Gender-Biased Medicine
Some stuff is simply shocking. I mean, it's blowing you away, whether you want or not.
Every female friend/relative I have who had to have a catheterisation while in hospital for some procedure (anything from birth to large operations) at least once mentioned how awful insertion of the catheter was, how painful it was and all of them were frightened of repetitions.In fact, one relative who has birthed once in a hospital and then only at home said that the one thing which she remembered being among the worst was the catheterisation. And, there are "handy tips" into how to trick women frightened of that pain into relaxing for insertion of a catheter. Tricks which build hope that it won't be just so painful, though of course it is again exactly as painful.
So - yes - as practically every woman knows, insertion of a catheter is not just not pleasant, or neutral, it is from just painful to damn fucking painful, depending on who rams it in does it in what hurry and where. Yes, women do feel pain. They say "ouch" as well as any next guy. It should be noticable to any doctor or researcher. There have been women galore begging to have the catheter inserted AFTER the epidural is working (most times to no avail at all!). Thus you may be as astonished as I was on reading what I came across:
Historically, urethral lubrication with an anaesthetic gel has been routinely used for men undergoing catheterisation, but it was not until a publication by de Courcy-Ireland (1993) that an anaesthetic gel for women undergoing catheterisation received serious consideration. It was believed until then that as the female urethra was so much shorter than in the male, anaesthesia or lubrication was unnecessary.
or
Catheterization of the female patient is traditionally performed without theuse of local anesthetic gel to facilitate catheter insertion. But since there are no lubricating glands in the female urethra (as found in the male urethra), the risk of trauma from a simple catheter insertion is more likely; therefore, ample supply of an anesthetic or antibacterial lubricant should be used.
What a fucking no-brainer! You'd think the easiest way would be to ask a few female patients whether it hurts or not. I am sure the ladies in question would have had no trouble informing the worthy medical profession of the fact that this HURTS, even though we don't have a penis (if you have one lidocaine is routinely given!). And the crowning is this:
Furthermore, the pharmacodynamic profile of topical lidocaine demonstrates that peak absorption is not reached until 15-60 minutes after application, whichsuggests healthcare professionals should be waiting longer between applying a urethral anaesthetic gel and inserting the catheter. This in turn has a time implication, so perhaps the most cost-effective choice is a plain lubricating aqueous gel.
Yo, right. When it comes to males, paying for the lidocaine is no problem, but for women? Eeeet's such a short urethra, babe... Sometimes I find myself rather unceremoniously wishing a really really bad UTI on some researchers and healthcare providers... Oh and ladies, remember to make it a point prior to submitting to any procedure involving a catheterisation to insist a) on lidocaine gel and b) a long enough wait prior to insertion.
Every female friend/relative I have who had to have a catheterisation while in hospital for some procedure (anything from birth to large operations) at least once mentioned how awful insertion of the catheter was, how painful it was and all of them were frightened of repetitions.In fact, one relative who has birthed once in a hospital and then only at home said that the one thing which she remembered being among the worst was the catheterisation. And, there are "handy tips" into how to trick women frightened of that pain into relaxing for insertion of a catheter. Tricks which build hope that it won't be just so painful, though of course it is again exactly as painful.
So - yes - as practically every woman knows, insertion of a catheter is not just not pleasant, or neutral, it is from just painful to damn fucking painful, depending on who rams it in does it in what hurry and where. Yes, women do feel pain. They say "ouch" as well as any next guy. It should be noticable to any doctor or researcher. There have been women galore begging to have the catheter inserted AFTER the epidural is working (most times to no avail at all!). Thus you may be as astonished as I was on reading what I came across:
Historically, urethral lubrication with an anaesthetic gel has been routinely used for men undergoing catheterisation, but it was not until a publication by de Courcy-Ireland (1993) that an anaesthetic gel for women undergoing catheterisation received serious consideration. It was believed until then that as the female urethra was so much shorter than in the male, anaesthesia or lubrication was unnecessary.
or
Catheterization of the female patient is traditionally performed without theuse of local anesthetic gel to facilitate catheter insertion. But since there are no lubricating glands in the female urethra (as found in the male urethra), the risk of trauma from a simple catheter insertion is more likely; therefore, ample supply of an anesthetic or antibacterial lubricant should be used.
What a fucking no-brainer! You'd think the easiest way would be to ask a few female patients whether it hurts or not. I am sure the ladies in question would have had no trouble informing the worthy medical profession of the fact that this HURTS, even though we don't have a penis (if you have one lidocaine is routinely given!). And the crowning is this:
Furthermore, the pharmacodynamic profile of topical lidocaine demonstrates that peak absorption is not reached until 15-60 minutes after application, whichsuggests healthcare professionals should be waiting longer between applying a urethral anaesthetic gel and inserting the catheter. This in turn has a time implication, so perhaps the most cost-effective choice is a plain lubricating aqueous gel.
Yo, right. When it comes to males, paying for the lidocaine is no problem, but for women? Eeeet's such a short urethra, babe... Sometimes I find myself rather unceremoniously wishing a really really bad UTI on some researchers and healthcare providers... Oh and ladies, remember to make it a point prior to submitting to any procedure involving a catheterisation to insist a) on lidocaine gel and b) a long enough wait prior to insertion.