Does this mean that some UTI organisms can penetrate the blood brain barrier?

We are just a bunch of ordinary people who are caring for someone, in order to help you we would need to search the web, something you can probably do as well as we could.

Urinary tract infections left untreated will travel to the kidney(s), Kidneys are vital organs (can't live without one) and once the infection goes that far it enters the blood stream. It's highly likely it's entering from the rectum/feces to the vaginal opening. Microscopic amounts will infect women easier than you would think. So important to never wash from back to front, always front to back. Never heard of UTI's any other way. Many hospitals are using briefs instead a catheterizing for outpatient surgeries to decrease the number of UTI's. Most certainly can cause confusion, aggitation, aggression just for starters because the kidneys clean the impurities out of our bodies. Good luck Bobbie to you and your girl!

Perhaps the pain relieving meds so many elderly people take prevents them from feeling the discomforts of a UTI. Perhaps, then, the UTI goes on a long time undiagnosed and the additional problems develope.

My daughter is very ill and has been hospitalized frequently over the past 4 years. She has been catherized each time. i am very well and hav not been hospitalized. I am still mystified as to howI got the proteus infection . However, I am hoping the cranberry juice continues to protect me from reinfection.

Both my daughter and i are now taking a cup of cranberry juice every day. this is apparently helping me to avoid reinfection. i am not sure about her, though.I am still very concerned about how and why this proteus could affect the brain.I hope I amfree now of it forever.

UTIs caused by e. coli cause confusion/disorientation and behavior/personality changes. Often that is the only symptom in the elderly. The medical community doesn't really know why it has this effect. If a UTI is untreated for a long time it will result in sepsis and can make one profoundly ill, and even lead to death.

Your concern is totally understandable and UTIs are a bane in the lives of many who require care. You may already know that most UTIs are caused by e. coli. Proteus mirabilis is often associated with those who are catheterized. Of course I am not a medical professional but if your daughter is catheterized, is it at all possible to remove the catheter for a while to give her a "break" in order for her to have a longer stretch of time of being UTI-free? You must discuss any changes to her care with her doctor first. My only experience with UTIs is with my MIL who is bed-ridden in LTC. She too was having one UTI after another (she is not catheterized). A seasoned poster on this forum mentioned using a supplement (and a caveat that I don't sell this product and usually don't endorse the use of supplements). The supplement is D-Mannose and is a simple sugar that I can testify has kept my MIL UTI-free since last fall. It can be purchase at places like GNC or online. Since it is a supplement there is no "accurate" dosing guidelines but your body pees it out and there are no known side effects. If this is of interest you must first discuss with her doctor so he can be informed and give input (most likely he's not heard of it). You daughter must first be free of an UTI and then you can start giving it to her. Again I want to state I have no stake in this product whatsoever, just pity for my MIL's ongoing suffering with UTIs. It worked for her and that's all I can tell you. I wish you success in helping her be UTI-free!