Mom is having a problem that is "new" to us. UTI. Turns out that after having the specimen cultured, she is resistant to many antibiotics. They gave her an injection of rocephrin (I believe)...Fast forward a few weeks and the infection is back - blood in urine. BTW, she does not exhibit ANY textbook symptoms otherwise - EVER. So, no change in personality, no fever, no aches, no pain, etc. Interested to hear from others who deal or have dealt with this? Is this another chronic problem to be added to the list of others or ???
First, let's talk about how to avoid them.
If she has a catheter, she will be more prone to them. Clean carefully around the catheter and take her to the doctor the moment you see any discharge whatsoever. Make sure all gunk is clean.
If she's incontinent of bowels, then you have a problem on your hands. This is the primary source of recurrent UTI's in women. The best way to avoid it is to change her immediately. The problem with that is what happens in the middle of the night, right? It's not always going to happen. Just keep her as clean as you possibly can. When cleaning her if she can sit on the toilet. Use it first in the front to clean away any debris. That thing is so much better than a regular old fashioned peri bottle. I love it! I have no connection to it except that I love it.
Protect her labial folds with cream to prevent feces from entering the area. It won't prevent it 100% but will help reduce the risk.
Increase fluids and if she's not a diabetic, have her drink a lot of cranberry juice. You can even buy cranberry supplements to go along with the juice, but not instead of. This is especially helpful in prevention of recurring UTI.
Finally, make sure she's drinking plenty of fluids. They will often forget to drink and dark concentrated urine is a sure sign that they're not getting enough and that leads to bacteria in the urine which leads to UTI.
Good luck and I wish you and your mother well.
My mom was greatly helped by taking a probiotic that was formulated to help with "feminie health"...i have to see if i can find the name. Also, using an estrogen cream every few weeks.
Thanks for the wealth of info! Just a bit confused by the few sentences...It appears you're referring to something (that you love/have no connection to?)
"When cleaning her if she can sit on the toilet. Use it first in the front to clean away any debris. That thing is so much better than a regular old fashioned peri bottle. I love it! I have no connection to it except that I love it."
Thankfully she's not bowel incontinent & no catheter...But whatever you're referring to, sounds like something I should invest in? :o)