My 89 year old mom with dementia has a chronic UTI. This has been going on for months and months. As soon as she's done with her antibiotics a week later it's back. Her dementia is getting so bad now I never know if her confussion, etc is from that or the UTI. Has anyone had a love one who has UTI's end up with kidney infections?
She lives in Assisted Living, and is receives Hospice pallative care. Her dementia is getting very bad, and she thinks she is being moved to different places all the time. She is starting to realize her mind isn't quite right, and she's so scared. I feel so bad for her.
my mom also has poor hygiene that she just WILL NOT change... i.e. wiping back to front, not wanting to change underwear. not to mention being a lifelong refuser to hand wash after toileting. double arrrrgggg.
since giving her the cranberry pills and being dedicated to daily underwear changes, she has been UTI free for a long time.
lastly, i had her physician provide her with a standing order for urinalysis testing at her hospital (kaiser permanente here in northern california), and the lab let me take half a dozen urine sample jars to have on hand... (NOT that getting a sample from my mom is a picnic; more like a crazy-ass scene from a '70s woody allen movie... but i digress :)
not sure what "pills" @Reverseroles what speaking to above. just my two cents.
~doting daughter, always learning
I don't know about kjhinshaw's mother, but a shower every single day would be too hard on my 93 year old Mom's skin, no matter what kind of soap was use. She would be out of her mind with itching from drying skin. Body lotion would not take care of it. That said, every day "bottom" washing would be great. But, my mom lives on her own, and won't allow her twice a week help to give her any kind of bath, and my sister and I live across the country. She won't shower while the help is anywhere in the house either. Very stubborn woman, my mom.
RR