Mom has had a peri-pubic urinary catheter for years now, but in the last 6 months she gets a bad urine odor about her that I can't get rid of. I irrigate the catheter almost daily (and wash out the bag). She's had urine cultures and urinalysis's and the Dr's say she does have bacteria that are common for people with catheters, but because of her long list of drug allergies they aren't going to put on any antibiotics.
I need suggestions to keep my house (she lives with me smelling like a nursing home! I keep the fan on in the bathroom 24/7 so I imagine that's going to shorten its lifespan.
When I would clean her bathroom, I would always see one or the other bag hanging up to 'dry' and there was always a measure of dark brown urine in the bag. Not my place to clean it, and I never did. She simply didn't have the patience or the skills to clean them. I offered to buy her more, so she could have fresh ones and she always refused.
The smell got pretty awful at times. No amounts of vinegar in bowls would have helped--you have to remove the actual source.
Once the doc removed the supra-pubic cath and bag and mom went into adult diapers, the smell was not so bad. She wouldn't toss the used diapers but only once a week, so the smell was still there, but not nearly as bad.
The only thing I can think of to address the smell at the catheter site is for your mom to shower more frequently and wash the area/catheter thoroughly with soap. You can use a vinegar solution to wash out the bags.
Lysol and Febreze sprays could improve the general house smell. I sympathize with how those odors get into soft surfaces and linger forever. I had a good result using upholstery cleaner and a Febreze spray. The generic ones are cheaper if you're using them often.
I emptied the bag once in the morning and once in the evening, and the catheter itself including the bag was changed out every 4-6 weeks.
Is your moms catheter(including the bag)being changed(meaning taken out and a brand new once placed in)every 4-6 weeks(as recommended), as I never once had to "wash out the bag" in the 2 years my husband had his?
Something definitely sounds wrong here. It could be because she does have an UTI, and left untreated could turn into something much worse.
Can she not temporarily go off the medications that don't play well with the antibiotic so it can at least get it cleared up to see if that won't help?
My husband though did have several UTI's while he had his catheter and never once did I smell a bad odor coming from his urine.
I can't imagine having to live with that smell in my house. I hope you get things figured out soon.
Infections with indwelling catheter is almost inevitable because the catheter itself is moving up and down and in and out of the urethra, often contaminated by stool or incomplete cleansing. This carries bacteria into the urethra itself which in age has lost its plump tissue that clasps a catheter where it enters the body.
A nurse here on site recommends D-Mannose to help prevent UTIs and I read it may clear them up. Not sure if cranberry tablets would help clear up but you can try. Tablets not juice. Juice has sugar in it and that feeds things like yeast infections.
Try using bowls of vinegar around.