For the newbies - about UTIs

Ed1937

I know there are a lot of people who have no idea what a UTI can do. If you belong on this site, you should know. Often, a PWD can have a "silent UTI". This just means there are no typical symptoms accompanying it. But they can really cause havoc for us with otherwise wild symptoms, and if left untreated, could lead to death. Here is a link that does a pretty good job of explaining it. https://pathwayshealth.org/home-health-topics/link-uti-dementia-older-adults/#:~:text=Most%20people%20who%20get%20a,attention%20of%20the%20medical%20staff.

Iris L.

Search for "nun's cap" as a means of getting a urine sample.

Iris

Ed1937

But if you're using one of those for the first time, ask how to position it on the toilet. Especially if you're a guy. Learn by mistake for me.

Lola V

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/66128/for-the-newbies-about-utis

Thank you. I’ve been taking DH to several doctors in the past 13 months and not one of them has mentioned this. I’ve only learned about it since joining this forum. Looking back at a couple of recent bizarre episodes, he could have a UTI. Good thing we see one of those doctors today.

Jo C.

It is important to never underestimate the power of a "silent" UTI upon behaviors. My own LO never had any UTI symptoms - no pain, no burning, no frequency, no leakage, no odor, etc. BUT there would always be a terribly n=significant change in behaviors to the negative side of the ledger AND it could be quite dramatic.

This happened multiple times and it turned out whenever behaviors went over the moon, a test for a UTI was done and it was always the cause. (Dipsticks by the way are NOT the way to detect a UTI as the error rate is so high in both directions.)

Any lab, at no cost, can provide a "Hat" which is a plastic container of size that fits inside the toilet under the seat and catches the urine which can then be poured into the sterile container to take to the lab. I got to the point where I kept several hats and urine containers to have on hand so I did not have to keep going to the lab to get one.

Once a UTI was treated, my LO returned to usual behavior which was a relief.

J.

harshedbuzz

I think it's worth noting that any elderly person-- even those without dementia-- can have a silent UTI. One of my mom's friends spent a week in the ICU last month as the result of a silent UTI.

@Ed1937 my husband's dermatologist has him do a 24 hour urine collection yearly. This year for some reason, he was given a "female" collection kit with a nun's cap. He came home from the lab, trotted upstairs and then I heard an urgent "can you come here a minute?". When I got to our bathroom, DH presented me with a nun's cap and asked me "what the #%*& is this?"

HB

MN Chickadee

Thanks Ed, this is indeed very important. My mother with Alz always suffered falls as a result of UTI and had no other symptoms. A friend's mother who was in her 60s, healthy and no dementia had a scary spell of amnesia. She lost weeks of memory and it turned out to be a UTI causing it. They really are something to educate yourself about if you or a loved one are getting on in years. They may not come with the normal symptoms. Along the same vein, any time an elderly person has a fever it is urgent. Whether it's covid, a UTI, or something else causing it, any signs of an infection are really serious in the elderly and and warrant a call to the doctor or a trip to the ER if it's after hours. I didn't know this until I lived it. When I brought my 83 year old father to the ER wondering if we were being over the top, they heard the words fever and possible UTI we were fast tracked through triage. Urosepsis can happen really fast. Now I know.

Ed1937

"DH presented me with a nun's cap and asked me "what the #%*& is this?" Well.....he's a man! 😉

For those who may be wondering, a specimen "hat" and a "nun's cap" are the same thing.

ImMaggieMae

Getting a sample, even with a “hat” can be very difficult with someone who is incontinent. We’ve always found the AZO test strips to be pretty accurate. When I test at home, the result at the doctors office is always the same. Of course we have no way to culture it at home.