How to stop my dad's (84) UTI's?

Part 2. Not to put him on a low dose antibiotic. It is the bane of my existence! Good luck

Bonnie7, we understand your pain. My mom is chronic with recurring UTIs; she only has 1 functioning kidney which complicates it a bit. She will drink water yet we have to verbally cue her to do so during the day, takes 2 cranberry chewables per day & 2 AZO tablets for UTIs per day. We know it doesn't prevent them however it does reduce the number of UTIs she gets which helps. The AZO is what her home health nurse recommends so if he will take pills give it a go. She was on a low dose daily of antibiotics yet after awhile they began to be non-effective because of her resistance. Do what you can, beyond that is out of your control. Once they become chronic with them it's a battle to stay ahead. Also be aware that their "tells" for a UTI can change - we found this out the hard way.

Hi Bonnie: I just saw your question about your Dad's UTI's. My mom used to get them quite frequently, and when the infection was cleared up (usually with Bactrim tablets), the doctor said to give her cranberry tablets (can find them in most stores). She took one each day (she didn't like to drink Cranberry juice). This helped a lot. I also made sure that she had a pitcher of water in her fridge which she did well with, but in addition, I bought her some Probiotics and had her eat yogurt every day because the doctor said this would help with the problems associated with continuous yeast infections. hope this helps. Good luck and God bless you with this issue - it's not easy.

Since the link to the article I was referencing was stripped from my response, I'm guessing that isn't permissible here (though I swear I've seen other links posted)... Apologies, as that made my input not very helpful after all.

But I assure you this article is full of great information, and I have passed it along to many folks who have benefited from it, including my mom's doctor. Since you will have to Google it for yourselves, the title of the article is "Treat and Prevent UTIs Without Drugs" by Chris Kresser.

I see my part one did not post. My dad has had several Utis this past year. I had him do a TUMT procedure which shrinks the prostate. It's the least invasive. It's very difficult to get him to drink water. I was told not to use the low dose antibiotic because they become immune to it. I also have the test strips which help. It's very very disheartening. I'm not familiar with shaving the prostate but I was the told the next procedure would be a TURP more invasive than a TUMT. Good luck

There are good probiotics like Ultimate Flora that helps with the urinary health and also cranberry pills. I have been looking up D-Mannose but if there is no sign of UTI infection, won't really help so I am told. I finally got the doctors to give my Mom hormone cream to be used and that seems to be working but not sure about alternatives for males. It can be a very frustrating experience but also hygiene can be a source of the problem if they are not paying close attention to that, I believe that is why my Mom starting having issues so I also got a bidet toilet seat so it will wash her well after she goes. I hope she will be getting better with all this soon, time will tell, but best of luck to you.

One of my mom's urologists recommended Ellura, a strong (and expensive) cranberry supplement in a capsule. I can't say it worked with my mom, but maybe you will have better luck with your dad.

I have the same problem with my dad, and I must say everyone's answers here have been really helpful. He's currently in the hospital, about the sixth time this year for a UTI, and I'm running out of ideas.

Well I have to say so far this TUMT procedure has worked but it's only been 2 months. It's an office procedure to shrink the prostate by heating it up. The more invasive is called a TURP. I'm sure they have explained both of these procedures to you in the hospital. It is crazy frustrating!

I know this is a late reply, but I hope this helps you. My mother, who has Alzheimer's has suffered for years with UTI's. They were treatable, but nothing seemed to prevent them. Just as soon as we got one cleared up, within a very short period of time she had another one. Antibiotics didn't work, nor did any other treatment plan that they had put her on. Then a hospice nurse told me about a supplement called D-Mannos. I can't tell you exactly how it works, but I can tell you, IT REALLY WORKS. I started my mother on this about 6 months ago and she has not had any problems with UTI's since. The type that was recommended to me was NOW D Mannos. You can get it at any health food store, or online. I would recommend you do research and I usually do not like to promote health ideas to people, but I know how difficult these UTI's can be and how debilitating on a dementia patient so if ever I hear of someone having this same problem I always try and let them know. Hope it helps your dad.

If your parent has been put on antibiotics I strongly suggest you put Mom/Dad on a probiotic to rebuild/repopulate the gut flora and good bacteria. That could also be part of the problem.

Besides the probiotic idea, probiotics will only work well if the person is drinking enough water. Without enough water in a persons system, things will go wrong. I'm just trying to fight UTIs myself, I just got over a second one and yes, it's very hard to choke down the recommended amount of water each day. However, the human body definitely needs it, which is why I'm glad there's flavor drops on the market specifically for water, Making it easier and more likely for people to get the recommended amount of water. Whether you drink warm water or ice water, you're still going to get the same results either way. Warm water is absorbed better by your body where is cold water will shrink internal swelling, especially if you drink ice water like they would give you at the hospital

So I had started my dad on the D-Mannise at home and he was doing better with the uti's. He then developed a kidney stone and had a stent put in to help him pass urine around it. Since then he has been taking turns going from the rehab center for therapy, back to the hospital with a uti that has gone septic and then back to the rehab. No one will give him D-mannose in either place and it's very frustrating. They finally put him on a probiotic this past hospital visit. He has a feeding tube since this summer and I'm wondering wether the food they have him on contains too much sugar and that could be a cause. Does anyone have any suggestions? Does anyone know if the D-mannose could have caused the kidney stone? I'm just grasping here and feel helpless.

Bonnie, there's no reason that D-mannose should cause kidney stones, so don't feel guilty. Are they unable to break down the stone? Are they hoping that it will pass on its own?

Can not get my husband to drink water . He gets UTI 's and I do not like to give him so many courses of antibiotics. So I give him d- mannose powder in water which he will drink. D-mannose is the useful ingredient in cranberry juice . Also give him a drink of coconut water mixed with some pineapple juice which he will drink. In fact it is good tasting.