My Mom will just finish antibiotics for a UTI and then gets another? Are there meds that cause chronic UTI's? She is 86. Lives in AL, and doesn't drink enough water, but the UTI's cause confusion and agresessive behavior and tiredness. Can chronic UTI's be prevented in elderly??
Anti biotics become ineffective. What seems to have worked for Mom is cranberry juice and Azo and vitamin C. That was what was suggested by her doctor and seems to have stopped the re occurances.
Watch for sells on Ocean Spray 100% and Northern Cranberry juice and make sure you read the label. NO FRUCTOSE!
I also this fall cut a half a pomegranit seeded of course as it is the greatest anti oxicident I have read about.
Excuse my spelling here. Moms starting top stir and dont have time to spell check.
And Gigi11 made a good point, wearing briefs that need changing.
Really staying well hydrated is just so important no matter what age.
BUT also be on the lookout for signs that mom now has a C Diff (Clostridium difficle) infection taking root. What happens is the uti antibiotics in the process of killing the uti infection also kill off other good bacteria in your body. Which gives the C Diff opportunity to grow in your intestine. C diff seems to be low key at first with somewhat loose stools, mucousy bm's or perhaps mild diarrhea then seems to go away but actually is building up in intestines. Full blown CDiff is pretty antibiotic resistant & can be life threatening for frail elderly. It is probably the scariest disease to have spread in a NH - my moms NH isolates them or they go to hospital. C diff is really hard to get rid of as the spores are very hardy; they live a long time on hard surfaces & can make it through warm water laundry. Really want to keep c diff from taking hold in your house.
If your moms doc didn't run a test to see if C Diff is also there, ask to have that done.
Also, you can boost her water content by making hot soups or salads with veggies high in water content: cucumber, lettuce, zucchini, radish, celery, cauliflower, eggplant, peppers, spinach or broccoli. Some have said that this is more effective than a glass of water because it provides the body with necessary natural sugars, vitamins & minerals, etc., all while replenishing water content. Hope this helps!! His Blessings to you in this!!
As far as my Mom goes, I use a large squirt bottle on her privates after soaping her up. I bought a few at the hair dressing store meant for dying hair, and use those. If her urine smells at all, I do a week of amoxicillin, I have an open rx for it for Mom. So far, knock on wood good luck here with her. Beware caregivers...we are at risk too.
I'll check out Ferris's suggesion of the Zerbaxa in the PDR. Cipro doesn't seem to be effective on cUTI's.