Uti's and cathing are both something thats soooo different in each
individual. It seems as though I average a uti about every 5-6 weeks. I feel
I have a great Urologist. I was concerned that maybe my technique was
causing the frequent infections. I re-use all my caths. After using one, I
rinse it off really good, inside and out. I then soak them in a cleansing
solution, and wash them every 3 or 4 days. To dry them I just lay them out
in front of a fan. When dry, I bag them up for re-use. My current Urologist,
and one that I saw at the Mayo Clinic both said the patients they see use
the same cath each time for a couple of days. I about flipped! Didn't sound
very sanitary to me, but they said these patients just rinse the cath off
each time, put it in their baggy and rinse it off again before the next use.
I also use wipes to clean my hands off, and clean myself off. My current Uro
said I'm definately not getting my infections from my routine, as a matter
of fact he says I'm very meticulous, maybe too much. He says I have more
bacteria floating around than most, causing the frequent uti's. I don't use
a preventative anti-biotic, for fear of creating even more bacteria, since I
did have bad yeast infection from breakdown in bacteria.
As for kidney problems, since I was born with only one to begin with, we do
a Renal Sonogram every 6 months on my one kidney. This is a preventative
measure, because kidney damage/disease can creep up very fast. I would
probably have this procedure even if I had 2 kidneys, since I self cath.
It's definately something not to mess around with! Just some
thoughts.............
Jeff
Ryno
jfarney(AT)nckcn.com