Recipes for avoiding UTI's

[keps]

Eek, the last few posts have got me worried. I'm nearly six years post, and have not had a single UTI. I presumed I just wasn't going to get one after all this time.

[woman from Europe]

Originally Posted by keps

Eek, the last few posts have got me worried. I'm nearly six years post, and have not had a single UTI. I presumed I just wasn't going to get one after all this time.

No, don't worry. I started when I was pregnant the second time. And it is only the last 8 years they have really bothered me.

[gjnl]

In my opinion, after 28 years SCI (C6/7) UTIs just come with the territory, sometime along the way. Maybe a lot has to do with the number of years post injury. Maybe a lot has to do with level of injury. Maybe a lot has to do with the type of voiding. And maybe, just maybe a lot has to do with the number of years post injury/level of injury/type of voiding....but when you get them and they come UTI after UTI, you will need to assess your method and get to a neurogenic bladder urologist who understands the issues.

In the early days of my spinal cord injury, my favorite and possibly best urologist ever told me, "You are just as capable of getting a urinary tract infection as anyone." Yes, but the average population doesn't deal with UTIs like people with a spinal cord injury population does.

Keep on doing what you are doing....but just remember, UTIs may catch up with you and there is a lot you can do when that happens.

All the best,
GJ

[Leila]

One thing that needs to be factored in when trying to answer the question why SCI patients get far more UTIs than others, is colonization of the urethra. This was a revelation to me when I first learned of it from Bob Clark. Everyone's urethra is colonized:

“The flow of urine and mucous through the urinary tract helps eliminate bacteria that have invaded. The distal urethra is colonized by several bacterial species in both the male and female but bacterial numbers are reduced by the washing action of the urine during urination.”

So for those who can urinated normally, this colonization of the distal urethra is rarely a problem. SCI patients not only can't urinate normally, they must use a catheter, which assists the microbes in ascending to the bladder.

In other words, SCI patients are carrying their own private source of contamination around inside them. This is born out by polls taken that demonstrate sterile cathing technique is not more effective in preventing UTIs that clean technique. You can be 100% sterile and you're still going to contaminate the catheter as it passes through the urethra. This is for those who self-cath of course. With in-dwelling catheters, colonization is also the culprit, but here it is often the bladder that remains constantly colonized.

Without an adequate method to eliminate colonization, the problem of UTIs in those who cannot urinate normally (actually, they're not all SCI patients) can't be overcome. You can do things to slow down the problem, but you can't stop it as long as urethra and/or bladder are colonized. You're always going to be at risk.

It would seem that prophylactic use of antibiotics would be the ideal answer. But that is not feasible in this age of abx resistance, not to mention toxicity and immunosuppression issues. So the next place we have to look is for an antiseptic that can eliminate a broad spectrum of microbes, but is non-toxic and non-irritating to bladder and urethra, and does not create microbial resistance. There is now such an antiseptic--Microcyn (Vetericyn)--and those who use it to prevent UTIs are doing very well.

[Lola_wheelie]

i take bactrim every night as maintenace antibiotic to prevent symptomatic bladder infection.

so far it has worked well, because i haven't had so many symptoms as i used to have.

lola

[keps]

Originally Posted by woman from Europe

No, don't worry. I started when I was pregnant the second time. And it is only the last 8 years they have really bothered me.

But I'm reading of people who used to never get UTIs, who now do.

I have no bladder sensation/control, and intermittently cath at least 10 times a day. I'm not proud of the fact that I have cathed with filthy hands on occasions. Then, I must say I wondered if I was going to get a UTI, but so far it hasn't happened.
The worst one was when I stroked a dog, and then wasn't able to wash my hands before cathing. I had no wipes either. But it was either pee myself and get ad, or risk getting an infection. I thought the risk of infection was the least dangerous option.

[woman from Europe]

I have full bladder control, usually I don't cath and cathing or not, I get the UTI. But I have too high pressure in the bladder so just now I take Vesicare and cath and for the first time I am colonized. And after 10 years I have got the appointment with the neurourologist Let's see what he is saying

[Leila]

Originally Posted by Lola_wheelie

i take bactrim every night as maintenace antibiotic to prevent symptomatic bladder infection.

so far it has worked well, because i haven't had so many symptoms as i used to have.

lola

Taking Bactrim everyday for long periods is unwise. It contributes not only to developing resistance, but to immunosuppression. A National Cancer Institute study found that the number of breast cancers doubled among women who took more than 25 antibiotic prescriptions over 17 years--usually for recurrent urinary tract infections and acne. And a study published in 2008 in the International Journal of Cancer scanned three million people for six years, concluding that those who took only two to five prescriptions during that two year period had a 27% increase in cancers compared to those who took none. Those who took six or more prescriptions had a 37% increase in cancers. Anything you can do to get away from taking antibiotics repeatedly should be done.

[Lola_wheelie]

Originally Posted by Leila

Taking Bactrim everyday for long periods is unwise. It contributes not only to developing resistance, but to immunosuppression. A National Cancer Institute study found that the number of breast cancers doubled among women who took more than 25 antibiotic prescriptions over 17 years--usually for recurrent urinary tract infections and acne. And a study published in 2008 in the International Journal of Cancer scanned three million people for six years, concluding that those who took only two to five prescriptions during that two year period had a 27% increase in cancers compared to those who took none. Those who took six or more prescriptions had a 37% increase in cancers. Anything you can do to get away from taking antibiotics repeatedly should be done.

thank you for the headsup, leila. i will discuss this with my urologist!

lola

[debi]

Hi Leila, I have been trying to buy some Microcyn and ship it here to Australia and I have just found out that Microcyn has had a name change to Puracyn is that news to you? or am I just behind the eight ball?---- Ha Leila what is the difference between Microcyn and Vetericyn? and Have you us it? Cheers .