My grandmother is diagnosed with urinary tract infection.

UTI's can cause the kind of behavior you've described. When your grandma was diagnosed was she prescribed an antibiotic? She needs to be on an antibiotic. Give it a few days and see if she if she's improved by then. If not call the Dr. again.

What do you mean by "weakness", Sonali?

It could be that the antibiotic is not the right one for her. My mother gets very depressed and lethargic when she has a UTI. Take her again to the doctor and have them do a culture to find the right antibiotic. I wouldn't be giving an herbal tea to someone with a UTI. I would be giving plenty of fresh water along with the antibiotics and maybe some cranberry juice or a cranberry supplement. I don't know of any teas that are particularly useful for UTIs. Some may even irritate the bladder more. Which antibiotic did the doctor prescribe?

Babalou is right. I've never gotten an answer from the doctor why a UTI in the elderly causes the strange behavior, but it does. The infection must pass through their whole body. By now, the antibiotics she's taking should be having some good effect on her. She should have another urine or blood test to see if the antibiotics are working. If her mood doesn't change, she may need to be evaluated by a geriatric psychiatrist.

Add me to the list of people who never got a good explanation as to why a UTI effects the elderly in the manner it does. Both my parent had at least one episode where they went off the chart looney with an UTI. In my moms case she woke from a nap, put on one slipper, no glasses, no hearing aid and walked to the other end of her IL building, entered the apartment of a woman she didn't know, sat down and refused to leave - all the while accusing this poor lady of stealing my moms cat - kitty was at home back in my moms apartment. After security couldn't get my mom to leave they called an ambulance and off to the ER with my mom. My dads episode was even worse. My father did not have any signs of dementia - he had to wear a catheter for 10 weeks while he was getting strong enough for prostate surgery - as soon as daddy started to talk a little strangely I'd get his urine tested - every time it was an UTI. It's mind blowing how a UTI can mess up an older person - the extent of it, but it sure does.

I agree, Rainmom. UTIs have such a strong effect on the elderly. Even a slight bladder infection can make them either depressed or psychotic, or both. Peeing too much and acting bizarre alerts me when it's time to have my mother tested for a UTI. Azo makes some strips that I found are pretty good, too. Sometimes my mother will tell me she thinks she has a UTI again, but I don't think she does. If I have a test strip available, I can check for myself and save a trip to the doctor if it doesn't show anything. The Azo strips are a simplified version of what they use in a lab. They test for leukocytes and nitrites.

I've seen those strips at the store - always wondered if they were worth the money. Thanks for the info, JessieBelle.

From what I can gather the major problem is not recognising the lower urinary tract infection and it becoming a bigger problem in a very short space of time. More so if your LO is incontinent and using pads because lets face it no urine smells great and it is much more difficult to pick up cloudiness or odour when pads are being used, especially if there is double incontinence.

Once there is an infection, and in Mums case she would 'wipe' from back to front not the other way round plus she had a prolapse which didn't help any too much, then there is bacteria present and they multiply at an incredible rate in warm moist areas. Add to that leakage then what happens is that there is a build up of bacteria in a dehydrating body setting - effectively increasing the bacteria's strength and building a toxic soup if you like. Once the strength reaches toxic levels then delirium will almost certainly occur in the elderly because we already know that toxins interfere with signals to and from the brain.

Now I have absolutely no idea whether this is accurate but it is how the consultant explained it to em and it did sorta make sense.

Jessie, that is great information about the UTI test strips, which can save you a trip to the Dr or ER! You can ask your doctor for one of those urine collection "hats", that you can collect the patients urine by placing it into the toilet for collecting urine, then pour into a cup or sterile collection cup. Having those strips can save time and money in the long run!

Tena make one, as well, that goes inside pads. They're not cheap, but I agree they're worth having.