Why does my Mom keep getting UTI's?

These can be very serious as my Mother ended up in the hospital for 2 weeks and then in rehab for 20 days after her UTI.
Anti biotics become ineffective. What seems to have worked for Mom is cranberry juice and Azo and vitamin C. That was what was suggested by her doctor and seems to have stopped the re occurances.
Watch for sells on Ocean Spray 100% and Northern Cranberry juice and make sure you read the label. NO FRUCTOSE!
I also this fall cut a half a pomegranit seeded of course as it is the greatest anti oxicident I have read about.
Excuse my spelling here. Moms starting top stir and dont have time to spell check.

Mom probably started to get UTIs because she refused to wipe from front to back. More recently she's been incontinent and if she has a bowel movement in her briefs during the night then the bacteria have plenty of time to travel up the urinary tract and cause the infection. (Thank you, panapal, for the suggestions.)

The key word *water*.... one doctor told me that Americans don't drink enough water, which I found interesting, and true for myself. We are so hooked on needing our beverages to have flavor, and we don't realize that coffee, sodas, etc. are not a good replacement for plain water.

And Gigi11 made a good point, wearing briefs that need changing.

If mom has had back to back uti's and each time has been treated with antibiotics, then it's likely that she has become antibiotic resistant. So going the way suggested by Panapal definetly you should try.

Really staying well hydrated is just so important no matter what age.

BUT also be on the lookout for signs that mom now has a C Diff (Clostridium difficle) infection taking root. What happens is the uti antibiotics in the process of killing the uti infection also kill off other good bacteria in your body. Which gives the C Diff opportunity to grow in your intestine. C diff seems to be low key at first with somewhat loose stools, mucousy bm's or perhaps mild diarrhea then seems to go away but actually is building up in intestines. Full blown CDiff is pretty antibiotic resistant & can be life threatening for frail elderly. It is probably the scariest disease to have spread in a NH - my moms NH isolates them or they go to hospital. C diff is really hard to get rid of as the spores are very hardy; they live a long time on hard surfaces & can make it through warm water laundry. Really want to keep c diff from taking hold in your house.

If your moms doc didn't run a test to see if C Diff is also there, ask to have that done.

One thing ab't most of the elderly- is that they hate to drink water & mostly stay dehydrated. We found something that my mom loves- fruit smoothies in a blender- using mainly watermelon (~92% water content) or any fruit your mom loves. We add ice (more water) bananas for creaminess or Ensures, etc., to boost her vitamin intake & keep her hydrated. Fruits high in water content include: strawberries, cantaloupe, peaches, oranges, cherries, grapes, etc. This will help her system ... Because unfortunately when she is dehydrated & weak, she's more susceptible to UTI's. This has greatly helped my mom.
Also, you can boost her water content by making hot soups or salads with veggies high in water content: cucumber, lettuce, zucchini, radish, celery, cauliflower, eggplant, peppers, spinach or broccoli. Some have said that this is more effective than a glass of water because it provides the body with necessary natural sugars, vitamins & minerals, etc., all while replenishing water content. Hope this helps!! His Blessings to you in this!!

She needs to see a uro-gynecologist or a geriatric urologist. The problem may be further upstream in her bladder. Don't guess with this, get her in to see someone.

Just FDA-approved drug for cUTIs (complicated UTI) is Zerbaxa. Give that name to her doctor and see if it works. Constantly taking an antibiotic changes the stomach flora, so also eat a yogurt with about five different "good" bacteria without sugar. Hope this helps!

My mom was getting them every month--with hallucinations, doctors put her on dementia, memory loss meds which we came to the conclusion, caused hallucinations also. Ever since we put her on cranberry tabs she has not had any uti's and a new doctor took her off the other meds and so far, no hallucinations, no dementia like behaviors, she is 88. We also started her on PS from the health food store, we think it really made a difference in her mental abilities (phosphatidyl serine). Wish we would have put her on cranberry tabs years ago, would have saved much money, time, stress.....been a couple of bad years.

Mom has been a chronic UTI case for about five years. At 93 she is going strong but these level her. I read that 95 percent of UTI's are related to poor hygiene. We had a discussion with her doctor about the importance of "wiping" front to back. They even sell an extension device to assist this. What really stopped the infections though was a bidet unit I purchased at Home Depot. It is a simple device that attaches to the side of the commode, can be adjusted for various power and temperature. When she turns it on, she gets a streaming blast of water that cleans personal areas , It's been the answer for us. Instead of having about 6 infections per year, she has only had one in the past 8 months after I installed this unit. I also tell her when she takes a shower, to make sure all the personal areas, are well scrubbed.

Cranberry pills worked well. Medication can also help the yeast and bacteria grow and wearing depends and pad make a great greenhouse affect to help things grow. Are they changing her often enough. What kind of soap are they using find a plan soap with not to much in it nor smell goods . There is a good UTI tea but I don't remember the name. good lucky