elimination.
- Describe the care required by clients experiencing elimination problems (catheters, suppositories, enemas, ostomies).
- Describe procedures for collecting urine and stool specimens.
Terms to Know
- Void
- Micturate
- Urinate
- Urinary incontinence
- Urinary catheter
- Condom catheter
- Frequency
- Urgency
- Nocturia
- Hematuria
- Defecation
- Feces
- Stool
- Diarrhea
- Fecal incontinence
- Constipation
- Flatulence
- Flatus
- Ostomy
- Colostomy
- Ileostomy
- Fecal impaction
- Bedpan
- Urinal
- Condom catheter
- Indwelling catheter
- Bladder
- Uncircumcised
- Foreskin
- Shaft
- Meatus
- Excreted
- Peristalsis
To empty urine from the bladder.
To empty urine from the bladder.
To empty urine from the bladder.
Being unable to control the emptying of the bladder.
A tube inserted into the bladder through the urethra to drain urine.
soft, flexible sheath placed over penis and connected to tubing and a drainage bag.
How often a person voids in 24 hrs.
The feeling of needing to urinate.
Increased need to void during the night.
Blood in the urine.
The process of eliminating waste from the digestive tract.
Waste material contained in the colon.
Feces excreted from the colon.
Frequent passage of liquid stool.
The inability to control defecation.
Hard, dry stool that is difficult to pass.
Excessive flatus or gas in the intestinal tract.
Gas passed through the anus.
A surgically created artificial opening in the abdomen for elimination of feces or urine.
A surgically created artificial opening between the colon and the abdominal wall.
A surgically created artificial opening between the ileum and the abdominal wall.
Hard fecal material accumulated in the rectum.
A container into which bowel and/or bladder elimination may occur. These devices are helpful for people who have mobility issues and have difficulty getting out of bed.
A container or receptacle into which males urinate. Handheld urinals are available to assist patients who have mobility issues.
Is a urinary catheter left in the bladder and held in place by a water-filled balloon, which prevents it falling out.
A muscular organ which stores urine.
A male who has not had the foreskin of the penis removed.
The outer skin that covers the end of the penis and can be retracted.
The long part of the penis.
Urinary opening.
Eliminated or removed from the body.
Muscular contractions of the GI tracts
