Urinary Tract Infections
How to prevent
- Empty your bladder at the intervals as prescribed by your doctor – this will help you maintain low bladder pressures
- Drink plenty of fluids
- Wash hands thoroughly before and after catheterization
- Use a clean or sterile catheter for each catheterization
- Wash and/or clean around the urethra before each catheterization
- Do not place your catheter on surfaces that are not clean or sterile
- Keep skin clean and dry
- Change clothing as soon as they become wet or soiled
Symptoms
One or more of the following symptoms may indicate you have a Urinary Tract Infection. If you develop a fever or have one or more of the following symptoms – call or see your doctor.
- Hypertension (blood pressure great than 200/100)
- Fever
- Chills
- Leakage or voiding between catheterizations
- Increased spasms of legs, abdomen, or bladder
- Feeling the need to catheterize more often
- Feeling the need to catheterize Immediately
- Burning feeling in the urethra, penis, or pubic area
- Nausea
- Headache
- Lower back pain
- Sediment or mucus in the urine
- Foul-smelling or cloudy urine
- Blood in urine
- Autonomic dysreflexia
For a PDF of this information click here. For a Spanish version, click here.