Which practice is correct when handling a urinary drainage bag during I&O care?

• A. Wear gloves while handling the urinary drainage bag, graduate, or any urine-filled container, and remove gloves before documenting I&O
• B. Remove gloves before documenting I&O
• C. Set graduate on the floor and read measurement
• D. Keep urinary drainage bag hanging from bed frame

Answer: (B)

Washing hands and using gloves correctly hinges on protecting yourself and keeping records clean. When you’re measuring urine and handling a urinary drainage bag, you wear gloves to prevent contamination during the actual task. But before you document the intake and output, you remove the gloves and perform hand hygiene. This step prevents transferring any germs from the urine bag or gloves to the chart or other surfaces, and it keeps the documentation accurate and safe. The measurement should be taken with clean technique and then recorded after hands are cleaned, not while still wearing gloves. The other practices either skip this hygiene step or introduce unsafe handling (like placing the bag on the floor), which can lead to contamination or inaccurate readings.