Urine infections - Dad is getting them more regularly now - anyone else experiencing this?

[AmyT]

He has a catheter and its been happening since he had that fitted - is it just another symptom of PSP?

[Kathy]

Hi Amy,

Unfortunately the problem is likely to the catheter itself! A catheter provides a direct route for bacteria from the outside world into the bladder. Your Dad's carer's need to be absolutely scrupulous about hand hygiene when emptying/dealing with the catheter. How long had your Dad had the catheter? They should be changed regularly (every 3 months at least, I beleive) and district Nurses should be able to come to his home to do that.

I do hope he gets better soon!

Love and hugs

Kathy

[jillannf6]

hi amy

yes i have PSP but althoguh i never had urine infecitons b4 : Now i do have them

it IS part of psp but i do not knwo about the catheter problem

love jill

and a

[kay1]

Another "yes" to the same problem, although the infections are getting a lot rarer since hubby had the pubic catheter fitted, it has made a big difference.

[SheilaN]

I was warned of the risk of introducing infection when my husband's catheter was fitted. Almost immediately he developed balinits, a catheter site infection, which was treated with eye ointment (bizarre, I know!). Then came a urine infection, treated with antibiotics. He never felt unwell with either of these, they soon cleared up and to be honest, although I resisted it being fitted for quite a while, I think the benifits of having the catheter outweigh the risk of infection.

[delpatel]

My wife did have a catheter and a history of urine infections. She now uses pads and is still prone to urine infections. There is a low level dose of anti biotic that can be prescribed for this problem.

[Hidden]

Hi Amy,

Athough a catheter is likley to aggrevate any problems, in terms of introducing infections, my elderly mother, who has PSP, has had approximately 6 UTIs in the past 6/8 months. She was so ill she was given short courses of antibiootics, which worked for the first 4 times & kept things at bay for 3-6 weeks..............but over the past month, she has had 2 more bouts....more or less consecutively. The doctor has changed her anti-biotics & she does all the right things ie drinks only boiled water for days, maintains fluid levels, keeps clean, wipes correctly, drinks cranberry juice once a day etc It makes her very ill & disorientated and she suffers a great deal of pain on passing urine, poor soul. The bladder nurse has scanned her & discovered that she doesn't seem able to empty her bladder completely and it is likely that the tiny residue is harbouring germs.......also, I believe it is to do with wearing pads, as they are a sure way of harbouring & transferring germs (even if changed very regualrly).....if we find a solution, I will let you know but it seems to be part of PSP ( & possibly age, in her case), as she has never had it in her life, before this.

[AmyT]

Thanks for all these answers...Much appreciated. XXX