Namaste!  

I spent more than a year in NW India - Dharamsala to be exact. Very difficult keeping caths clean, but I found the best solution (been doing it for 15 years now) is soaking my caths in a solution of 10% bleach. Regular liquid laundry bleach will do - and don't use powdered laundry detergent w/bleach. It really irritates the channel. But the trick I believe is that when I rinse them out, I never used tap water. I bought bottled water and rinsed them that way. And then sealed them all in an air-tight baggie. Of course the other big trick in India is keeping your hands clean - or finding a good place to wash them. 

And that 4-hour rule is not that important. If you drink a lot, cath more often. If you don't, cath less often. When I was in rehab the nurses used to wake us all up in the middle of the night to cath. COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY! If someone is sleeping  - let them sleep. Sometimes if I'm having trouble sleeping I'll cath just to see if my bladder is full, but other than that LET THEM SLEEP!!  

UTI's can be a nightmare, but this solution has been working for me for years. 

Good Luck!

Tom

Cranberry supplements one twice a day works for us and avoid caffiene and sodas.  plenty of water

and since he is so prone to infections see if they will give him disposble caths with bags attached, that has helped my son, he had constant infections with reusable caths even with cleaning them every use, they also make a tool for inserting the caths that can be cleaned with wipes each use.

Lc, I was turned on to a simple daily dose of cream-of-tartar (the stuff that you put in egg whites to whip and make them fluffy). 1/4 teaspoon cream-of-tartar + 8 ounces hot water.  The water should be at least near boiling to disolve the cream-of-tartar.  Let it cool then drink.  You can use more cream-of-tartar if needed.  It works the same way as cranberry juice by acidifying the bladder, but is much more effective and no sugar.  It just tastes sour, kinda like lemon juice.  I do have an indwelling catheter, being a C5 quad and have had NO uti's in 2 years!

As I understand it, UTI covers a whole host of problems.  Is that correct?  I have been having a problems  for about a year now.  My new doctor just put it together... recurring UTIs.  Because of my paralysis, doctors have blaimed my symptoms on paresis to all in head.  I am now living with a constant UTI and am on antibiotis daily.  I do not have to cath, but I cannot figure where this came from or how to get rid of it.  Any suggestions?

Other than 100% cranberry juice or cranberry capsules, you can also drink peppermint tea.  The peppermint has antibacterial properties and can help to stave off the infection.

Cleaning the cath is very important.  A 10% bleach solution (as Jama said) or vinegar will help to destroy the bacteria.

Thx, we will try it

Thank you, I like this solution, it sound like a more natural way of handling.  Have you ever made the solution in advance and used it daily.  My husband is in a nursing facility and plagued by UTI's and I could do this daily though his peg tube.  However, I don't really have access to hot water without raising suspicion!

You can make up as much as you want, the important thing is to use near boiling water to get it into solution, then 8 ounces at a time.

We have a group set aside for talking UTI. You might find more assistance there.

It's called UTIs UTIs UTIs.

Rob

UTI's are a Pain in the bladder.  They hurt, they stink and are difficult to dispose of.  Luckily if not too severe, nature has provided us some tools to help us along.  Consider taking a daily dose of D-Mannose.  Ninety percent od uti's are caused by ecoli.  D-mannose is a simple sugar found in cranberries, birch bark and other plant sources that binds to the bacteria and prevents it from sticking to the bladder wal thereby allowing it to be passed through the urinary tract.  Even diabetics can use this because only a very small amount of the substance is metabolized by the body.   A once daily dose of mandelamine may also work.  Some refer to it as an antibiotic but it can be more correctly term an antiseptic for the bladder.  As your uro doctor about it.

If you have not received any relief from your UTI's I am a sale rep and have  Cure Catheter Close Systems kit come in all sizes. And what so good about this system you do not have to touch the tip of the catheter , come with all of the items you need.Description: Unisex, Streile, Single Use with Pre-lubricated Tip as Single.
Kits include the Cure Catheter Closed System, a BZK wipe, 3 providone-iodine swabsticks, as a pair of ambidextrous gloves, a sterile wipe, and an underpad.
 UTI's can be related to you are not complete empting your bladder. You should urinate 5-6 time a day and each time you void, you should straight catheter yourself as instructed by your doctor. You need to drink a lot of water to flush your kidneys out and drink cramberry juice and eat yoga. If I can be any service to you please let me know.

Hi Lalchanchin

Due to my colon issues I also experience frequent and recurrent UTIs. What I do is take a cranberry supplement OR add in fresh cranberries to a smoothie to get some in my diet. Pure cranberry juice daily works as well-it helps discourage bacteria from sticking to the walls of the bladder. I take only 2 oz or so of the pure stuff that's sold at many natural health food stores in my area

However I think its important to say that I have read recently that they are questioning cranberry's effectiveness and that they think it only helps women with recurrent UTIs, but in my personal experience those i know with occasional and recurrent UTIs have both personally found success with a cranberry regimen

but heres the study WebMD posted questioning its effectiveness if you want to read more http://www.webmd.com/news/20121016/cranberries-unlikely-prevent-utis its pretty recent, from the end of 2012

Best of luck to you and your boyfriend.

Hi there,
I recently saw this surgery that seems to be having good results for some people who can actually have it done.  I just wanted to share this, since I had not seen this before and it seems like quite a novel approach:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hptu.org.co%2Fhptu%2Fes%2Fservicios-medicos-%2F91-estimulador-de-raices-sacras-anteriores-sars
Basically it is an implant that helps regain control for some people with SCI, and is being done with good results in South America.
In the meantime, all the advise given by others seems on track as well.  Be well, 10C