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Hi. I've tried googling the subject and have found scholarly articles and I'm not that smart, lol.
My dad has been to the hospital about 4-5 times now in the last 6 months ever since he had a Foley catheter for UTIs that cannot be cured orally. Is this just his life now? Why is this happening? Is one of them just eventually going to be really bad and harm him severely? He already went into Septic shock in April (before Foley) but I feel the nursing home and myself are more on top of his care now and will hopefully prevent things from going unnoticed again.
I just don't know what I can do. Probably nothing. But I wish I was more educated. I know UTIs are more common with catheters. But every month? And that need IVs? Will he eventually build up resistances to all these antibiotics?
Thank you.

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You could inquire about a maintenance dose of antibiotics that he takes every day to keep him from getting UTIs. Ask his urologist.
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Its the catheter. It will cause UTIs.
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I learned about a helpful supplement here on this forum. Those who are familiar with me know that I'm no gushing fan of supplements for many reasons BUT I've personally had success with my MIL's constant UTIs by giving her maintenance D-Mannosse. She is 88 and in LTC at a good facility but was getting UTIs like every other month. AlvaDeer (from this forum and a retired nurse) told me about her success using this supplement. When my MIL did not have a UTI the facility started giving her the d-Mannosse that I provided and she has had almost 0 UTIs since then.

The scientific community is not quite completely sure why it works but since it is a simple sugar, you cannot "overdose" on it and there are no side effects. It may or may not work depending on the reasons why your LO is getting his UTIs. For elderly women, it is not only a hygiene issue, but also their pH and hormones change, and their physiology changes so that their bladders do not fully empty anymore. All I know is this works for my LO and it is low risk for your Father. If he has diabetes I would make sure to clear it with his physician first. I bought mine on Amazon.com. Since it is a simple sugar you can open the capsules and but it in his food -- it's not bitter like most other meds.
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My wife's Uro/Gyn has her on a regimen of vitamin C, D Mannose and methanamine which has helped her tremendously. She's gone from multiple (12+ over. 2 years) UTIs to none. The vitamin C reduces the ph of the urine which is a factor in UTIs. Bacteria thrive in a high ph environment. The methanamine is a med that greatly reduces the ocurance of UTIs. Also an estrogen ring for females is very helpful.
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Lymie61 Nov 2022
This is the regimen they have my mom on as well and it seems to be working, knock on wood!
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I moved my mother from an AL/Memory Care to a nursing home because they kept sending her to the hospital for every little thing (trouble breathing, UTI, falls, etc.). A nursing home should be able to administer IV meds, take on-site x-rays, call in specialists, etc. That's why she's there now and isn't being sent off to the local hospital every 2-3 weeks. Those transitions were really hard on her.
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I think your best solution would be to work towards getting rid of the catheter, if at all possible.
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Don’t use a catheter. My father had bladder cancer they fixed him up with a way to urinate through his penis. Another choice may be a colostomy bag. Or just a bag he can pee in with an external sleeve. As a private pilot they make ways to pee in flight and capture the urine without leaving your seat.
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does he have to have the catheter for a medical or convenient reason? You could inquire how much water he’s drinking every day and make sure he gets enough to clean out the toxins in his body. Also, hygiene issue - making sure they daily clean him thoroughly. If you live close enough you can go and check on a more frequently to make sure they’re caring for him properly.

I don’t know about supplements. When I was taking care of my Mr. he started having UTI problems, going to the hospital, getting his catheter reinserted etc too.

all I started doing was mandating the caregivers to carefully wash his penis throughly every night and put Desitin on it like a baby. Move the folds of skin, wash, rinse, pat dry - the whole 9 yards. He didn’t get infections this way unless they started getting lazy about it. Because I was a caregiver too I could monitor their work.

Otherwise I don’t know how to answer your question and I’m so sorry; what a dreadful problem to deal with. Good luck
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My father at 90 was on a catheter for about 6 months after he had a bad fall and also blood in his urine. I had thought he was destined to need to keep it in forever, but working with a urologist from outside the facility they suggested doing a urinating trial where a nurse removed the catheter and they gave my dad a few hours to see if he could urinate on his own (along with plenty of fluids at that time.) He managed to do it and so he was able to have fewer issues - much more comfortable and less likely to get UTIs. The only down side for him was he wasn't independent in getting to the toilet and even had some problems using the male urinal jug that they would leave beside him - so he was upset by getting a wet adult diaper and/or not getting help soon enough to go in the toilet or urinal. That was an issue for him because he didn't have dementia and he'd somehow hoped/assumed he could get help when he needed to go, but the staff weren't always available in time. I still thought it was better and more "freeing" for him not to have that catheter in.
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I would wonder if this is a necessity or done for convenience of the staff. If done for convenience, then I would ask that the catheter be removed because they do contribute to UTIs.

I worked as a secretary for a Visiting Nurse Assoc. We had a patient that was a large women who had 24/7 care in her home. It was getting hard for the aides to get her to the bathroom. So they asked her Dr to order a catheter. The doctor sent the order to our Head Nurse. She called him and told him that catheters cause UTIs every time this Woman used them. He canceled the order.
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I agree with @JoAnn29 that you need to find out just why your dad is being catheterized in the first place.
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To suggest a catheter is used for "the staff's convenience" is beyond ridiculous! The inconvenience with upkeep of a catheter, changing it out, emptying the bags, etc, far exceeds any "convenience" it may provide the staff by not having to escort him tot the toilet. My father was catheterized for medically necessary reasons for quite a while and the huge headaches that ensued for all involved were mind boggling. He also had quite a few UTIs as a result, so he wound up on a low maintenance dose of antibiotics for the duration of the catheter. He was eventually able to get the catheter removed when he became able to urinate on his own. His urologist kept up with him regularly to determine when he was able to do so.
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Bryant2016: I am sorry that it's apparently necessary for your father to have a Foley catheter, causing the recurrent U.T.I.s. If the U.T.I. finally clears, he could go on a regimen of pure cranberry juice and cranberry tabs and I do realize that he suffers from other illnesses. Hugs sent for this most difficult of times.
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Catheters do pose a risk of infection. Not every person requires a catheter long term. Ask his doctor why he has a catheter long term and if there are other options. Ways to prevent infection include:
- always keep the bag lower than his body so "old urine" doesn't go back into the bladder.
- keep the bag off the floor to prevent "floor microorganisms" from getting onto bag, tubing, catheter, and eventually bladder.
- wash his private areas from front to back so poop organisms don't get wiped onto urinary areas.
- wash his penis and catheter every 4 hours with an antimicrobial soap working from his flesh down the catheter tube.
- ask his doctor how frequently his catheter needs to be changed and make sure it is changed on that schedule. The tubing and bag connected to the catheter needs to be changed more often than his catheter does. Ask the doctor how often those should be changed and make sure that they are.
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Hello--unfortunately this is very common for folks using catheters. My suggestion is to request a PCR urine test which they can take administer from the bag. That will tell them what exact pathogens you're dealing with and the proper care. If they're continuing to run cultures on him, you're probably not getting a full picture of the issues.
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Bryant2016,

If you're your dad's medical POA, you can access his online chart by proxy to see the urine cultures and the causative organisms for the UTIs. I have to assume that he has a Foley in place due to blockage from an enlarged prostate or some other obstructive issue. If for non-medical reasons, get it removed.

One commenter suggested cranberry juice or tablets. The reason that cranberry juice is good for UTI's is that it contains a sugar called D-Mannose. You can buy that as a powder and give it to him in water or juice daily. D-Mannose (available from A'zon, etc.) has a molecular shape that actually hooks E-Coli, the cause of 70% of UTIs, and the natural sugar reduces the bacteria in the bladder and urinary tract and can greatly reduce the frequency of UTIs. If the causative bacteria is something else, investigate the cause and work to reduce his exposure. These UTIs are dangerous for him and must be prevented.

Wishing you and your dad the very best.
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