URINE DRAINAGE BAG
The invention relates to continence care, and particularly to urinary drainage bags used by patients who are incontinent, owing to various disorders, or owing to post-operative recovery.
Two litre drainage bags are often used for overnight drainage, both for post-operative and bed-ridden patients, connected directly to a catheter/sheath, or to a leg bag as part of a 'link system' where the two litre bag connects to a flexible connector on the outlet tap of the leg bag (the leg tap is opened and so the leg bag effectively acts as an extension to the inlet tube of the two litre drainage bag).
Two litre drainage bags are usually available in two versions. One, drainable (with an outlet tap), or the second which is non-drainable (without an outlet tap). Non-drainable bags usually rely on a primitive tear facility to empty the bag, the performance of which is variable and can lead to spillage of the contents, or to contamination of the user's or carer's hands. Some resort to cutting off the corner of the bag with scissors in order to empty the bag.
These prior non-drainable bags thus have the disadvantages of difficulty of use, spillage and contamination of the hands of a user.
It is an object of the invention to seek to mitigate these disadvantages.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a urinary drainage bag, comprising a liquid discharge opening which is obturated by a removable closure device.
Thus using the invention it is possible to provide a bag which is easier to use than prior non-drainable bags, particularly by those of limited dexterity. The spillage of urine is reduced considerably as is the possibility of contamination of a user's or carer's hands.
The liquid discharge opening may be on a major surface of the bag. This provides for ease of use, and manufacture, particularly when the liquid discharge opening may comprise a slit or hole in a wall of the bag. This allows for the slit or hole to be formed in a sheet of say plastic before it is made up into a bag by folding on itself or by combining with another unslit, sheet. The hole may be formed by say a punching operation, and be of any desired shape.
The slit may be of a 'V '-configuration.
The removable closure device may comprise a peelable label patch device, (auxiliary film, breathable membrane or the like) which covers the slit thereby to obturate it temporarily against discharge of urine. These are relatively simple yet effective constructions.
The peelable device may be rectangular and have on a surface which contacts the wall, a peelable adhesive. This provides for positive
closure, but with ready removal of the device.
The label, patch, auxiliary film or breathable membrane all are affixed temporarily to an exterior surface of the wall of the bag, substantially parallel thereto.
One end of the label or patch device may have a tab which is free of adhesive. This provides for ease of manual grasping, and removal, of the label or patch device. During removal, where the opening is a slit of 'V'-confϊguration, the act of removal of the label or patch device effectively pulls apart the limbs of the 'V to provide a wider opening by tearing back material of the bag between the limbs of the 'V slit, the torn back material adhering to the label or patch device to provide the wider opening.
The peelable adhesive may be such that the label or patch device can be reapplied to the wall after the first use. This provides for economy.
The discharge opening may be situated at or adjacent an upper part, in use, of the bag, and may preferably be situated at or adjacent an upper shoulder of the bag. This provides for ease of pouring. It will be understood however, that the discharge opening may be at any other desired position, for example at the bottom of the bag.
There may be an additional vent orifice adjacent the discharge opening. Thus it assists in emptying the bag by allowing ingress of
air to assist flow of urine through the discharge opening.
According to a second aspect of the invention, the invention provides a urine collection system, including a urine drainage bag as hereinbefore defined.
Urinary drainage bags are hereinafter described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is an elevational view of part of one embodiment of non- drainable urinary drainage bag according to the invention in one mode;
Fig. 2 is an elevational view of part of the bag of Fig. 1 in a second mode;
Fig. 3 is an elevational view of part of a second embodiment of non- drainable urinary drainage bag according to the invention; and
Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the bag of Fig. 4 in a second mode.
Referring to the drawings, in which like parts are referred to by like numerals there is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a first embodiment of a urinary drainage bag 1 which is non-drainable (i.e. one which has an inlet 2 for urine, but no outlet tap), comprising a liquid discharge opening 3 which is obturated by a removable closure device 4. The
opening 3 is a slit in a major surface or wall 5 of the bag 1 at an upper (as viewed) shoulder 6 of the bag 1 adjacent the urine inlet 2, which in the embodiment is in the form of a tube debouching into the top (as viewed and in use) of the bag 1. The slit 3 is closed at least temporarily by a peelable label or patch which forms the removable closure device and which is oblong and has a peelable adhesive on a surface 7 which is applied to the wall 5 of the bag 1 surrounding the slit 3.
One end of the device may be adhesive-free, to provide a manually graspable tab 8 for ease of peeling of the label or patch to reveal the slit 3 for pouring of urine from the bag 1.
The label or patch 4 may have a legend such as "peel here" .
The slit 3 may be formed in a sheet of plastic which becomes the major surface 5 such as a front wall of the bag 1. The sheet of plastic may be folded back on itself to form the bag, or may be welded to another sheet to form the bag.
The slit 3 is then covered by the peelable label or patch 4. In use, the bag 1 fills with urine and when it is required to empty it, the label 4 is gripped manually at the tab 8 and lifted and peeled back to reveal the slit 3, through which the urine can be poured, the pressure of the urine from inside the bag when it is tipped to pour opening the slit 3 for pouring, and thus emptying the bag.
Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, there is shown a second embodiment of a urine drainage bag 10 which is similar to that of Figs. 1 and 2, like reference numerals in Figs. 3 and 4 referring to similar items in Figs. 1 and 2. In the second embodiment of bag 10, the liquid discharge opening comprises a split 3' of 'V'-shape formed on the sheet of plastic which becomes when the bag is made a major surface 5 such as the front wall of the bag 10. The 'V'-configuration of the slit 3' is clearly shown in Fig. 3, and, as in the first embodiment is covered by a removable closure device 4 which has a peelable adhesive 7 over most of its surface applied to the front wall 5, except at a part 8 forming a manually graspable tab 8. When as in the first embodiment the tab 8 is gripped manually and raised in the direction of the arrows 'X' towards the shoulder 6, the label or patch device formed by the removable closure device 4 is peeled back as shown for removal from the front face to expose the slit 3' . The act of removal of the label or patch 4 effectively pulls apart the limbs of the 'V of the slit 3' as the plastic sheet forming the front face is torn from between those limbs and peeled back with the label, the tearing force required for tearing back the plastic sheet of the front face at the lines of weakness formed by the cuts forming the limbs of the slit 3' being less than that to remove the adhesive from the sheet 5 between the limbs of the slit 3' . Hence, the material between the limbs is torn and peeled back too, producing a wider opening of the configuration shown in Fig. 4. This therefore provides a large area opening for providing ease of emptying of urine from the bag 10.
It will be understood that modifications to both embodiments are possible. Thus both the bag 1 and the bag 10 may have an additional opening, vent or orifice (not shown) adjacent the discharge opening
3 or 3' to assist in emptying the bag 3 or 10 by allowing ingress of air to assist flow of urine through the discharge opening. The additional opening, vent or orifice may be a circular hole in the wall 5, covered initially by the removable closure device 4. On peeling back of the device 4, the opening vent or orifice is exposed for air ingress.
Also, the discharge opening 3,3' may be at any desired position in the bag, for example at the bottom rather than adjacent an upper shoulder 6 of the bag 1 or 10.
It will further be understood that the device 4 of Fig. 1 and 2 may be peeled back towards the lateral edge of the bag similarly to the device
4 shown in Figs. 3 and 4, rather than in the direction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, emptying nevertheless being identical.
Thus a bag 1 or 10 embodying the invention for use in continence care is easier to open, and pour, than previous bags particularly by those with limited dexterity, and considerably reduces the possibility of spillage of urine, and contamination of the user's or carer's hand(s).