I was a nurse aide and my son works in a trauma center. From what I understand, the patient does not feel or notice the symptoms, this no complaints, however the caregiver should have noticed the strong urine odor and lack of urine in the Depend Changes and tolieting.Am I incorrect. My mom had an UTI a year ago that changed her from being at home to Hospice. Still under Hospice in a private home, I felt if she was kept dry, changed and put on her side and slept on a air matterras it would keep bedsores at bay and no UTI's. I thought UTI's were preventable with plenty of fluids. She is totally incontinet. Sits in a chair all day except for a very short walk to the bathroom or the dining table. As a nurse aid, a UTI mean't someone was not paying attention to the patient. Any thoughts on this ? My Dad just accepts that she got the UTI, therefore the infection and it had nothing to do with care.. She is on the mend now, but I want to check it out. My sees elderly patients all the time at the trauma center with advanced UTI's. I thought if the patient was not able to care for themselves, then the care to prevent this is left on the care giver.
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Q: can an alzheimers patient get a UTI while in the "good care" of a care giver ?
Hi Danielle
Getting a urinary tract infection is not a necessarily an issue of poor hygiene. Some people are more susceptible to them. Women are 30 times more likely to have a UTI. This is because women's urethra (the tube that goes from the bladder) is so short (1.5 inches as compared to 8 inches in men). It makes it very easy for fecal matter to contaminate this tube as well as the vaginal.
If you are looking after a woman who is incontinent, even the most careful and vigilant caregiver will not be able to prevent infection occurring. Of course good hygiene will help prevent many UTI's, but not all.
I noticed that some people did not have the very strong odor associated with an urinary infection. As the previous person answered, behavioral changes were sometimes first symptom to be noticed by good caregivers when an infection was beginning.
Hope this helps
Christine
I can tell you from personal experience that my mother has a UTI about every three to four months. When I lived with her I could not tell when she had one. I would notice a change in her personality first. Now that she lives in asst. living that specializes in dementia patients, they notice her personality change before the normal symptoms show up. I know that sometimes when they would test her for a UTI the first test would show a negative result and then she would get sicker and then another test would be taken and sure enough it would be posititve. I am not a professional but I know that I tried to be the best care giver I could and I missed it and now that she is asst. living and sees a Dr/Psycians asst. at least once a week, they also have missed it. Now that they know mom and her past with UTI's they watch her closely and when they the smallest of changes in her personality they will check for a UTI. My mom also wears depends and honestly I never notice a strong odor, I always notice the personality change first. I hope this helps. I know that mom get wonderful care at her asst. living and I have come to the conclusion that this is just one of those mysteries that we have to watch closely.
Lesa
A person with dementia can easily get a UTI even with the best of care. Good care can go a long way to preventing UTI's; however, with the decline in cognition, there is always a chance that the person with dementia is just not getting enough fluid. The person with dementia will not realize that she is thirsty, may not recognize the warning signs of a UTI, an may have small incontinent episodes that the caregiver doesn't realize. Your approaches to care are key. You've got the right idea about turning, toileting, and hydration. As Alzheimer's progresses the body's natural defenses also become weaker. My more fluid you can have your mother drink, the better. Hope this helps, let me know if I can give you any futher advice.
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