The three words anyone with a Urostomy hates to hear… Urinary Tract Infection.
A lot of Urostomates go through their life having a very small amount of infections yet a some of us are really unlucky and can experience them chronic.
One question I get asked a lot by people thinking about surgery is “Will I continue to get UTI’s when they remove my bladder”? My answer is always the same, there is no guarantee you wont ever get a UTI again.
Having a Stoma puts you at a higher risk of getting a UTI than you normally would due to it being an opening with a direct path to your kidneys and the stoma itself is created from part of your bowel.
The part of bowel used to form the stoma will continue to act as it would normally meaning it will still produce bacteria and mucus. The majority of urostomates can live without this causing them any problems, however a small number of us get symptoms and the bacteria can lead to infections.
There is currently no known reason why it happens to some and not others but some factors have been discussed as a possibility- Gut Bio, immunity or genetics.
A few months after my surgery I caught my first UTI and it didn’t panic me at first as I took antibiotics and got better but these infections became regular and chronic after the first year. Over the last few years they have slowly taken over my life, I am constantly on the look out for symptoms and worrying about what impact it will have on my life. I don't always grow one bacteria, I can grow multiple and some have become resistant to the normal treatment approach, this means for me they have to try more than a couple different antibiotics to successfully kill it off.
What symptoms do I look out for?
- Strong smelling urine (Some bacteria can cause a eggy smell)
- Kidney pain
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Increased mucus production
- Blood in urine
How can I prevent a UTI?
- Drink enough fluid throughout the day (at least 8 glasses of water daily)
- Emptying your stoma bag frequently
- Cleaning the skin area daily
- Changing your bag frequently (Daily if you get frequent UTI’s)
- Improve/maintain a good gut bio.
How a UTI is diagnosed with a Urostomy?
It is crucial to take a sample of your urine via a catheter or by holding a sample pot under the stoma. Using a catheter is painless and your stoma nurse can show you how it is done.You should never take a sample from the bag itself as it is not sterile and may return a negative or inaccurate result.
Taking a sample of urine is best collected first thing on a morning as its more concentrated so theres a better chance of it growing the culprit.
If you are finding that your getting a negative result but have symptoms I highly recommend you ask for an extended culture (also from personal experience).
NHS tests are known to not be accurate at diagnosing infections. I was told that if I had symptoms then there was a 99% chance it was an infection and the tests have missed it. Always follow your gut, you know when your not well and your in your right to disagree if told otherwise.
How will they treat a UTI with a Urostomy?
Treatment is very similar to someone who has a bladder with a UTI. However from my personal experience I have found a longer prescription is needed to clear the infection.
There are some antibiotics that are normally not recommended for people without a bladder such as Nitrofurantoin so its important to raise this with your medical professional if they recommend this to you, some GPs are not aware of this.
If you have a period of chronic infections your consultant may decide to treat you with long term antibiotics or Stoma instillations. Stoma Instillations are very similar to bladder instillations and they are completely painless.
Please discuss any medical worries or queries with your own GP or consultant- All information on my page is shared from my experience
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