My MIL was in the hospital for 5 days due to a UTI and was given antibiotics. She was given more antibiotics at home and still tested positive so she was given more. Now she is on the third round. This infection is not going away. Dr. Is referring her to a Urologist if this last set of antibiotics doesn not work. Have any of you experience this? What was the outcome and tips on how to help her?
Some things they may help if they get this cleared up.
A probiotic, which can be given while on the antibiotic. Actually helps in preventing yeast infections caused by antibiotcs.
Cranberry tablets (juice has sugar) also a member recommends D-Mannose
Plenty of water. Make sure they void completely. A member recommended leaning forward helps. If u help with toileting make sure she is cleaned completely. I use Huggie wipes, they are big and thick. I never used soap near the urethra. My daughter had problems as a child and it was found that bubble baths probably contributed to the infections.
Good luck!
Aso make sure your MIL stays hydrated with actual water not just water in tea , drinks etc .
Good luck
L
She lives at home with 24/7 care. The hygiene is impeccable but she is predisposed to UTI’s. She’s on a prophylactic antibiotic nitrofurantoin, cranberry pills or gummies.
I had a bidet sprayer installed in the bathrooms, She bathes every day but none the less the UTI’s come back.
9 out of 10 times I know to have the urine checked because of extreme changes in her behavior. it’s easy to blame it on dementia when it’s actually a UTI.
Hydrate
cranberry pills or gummies daily
good hygiene
we are just trying to keep it at bay.
Wearing a Cathiter, it is inevitable that you will get a UTI.
My Dad's Urologist said it should be changed every 30 days to help not get a UTI.
Also, drinking lots of fluids help not get a UTI.
I give my Dad Cranberry juice every day as some say this helps.
My Dad has had 4 UTI'S in the past
1 1/2 yrs.
When he gets a UTI, it's cleared up within 5 days.
Prayers
You might have your Dr run another Urine Sample and then ask Dr to order a Culture as that will tell what kind of stuff is causing the UTI infection and Which Antibiotic works best on it.
Have they tried different antibiotics or the same one?
You want to give them two hours apart. Example: antibiotics at 8am, probiotic at 10am. This will give you the best results.
Also, try to get some probiotic foods in her. Fresh, refrigerated sauerkraut, kombucha beverage, Natural Grocers has many probiotic products to choose from. This will help her gut get back to normal after so many rounds of antibiotics. I recommend taking 3 a day for a month after finishing the antibiotics. High fiber foods are also very good for restoring gut health.
I hope that she is better soon.
After being hospitalized 4 or 5 times to be treated wit IV antibiotics, each time resorting to fosfomycin (Monurol), a powder mixed with water that knocks out the bacteria quickly. I dose, usually does the trick. If not another dose 3 days later.
Also, we now change the catheter every 2 weeks instead of monthly.
She has Advanced Vascular Dementia, and a UTI or any major infection like pneumonia results in her dementia being worse after each infection is cured.
I will try the pure cranberry juice starting today, if I can get her to drink it
My mom was also hospitalized for a week for uti (plus shingles and falls). After the hospitalization, she wound up needing 3 different rounds of iv antibiotics for 1 week each. We went to the hospital for these infusions but later learned the home health nurse (she was getting post hospitalization rehab care at home) could have done it.
It may be she is not voiding and continues to be infected from retained urine. (To ensure she is voiding as much as possible, have her lean forward 45 degrees after she thinks she is finished urinating. This pressure will help push out any retained urine.)
Wishing her a quick recovery. These infections are dangerous and can be chronic, as they have been for my mother why is why I think a urologist is needed. (For reasons I cannot understand, she rarely gets them in Maine but constantly gets them in Florida. If anyone has a guess as yo why, please share.)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5808437/
had results that are consistent with > temperature results in more UTIs. Sadly, they do report that FL doesn't report admission month stats on UTIs, but they used other southern states (Temp was the key to their testing, not so much geographic locations.) So, it's possible she's more prone in FL
Mother has frequent UTIs and now started cranberry gummies (she loves) and a probiotic.
I have high hopes of reducing the occurrences.
She does not drink enough and hygiene is a problem. She fights her showers with a favorite caregiver.
In addition there is another medicine urologist used for my mom to help enlarge the tube coming out of bladder and she did quite well with it for about 2 years. Commonly used for men to treat some kind of urinary issue. Tamsulosin.