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Can other people who are around this bacteria catch this infection? Using same bathroom, etc as the elderly person who empties his bag there, etc? Dr said he will always have infection in bladder and will never clear at this point. What happens to caregivers who use same toilet, etc. Can we get this? How can we protect ourselves?

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According to WebMD, bladder infections are NOT contagious.

However, my initial reaction to your question is to challenge what the doctor said about your father's condition NEVER clearing. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) website recommends antimicrobial-impregnated intravascular catheters as "a useful adjunction to infection control measures."

Please don't give up on this. Good luck and God bless.
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I'm a geriatrician. I would tell you what Skar488299 says: when a catheter stays in, the bladder becomes colonized with bacteria, so if you test/culture the urine often bacteria will grow. This doesn't mean the person has a clinically important urinary tract infection. However, having a catheter in all the time does raise the risk of eventually developing a symptomatic infection.

Some people who can't empty their bladders end up doing "intermittent catherization" three times daily. This is common in people with spinal cord injuries, but can also be a good option for older men as it allows them to live without having a bag attached to the leg all the time, and it's thought that there's less risk of bladder colonization.

I've had several older patients self-catherize their bladders, often for years. However, at some point older men often need help with this task, and it can be hard for caregivers to take it on.

Good luck!
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First you need to disinfect the bathroom, toilet and any place urine would drop. Secondly, I would find a urologist, get a second opinion and fire that doctor who said he would "always" have that infection. That is absurd! In the meantime, give him some yogurt with live bacteria to counter the effects of antibiotics. He can also take prebiotics and probiotics.
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ask what specifically the infection is.Otherwise after 30 plus years in the medical field you cannot catch anything useless you specifically handle the urine itself without gloves, you splash yourself emptying the bag and you ingest it somehow,it gets into a cut or open area on your hands etc.Before you use the toilet wipe it down with disinfectant wipes.Lysol,Clorex etc.Washing the bowl after evey use its great too.Good luck
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There can be chronic "infection" of the bladder in the elderly, but it may be referred to as colonization. It would usually be one one type of bacteria.
The doctors may not treat with an antibiotic if there are no symptoms....like, no fever, no mental status changes, no burning sensation, etc.
The docs may treat if the urine culture shows a new bacterial infection besides the colonization, and if there are symptoms.
I do not believe there is much if any chance of others getting the bladder infection, since the bacteria involved are usually those that everyone has somewhere in their body. Good hygiene (wipe front to back only, for example) plus drinking enough fluids is probably best way to prevent infection of bladder.
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My dad has catheter, too. Does your father's cath go through his penis, or did he have tube inserted in abdominal wall, straight into bladder? Docs have told me the abdominal wall cath will be less prone to infections, due to area being better able to be kept clean. Just wanted to add this to comments. Good luck.
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They told us the same thing about my dad. He had a catheter for a year and many infections. He begged to take it out. His bladder started emptying properly, the infections cleared up and he was so much more comfortable. He had to go on dialysis a few years later, but he was free from the catheter bag and infections. Sometimes I think doctors think its easier to deal with catheters than having them wear diapers as my dad had to do. He couldn't get up because he was blind and had one leg.
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Maintain proper pH of the urine if you can, drink cranberry juice or take a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar once a day. UTI's are generally not contagious. Wash your hands frequently and disinfect all touch surfaces, like doorknobs, faucets, toilet handles, remote controls and telephones.
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I keep a huge container of vinyl gloves with lysol and/or clorox wipes on my toilet with a note, "clean after every use". I clean after Mom is done also, so far so good with no infections in years. I go through a lot but its so worth it not to have that awful Spraying smell of a canister,just buy 4 at a time on sale. Good Luck
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It is particularly hard to stop infections spreading when the caregiver is a true "sandwich" responsible for daily care of both your parent and your grandchild.
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