How often should an elderly person who is prone to UTI infections be tested for a UTI?

By the time a test is positive for a UTI in an elderly person it's serious and should be treated with antibiotics immediately.

I completely agree, a UTI should be treated right away with antibiotics. There is no reason to 'wait' because it won't go away on it's own, and the infection can move up to the kidneys pretty easily. What's important is to learn the symptoms of UTI in the elderly. Many won't complain of burning/pain on urination, but a caregiver will generally notice the 'smell' of the urine becoming strong and 'foul', also the color may be darker with a bloody tinge not uncommon. If the person is not usually incontinent, a UTI can cause this, too. Many elders will exhibit a change in their mental status, becoming confused (or more so) and lethargic. If you don't know this, you can easily be pulled into thinking they are having a stroke- with cat scans, spinal taps, all sorts of [often needless] testing. I wish we had had those kits a few years back when my mother was showing 'sudden' confusion and my brother called the ambulance, which resulted in a hospital stay for antibiotics [after they put her through all those other tests]. On her last night on IV, my mother fell trying to get up to the bathroom and sustained a bad head injury in the hospital, which *might* have been avoided had I known more about it at the time. But we learned. After her prolonged recovery, Mom came home and (despite her resulting loss of balance) she went back to using the toilet, and getting occasional UTIs which I could then handle right away at home, getting the urine sample and the antibiotics quickly. See next note about PREVENTION.

PREVENTION of UTI (urinary tract infection) with 4 things we learned
1. Make sure they drink plenty of fluids (not just 'while' they have an infection).
2. Pay attention to 'how' your elder, especially women, are 'wiping' after they pee.
Get a squirt bottle to use when they have a BM and fill it with warm water, to wash off after that, FRONT TO BACK. My mother would wipe herself then would 'check' to see if she got herself clean, "dragging" the soiled paper back to front, which no doubt caused contamination. The bottle helped and I constantly 'harped' on her to stop doing this. (old habits=hard to break).
3. Try to help them control diarrhea if they get it frequently, because diarrhea or loose BMs, and improper 'wiping' are the leading causes of UTI. You may need to modify their diet so they don't keep eating foods that cause them to get 'the runs'. In our case, this meant much less sweets.
4. A good thing I learned from a rehab nurse was to give Mom daily cranberry supplements which help prevent UTI by making the urine (?more acidic?) less hospitable to the UTI bacteria. It might not help everyone but since we started it, we have not had another UTI to deal with in over a year. Worth a try!

Spot on Momcare!
Also vitamin C was recommended.
My Mother became very confused and it became very serious before we realized that it was a UTI that was causing it and resulted in a long hospital and rehab stay. If your parent has dementia and the signs are hard to tell I started taking her temp and anything above normal was reason to take action since many elderly run low. Also her face will turn "reddish" also. May older people never really stop having them after they start and stay on antibiotics indefinitely.
After several days in the hospital they wanted to release my Mother and I knew she was not ready. The SA doctor said " Well what do you think is causing the confusion?" I stated that the confusion was more likely to be caused by the higher temp than the higher temp being caused by the confusion" She dismissed my concerns and said that if I didnt take her home they would send her in the med van. I signed the release forms and put "under deres". I got her home and her temp was right back up to 102, called the ambulance and handed the release papers to the ambulance medic to give to the emergence admittance and he said " These arent even her release papers" I followed shortly in the car and my sister showed who has a medical billing back ground (and to stop me from going to jail when I got my hands on this doctor)
Here to find out they had been giving Mother the wrong anti biotic for the 3-4 days she was in the hospital and not one that took care of Septicemia. Please remember folks that these doctors dont give a rats ass about our elderly loved ones and we have to assume that they are incompetent unfortunately.
The doctor ran when she saw me and knew that she had messed up. Mom was taken to a different floor and had her own private nurse till she was moved to the rehab needless to say. They knew they had really messed up.

Another few things to be aware of...first, one round of antibiotics may not resolve the problem, so keep watching for symptoms after finishing the antibiotic! Also the typical broad spectrum antibiotics given for UTIs can also kill good flora/bacteria that keeps other bacteria (like C-Dif) under control. My mom now takes a probiotic every day. I myself will take a 30 day supply of probiotic whenever I take an antibiotic! (Not sure if it made a difference but she hasn't had as many UTIs since we started this.

momcare8223....you have great suggestions
You do have to be careful about antibiotics. Antibiotic use can cause c diff and also many super bugs that kill. Follow what she tells you they do help. If you think they may have UTI you need to have a C&S to check the person is on the correct antibiotics. Most doctors today will give something but within 24 hours you should have the culture answers and know if it's the right medication for that infection.
Prevention is the best because once a person gets UTI's them seem to get them on stop. If they have a Foley Cath you will have non stop infection... don't put in catheters in unless they is NO choice. Hospitals and nursing homes place them way to often and they shouldn't. Foley's and you will have non stop infections..
If your loved one ends up in a hospital it will become another major problem.. There are to many other infection that your loved one can get, bedsores because there is limited or no staffing. Keep you loved one out of the hospital if at all possible..Start with the lightest antibiotic possible and make sure once on finish the complete course. Most people see the loved one get better and they stop the antibiotic don't finish them completely and get another C&S and make sure it's gone. Someone on a foley will always have infections, careful with antibiotics...C&S is the only answers and most doctors don't do this...It's important to know the bug your treating.. But be careful with using to strong of antibiotic.. Infections become resistant because of over use of antibiotics.
Years ago I had huge fights with my child's doctor. Increase temp, ear pain and she was put on antibiotics...I started to wait and normally found it was a tooth coming thru.. The ear pain stopped and the temp went down.. Just watch....

C&S is a must but you also need to know how to do them correctly because you can infect the result yourself...Increase fluids it's the major problem...Then health food stores for natural cures....Antibiotic cause major issues and are way over used...Use them with total care....
Increase fluids, cranberry and talk to a health food store there are a lot of

But you want to use the smallest amount of antibiotics as possible.. They can cause more problems then you might understand. Light on the antibiotics get the C&S back as soon as possible these over the counter don't tell you much...The super bugs kill and yes we have a major problem from the over use of antibiotics...
Watch for signs you'll know them if you know your family member.

Having worked in the medical profession, we tested when the patient experienced pain on urination or acted out of sorts...once a month seemed to be routine but more often if as I stated pain was present or the patient acted unusual...antibiotics are great but cranberry juice was a morning necessity....especially in the elderly who cannot express their needs..cranberry juice has certain qualities...believe me it is no wives tale..good luck..

Why do you feel the need to test for a UTI? Anyone will get an infection who does not drink enough water, has unsanitary bathroom habits, and/or has a compromised immune system. Medicare will pay for testing, the doctor can prescribe an antibiotic (there is a new drug for resistant UTIs called ZERBAXA) and any person can stop sodas and sugary drinks. Water is your best friend by flushing out any toxins. Add yogurt to the diet or probiotics. And the best way to check for an infection is with a culture in a lab to see what kind of bacteria it is (and that would allow the dr. to prescribe the right antibiotic).

what is a C&S ? Could we please stop using abbreviations without at least 1 explanation as to what they mean ??

Unsanitary bathroom habits affects all. Doing over the counter testing can be a problem. Change of behavior can be the number one sign.
I agree with you comment, but many UTI's are being treated with the wrong antibiotic and way to strong of ones. Antibiotic are way over used and causing major issues. Water as I stated is super important and can be the major cause, Cranberry juice and pills (many can't take) helps, go to the health food stores they also have other natural treatments.

C&Smeans culture and sensitivity. The urine sample is collected and then the lab tries to grow any organisms that may be in it and then treat with the antibiotic that the organism is senisitive to.

Also once you start a course of antibiotics always, ALWAYS, finish the whole course even if you are feeling better,don't stop taking the dose until all the pills are taken no matter if you are feeling better.

This has been a problem for us for some time now and as FIL also has serious kidney problems controlling (eliminating) UTI's is important. We have used just about every suggestion in this thread so far. The other suggestion I would have is to start probiotics on a daily basis. It really helps and especially when antibiotics are used. Additionally when the person dresses themselves making sure they change their underclothes DAILY is very helpful.

Great comments. My mom had been having chronic UTI infections. I purchased a commode attachable Bidet unit from Home Depot. I believe the cost was about $120. Voila. It works great. It's the next best thing to taking a garden hose to her after a pee or BM. She loves it and says she feels very clean afterwards.

probiotics and antibiotics together are not good. the doses have to be staggered to be effective, yes Cipro does kill all the good gut bacteria, and can lead to C-diff bacteria taking over and causing a terrible smelly diarreah. and can be life threatening. Cranberry juice itself can be too strong of a flavor, water it down to get it into their system. yogurt is good - if they will tolerate the flavor. they can be stubborn old children and won't always do what is best for them.

Maybe just go with the odor or her actions. I just had my first uti and I am in my late 50's. I peed blood and was shocked. Dr gave me cipro and told me to flood myself with water and cranberry juice for a few days and it worked great. My dil (daughter in law) gets them often and also gets cipro. My Mom however, takes amoxicillin. If she gets a strong odor I give it for a week and can give on daily to prevent, but I do give her breaks. Dr isnt concerned about her at all being on one a day and told me he is schocked how she hasnt ended up with a bad uti in 7 years with me. After all she is 93 and if she ever became resistant, we could change or so be it. He said whatever I am doing, keep it up with her. I myself had no signs before the blood. Doc said not to hold my urine, which I do all the time. I am fanatic about cleanliness on myself and on Mom. I wash and dry after every pee and go thru a few pair of underwear a day to feel fresh and clean, tmo ! (too much info)
I would like to get those cranberry supplements, how much do you take, one a day? Can you crush them? I always give 2-3 yogurts a day to Mom, more when on antibiotics and puree them with a muffin.
Doctorno... isnt that bidet water cold? I use hair dye bottles on mom and always wanted an actually hose with warm water too. good luck, they say sometimes you just cant cure a uti in the elderly, so stay right on top of it if you even suspect one.

PS just a tidbit of info I wanted to add. I had a dog who had uti signs in the hospital and was put on an antiobiotic, Her urine test was negative, yet the neurologist said there is a part of the tract that cant always show an infection when there is one. In dogs you can get a false negative, why not humans? Humm interesting, he treated her and her signs were gone. So, when I took my Mom (who was off the wall acting crazy), and had strong urine, she got a test and culture and it was negative. I told the doctor about my dog and said "could you just please please treat her just in case because she is not herself?" He said he was okay with that, and she was treated, and a new woman in about 24 hours. Something to think about...

I was thinking about UTI's this morning because I had my very first one after having kidney surgery a couple of weeks ago.... then I was thinking about my sig other's grown daughter, both she and her grade school daughters are dealing with UTI's on a regular basis....

As a child growing up in the 1950's and 1960's, all we had were bar soaps, such as Ivory.... now a days there are all these scented soaps and body washes. I picked up the body wash that I've been using and was surprised there was about 30 different ingredients including dyes.... hello, shouldn't this be just soap? Now I am wondering if all these unnecessary ingredients might be adding to the UTI's? Just a thought.

Mleigh- I 'hear you' about abbreviations. C&S is short for culture and sensitivity, which is a test done to determine what bacteria is present and which antibiotics are most likely to kill that bacteria. In 'olden times' there would be a specimen of body fluid or tissue (whatever was thought to be 'infected', in this case, urine). Then drops of it were placed in a lab dish with something like gelatin to 'grow on' or 'culture'. Tiny samples of various antibiotics were placed in the same dish, and then the lab would see- with a microscope- which antibiotics would "eat" those germs. C&S is not commonly done anymore, because Drs have fallen into the habit of prescribing certain antibiotics for certain types of infections. This is part of why so many don't work anymore, because they've been over-used and many bacteria have actually developed resistance to them and gotten harder to 'kill'. On top of that, people who don't finish ALL their antibiotic, kill off the weaker germs, and the stronger ones multiply and spread. Even if someone starts to feel better, they should finish the antibiotic, if it's the proper one. It's not like a pain pill, which you of course should stop taking, if you no longer have pain. ALWAYS finish the antibiotics. It's such a simple concept, it should be printed on every bottle of antibiotics.... but, that would make too much sense and the drug companies wouldn't make as much money.... but I digress... Thanks for asking.

freqflyer, I too grew up on Ivory and switched to dove after my UTI. Well the dove didnt do squat for cleaning. It might have made my skin soft but it didnt erase odors, even under my armpits. It took me a week or so to realize that and I went right back to the ivory soap. I also use vagisil and natural huggies wipes, always have. sorry way TMI !

Reverseroles, it's not too much information.... good to know I am not alone when it comes to soaps. I am going to start looking for more organic soaps, nothing with any dyes. As for the wipes, I also use them, I haven't tried the Huggies but will give them a try :)

huggies natural is good. Now I am SO interested in an external catheter for a woman, for men it looks simple!! Got to research as it would make for a nice dry night!!

It's not so much about testing but to know what symptoms to look for. Sudden confusion is a telltale sign. Agitation? Balance problems? Are they exhibiting behavior that is suddenly out of the norm? Also, look at the urine. Aside from an odor, the color can be anywhere from cloudy & foamy to being pinkish/orangish. Are they experiencing more frequent urination then normal? Is there pain in the pelvis area? Also, your loved one may not be able to convey any pain/ burning sensation. Look for facial expressions.

Most importantly, don't assume your loved one will have a fever. The elderly don't exhibit the hallmark sign of fever because their immune system is unable to mount a response to infection due to the effects of aging. A UTI is not going to go away on its own. If left untreated, it will damage the kidneys. Basically, one will develop sepsis, it will enter the bloodstream & ultimately cause death. A UTI is a minor infection that is easily treated. In the elderly, it's major. It really takes its toll & drains them of their strength.

As far as testing goes, you collect a urine sample. The doctor's office will exam the specimen for crystals. If it's bad, they will usually start antibiotics right away. They will probably also order a culture to be done in a lab which will take 24-48 hours. That just confirms the right antibiotic.

It's easy to preach about hygiene. You are probably keeping your loved one way more cleaner than in a nursing home & hospital. Incontinence, especially in females, pretty much makes the person susceptible to this infection. As far as prevention goes & magically stopping any fecal matter from entering the urethra, make sure they drink lots of water to flush their system out. Also, try cranberry juice which makes the urine acidic. To me, I would never drink juice that has "cocktail" in the name. It's basically glorified apple juice with other flavors added. How much cranberries are actually in 8 oz? I just wouldn't subject my loved one to standards that I wouldn't keep for myself. However, cranberries are very tart. You could try to water down the juice or making your own blend. That way you know how much cranberries are in it & add apple juice to just sweeten the taste. There are capsules to take which may be easier. Also 100% cranberry juice for 32 oz can run out about $10.99.

Some people get UTIs & that's it. In others, it becomes chronic. One can only take antibiotics for so long until they build a tolerance to them. You can keep them clean as humanly possible. It is just going to happen. Just don't let a doctor tell you "we can let it (UTI) run its course." Ask questions & don't back down. Ever. You, as the caregiver, will be the greatest advocate for your loved one. Just as long as you know their wishes, you may be their only voice.

My mom had frequent UTIs One of the things she was doing was using an incontnence pad to catch any leaks. Her VNA nurse told her to stop as that traps bacteria, etc. Once she did her infections became less frequent. She sometimes has to change her underwear 2 or 3 times a day but it has made a difference. Also recommended was a concentrated cranberry pill that she takes (got the name from the nurse and found it at the health food store).

concentrated cranberry capsules and chemical free (baby) wipes can be found at vitacost.com....also check swanson.com

A patient in a nursing home should be tested for a UTI once per month. You should get a doctor order for the monthly testing.

Adult pull up type pants can cause these also if these are not changed EVERY time they are damp and they hold the dampness in. I went through this with my mother repeated hospitalizations, antibiotics, night terrors and craziness - Here's what I did - Forget the tests, sometimes they give a false positive, especially when in the presence of antibiotics. Cranberry juice concentrate - the real stuff not the sweetened stuff from the juice aisle in the grocery. Mix it with water to taste and I added Sweet-N-Low because sugar can feed the infection. Give 6 oz of the mix 2X daily + lots of water. I also gave her a health food store product for UTIs. It contained horse tail herb, dandelion and other herbs. D-Manos also from the health food store. I think the other thing is called DMO at any rate it's for UTI and it's over the counter in the pharmacy section. I makes the pee turn orange. I gave her pro-biotics as well. Changed pants AM & PM plus any time during the day that dampness occurred. Shower in the AM and wash with soap & water in the PM. It's a lot, but she seems to have been UTI free now for over a month.

mom on invanz for 19 days, didn't cure the uti, what next

good tip on the incontinence pads/pants. Anything that traps urine and if not changed immediately can aggravate a UTI. also there are pills that you can get that have concentrated cranberry in them and they can help with the UTI. I once read an article that said that you would have to drive large amounts of cranberry juice to actually have an impact on a UTI. I would check with her/his health care provider before starting any pills. I believe they are over the counter but still check first.

Mother just passed away this week. She was plagued with UTIs. Consult a good urologist, a GP is no good on this. Mother had a bladder flush weekly with an antibiotic solution. She died in her sleep probably heart failure.