Know the Warning Signs of UTIs
Home care assistance can help seniors limit risks of UTIs.
Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are more likely to occur as people age. Seniors are often likely to develop a UTI because of a weakened immune system, an inability to care for themselves, or a medication complication. Let’s look at key warning signs of UTIs that seniors, their families, and their home care assistance team can watch for.
What is an Urinary Tract Infection?
Urinary Tract Infections occur when bacteria enter the urethra. Often, those bacteria are fecal-based. When a person is younger, the body can often fight off the bacteria, but as people age, that becomes more difficult, and the bacteria develop into an infection.
Urinary Tract Infections can be easily taken care of with antibiotics, but it’s important to seek treatment for your loved one as soon as a UTI develops. While it’s not only important for comfort reasons (UTIs can be very painful), it’s also important to prevent the infection from spreading and causing other health issues.
An untreated UTI can lead to a kidney infection and possibly sepsis. Both of these conditions could land your senior in the hospital for treatment, which in turn has other health risks.
Symptoms of Urinary Tract Infections Your Home Care Assistance Team Can Look For.
Knowing the symptoms of a UTI will help you and your elderly loved one’s home care assistance team know when your senior is displaying symptoms and when she might need to visit her doctor for a check-up and possible treatment.
Some important information for you and your home care assistance team to be aware of is that urinary tract infections often present somewhat different symptoms in the elderly. This knowledge can help your home care assistance team stay on top of your loved one’s urinary health.
Let’s look at what is considered “typical” UTI symptoms for many adults. These are the symptoms that most people notice right away and, therefore, get treatment quickly. Your elderly loved one may display these symptoms if he has a UTI:
- Being filled with pain and a burning sensation when urinating.
- A feeling of his bladder being overly full constantly
- A frequent urge to urinate that often comes on quite suddenly
- A feeling of pressure or pain in the lower abdomen or back
- Cloudy and discolored urine that appears thicker than normal
If your loved one is still using the bathroom independently, it becomes up to him to share any of these symptoms with you or his home care assistance team.
Some other common symptoms you might notice without him communicating it with you are:
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Nausea or vomiting
As mentioned before, it’s possible none of these symptoms will be present in your senior if he has a UTI. Some seniors show completely different symptoms, especially if he has dementia or other cognitive decline conditions.
It’s important to know these symptoms so that if they occur, you can ensure the doctor checks for a Urinary Tract Infection and examine your loved one for other possible causes. Family caregivers and home care assistance providers should watch for:
- Behavior changes. Your loved one may become agitated or aggressive.
- Confusion. A urinary tract infection may cause confusion or behaviors that seem completely illogical. Your loved one might not be able to follow simple instructions.
- Dizziness and frequent falls.
- Lethargy and extreme fatigue.
Knowing these less common symptoms of a UTI can help you get the medical help your loved one needs sooner so he can be back to feeling normal in no time.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Assistance in Northbrook, IL, contact the caring staff at Companion Services of America today at (847) 948-0860. Our home care service area includes Northbrook, Highland Park, Deerfield, Glenview, Buffalo Grove, Evanston, Des Plaines, Skokie, Lake Forest, Wilmette, and the surrounding areas.
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