Assisted Living says Mom will always test positive for UTI's at ER. Is this true?

I can speak to this from personal experience and the advice assisted living is giving you sounds like a bunch of hooey to me. My mom has suffered from chronic UTI's as well, for a couple of years at least. She finally went to see a urologist who put her on long-term antibiotics. She did great for several months and then she got another UTI. In the ER the doctor changed her to a different antibiotic for a week then we followed up with the urologist. She had another urinalysis before that your urology visit and she was negative for UTI. So what had happened was the antibiotic she was on was working but those insidious bugs found a way around it and caused an infection with a different type of bug. I do not believe in false positives when it comes to UTI and I don't think someone with chronic UTI's will always test positive. That makes no sense to me either. Best of luck to you.

Since antibiotics can cause their own problems, caution should always be given to their excessive use. Antibiotics (anti-bio = "anti - life") kill the healthy "bugs" in the intestines where their job is to provide over 1/2 of a person's immunity. It is wise to follow the use of antibiotics with Probiotics ("pro-life") to restore the intestines to health, so they can contribute to a fully-functioning immune system. Using antibiotics as a "preventive" is increasingly being questioned - and blamed for - creating ever-tougher bacteria, that no current medications can destroy.

Some of the previous suggestions for hygiene and checking with a urologist etc are worth following up on. In the meantime, consider cranberry tablets or capsules. The cranberry in these forms is much more concentrated than cranberry juice, and does not contain the sugar that yeast (Candida) grows and thrives on.

Good luck. It sounds like you are being very cautious and responsible - raising questions, seeking answers, attempting to do the best thing for your Mom. She's fortunate to have you actively looking out for her.

To start with, who at al is giving you this info about utis? M.D.? As in you mom's MD? It seems to me as though your mom should be seen by a urologist in the hospital to figure out what is going on. Also, my mom kept getting utis while in independent living. My sister-in-law and I realized that my mother had stopped washing her hands after using the bathroom. We had her doctor tell her about the need for washing her hands with soap and it solved the problem. She dismissed us when we told her it was necessary but once the doctor told her....!

My mother was suffering from the same thing and we were told the same advise. Thankfully we found a Naturopath who told us we should treat her for a Candida obeegroo. Sounded weird to me and it required a very restrictive diet, but it has worked so far. It is slow going, depending on how long your mom has been sick, but it has made a complete difference in the way my mom acts and feels. We also had to work on her hygiene, which was probably contributing tothe problem. I would highly recommend that you check into if you could treat her for Candida if her assisted living is willing to work with you.

There are 2 ways to test a urine speciman. One is the lab dipsticks it for a urinalysis The other is they do a culture and hopefully test to see what antibiotics will work. If a culture is not done the correct antibiotic may not be presribed. It is quite common to see ecoli which originates from the stool getting into the urinary tract. That is my mother in laws case.(Try to tell a stubborn woman to wipe from front to back does not help... She says I've been wiping this way all my life) The other common bacteria seen is Strep. We give my MIL cranberry juice 3 times a day as preventative, This kills the bacteria which can cause the UTI's.

Keep your head high.... we opted for the cranberry juice as MIL did not want to take any more pills. Its amazing how quick she can get a UTI. When her daughter is there for the weekend, she refuses to give her the cranberry juice. It never fails, days later she developes a UTI after daughter was there. You are doing a good job!

probiotics+ antibiotics= no effect from both! I am wondering who prescribed both together? Besides, those probiotics are soo processed, just like the rest of food they serve in assisted living facilities...
Preventives: daily cranberry juice + cranberry pills, hygiene -
washing bottom every time she uses bathroom, make should she wipes herself from front to back, drinking a lot of fluids through the day (no, just offering water is not enough - making sure she DOES drink!).
Fermented food served 2-3 times daily. Not marinated, but pickled. That means it's useless if vinegar is one of the ingredients. Should be ONLY salt and sugar.
The sugar should be restricted to ONLY organic cane sugar, honey or agave nectar, all in very little quantities. Absolutely no GMO-food in her diet.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are a must!
Processed food to the minimum.
Considering that antibiotic/hormones filled chicken/beef will also depress good bacteria in the guts (which will help candida grow and prevail), the meat should be also restricted (organic or none).
The sours of protein would be: mushrooms, gluten free grains (non-GMO).
Yes, holistic life style = healthy lifestyle!
Any more questions?

My daughter is on multiple antibiotics after bone marrow transplant. Turned out she had a BK Virus infection in her bladder. So they told her to drink cranberry juice as well as take cipro. It helped. I did not know you could even get a virus in your bladder!

hi KeepYourHeadHi,
Seems to me you have 2 questions: 1) how do you know if the bacteria in your mother's bladder is resistant to her antibiotic, and 2) how do you know if a clinically symptomatic UTI caused her fall.

For Q1, if someone gets a good sample of urine (clean catch or by cath in the ED) and it's cultured, the culture results usually test the bacteria for antibiotic resistance.

The harder issue in people like your mom is figuring out when they have a clinically significant UTI. In frail older people, sometimes the only outward sign is weakness or new confusion...so was that fall triggered by the UTI, or by something else? Hard to say.

I do hope they let you know what her urine culture showed, regarding antibiotic resistance. After such a fall, if you suspect UTI it would be reasonable to treat the bacteria with something that the culture shows they are susceptible to.

Otherwise, you can try cranberry, probiotics, and many of the other suggestions, to see if that reduces your mom's bacteriuria (chronic bacteria in the bladder without UTI) or clinical UTIs.

You can also ask a urologist, but often they aren't well-versed in the practical health questions of eldercare, which is "Is this problem a sign of a UTI that needs treatment?"

Good luck!

I suggest considering a higher level of care for your mom. Nursing home...start looking now it will take a considerable time to locate one you are comfortable with. It sounds like she might need someone to change her diaper, pads several times a day. She also needs to get adequate hydration, less sugars. Cranberry juice/sugar free, can prevent but not cure UTI. You need to use antibiotics to kill UTI bad bugs, then live culture yogurt/sugar free to rebuild her guts and cranberry juice.

Make sure the MD is not connected with the care facility which makes divided interests a consideration. Also, consider a 24 hr aide if mom remains in assisted living.

Good Luck with all of this.