Tag Archives: incontinence

Urinary incontinence, UTIs, and dementia

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Incontinence inscription isolated

There are lots of reasons that people develop incontinence. This blog focuses on people with dementia: their care and ways to prevent urinary tract infections, a serious consequence of incontinence in the elderly.

People with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia often have problems with urinary incontinence. This can be a result of not realizing they need to urinate, forgetting to go to the bathroom, not being able to find the toilet, or limited mobility.

Ways a caregiver can help

  • Avoid giving drinks like caffeinated coffee, tea, and sodas that may increase urination. It is important, however, that healthy liquids including water, smoothies, and fresh fruit juices are not restricted. Hydration is vital to overall health and to prevent urinary tract infections.
  • Keep pathways clear and the bathroom clutter-free, with a light on at all times.
  • Make sure you provide regular bathroom breaks–at least every 2-3 hours.
  • Mark the bathroom door with a large sign that says “Bathroom.”
  • Provide a portable commode or a toilet frame with handrails or grab bars to make getting on and off easier. Make sure it’s the right height.
  • Supply underwear that is easy to get on and off.
  • Use absorbent underclothes for trips away from home and/or adult diapers.
  • When going to a restaurant or public place such as a movie theater, try to sit as close to the bathroom as possible.
  • Limit liquid intake after dinner

Talking to the doctor

  • Ask if it’s possible to cut back on prescribed medications such as water pills that increase urination
  • Does the patient have undiagnosed diabetes? Diabetes increases urination.
  • Is an enlarged prostate the problem? Rule out any medical issues that increase urination or block urination.

Preventing urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections, commonly called UTIs, are more common in people who are elderly, bed-ridden and incontinent. Symptoms can include general weakness, confusion, nausea, dizziness, sudden incontinence or increased severity of incontinence. Often these symptoms seem connected to other conditions that are unrelated to a UTI, and can make it difficult to determine that the cause is an infection.

  • The most important method of prevention is to keep the genital area clean and healthy. Wipe from front to back to avoid transferring bacteria to the urinary tract, especially in women.
  • Remove used diapers from front to back.
  • Dry the skin when changing or after bathing since bacteria grows better in moist areas.
  • Use recommended hygienic products for washing that are not drying to the urogenital area.
  • Keep the patient hydrated since urination can flush out unwanted bacteria from the urinary tract.
  • Try to make sure your loved one gets help to empty their bladder entirely, since urine remaining in the bladder can help bacteria thrive and multiply.
  • Help to prevent constipation by providing plenty of fruit (applesauce, apples, berries, prunes, figs) and other foods high in fiber, such as oatmeal, legumes, peas, chia seeds, carrots, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, popcorn, nuts, and whole grains.

The dangers of UTIs

Urinary tract infections are notorious for causing delirium and delusional behavior in the elderly. When younger people get a urinary tract infection, they typically experience painful urination, an urgent need to urinate, lower abdominal pain, back pain on one side, and fever and chills. However, an older adult might not experience those symptoms. As we get older our immune system changes and it responds differently to infection. Instead of pain symptoms, seniors with a UTI may show increased signs of confusion, agitation or withdrawal. In older adults with dementia, these behavioral changes may come across as part of that condition or signs of advanced aging. If the underlying UTI goes unrecognized and untreated for too long, it can spread to the bloodstream and become life-threatening. In fact, I have a dear friend who died from a UTI that quickly became septic.

If you suspect a UTI

  • Get medical help, especially if your loved one has fever or complains of nausea or back pain. An antibiotic will be prescribed. Make sure the entire prescription is taken even if the symptoms subside. Otherwise, the infection can come back with a vengeance.
  • If it is appropriate, have the patient drink unsweetened cranberry juice on a regular basis, and/or take a cranberry/D-Mannose supplement to help stave off future infections.
  • Give the patient plenty of water to flush out the harmful bacteria
  • Apply a heating pad to the lower abdomen and/or back to help with discomfort
  • A pain reliever such as Advil can help alleviate pain and fever

Urinary tract infections are nothing to mess around with. Please get your loved one medical help if you suspect an infection.

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Barbra Cohn cared for her husband Morris for 10 years. He passed away from younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2010. Afterward, she was compelled to write “Calmer Waters: The Caregiver’s Journey Through Alzheimer’s & Dementia”—Winner of the 2018 Book Excellence Award in Self-Help—in order to help other caregivers feel healthier and happier, have more energy, sleep better, feel more confident, deal with feelings of guilt and grief, and to ultimately experience inner peace. “Calmer Waters” is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Boulder Book Store, Tattered Cover Book Store,  Indie Bound.org, and many other fine independent bookstores, as well as public libraries.

What does end-stage Alzheimer’s and dementia look like?

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Brain disease with memory loss due to Dementia and Alzheimer’s illness

Nine years after my husband Morris was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease he developed a kidney stone. At that point he was still walking, but shuffling and sometimes losing his balance. He was speaking, although he often didn’t make any sense. He was laughing–sometimes. And he usually knew his family and friends. It was difficult for him to eat and he often didn’t know what he was eating. But mostly he fed himself.

The day he went to the emergency for severe pain from a kidney stone, Morris was propelled on a downward spiral into end-stage Alzheimer’s. He died six weeks later. In just a matter of days my husband lost his ability to walk, toilet, speak and eat by himself. He needed to be lifted out of bed into a wheel chair and spoon fed. The memory care home he had lived in for two years wouldn’t accept him back because he was no longer ambulatory.

Morris was released from the hospital on a Friday afternoon to a rehabilitation center for physical therapy, which attempted to help he walk–which he never did again. At the rehab center he didn’t sleep at night. The floor attendant kept him in a wheel chair in the hall so he wouldn’t get out of bed and fall. They ended up putting his mattress on the floor because he did fall out and required stitches on his forehead. He’d go days without sleep and my son-in-law predicted that the lack of sleep would get him in the end.

I moved Morris back to his original memory care home on the condition that I had to hire outside help. The rehab facility was understaffed and the food provided little nutrition. The first night I left him there I felt as though I was leaving him to the “wolves.”

When I first placed him in the memory care home two years previous to this time, I was promised that my husband could stay there throughout the course of his illness. So if you are planning to place a loved one in a home, read the contract very carefully.  After he was back at the home for a couple weeks I had to move him again because it was costing way too much at this point to pay the monthly bill of $6,000 dollars plus an additional hourly fee for the outside care agency. Morris lived only two more weeks in an end-stage hospice facility. The staff was top notch and compassionate and I’m grateful that I moved him there.

End-stage Alzheimer’s is not pretty.

It includes:

  • incontinence
  • difficulty eating and swallowing
  • loss of speech
  • inability to walk and get out of bed
  • total assistance with personal care
  • not recognizing family members—but not all the time
  • secondary illnesses
  • sleep issues or sleeping most of the time

What can you do?

  1. Make sure you have all your loved one’s legal and financial papers in place well before this stage. (durable power of attorney, will, trust, advance directives, DNR-do not resuscitate, etc., final arrangements-cremation or burial, memorial service, etc.)
  2. Ask family and friends for support, and be specific. Do you need help with yard maintenance or with walking your dog?
  3. Do you need someone to shovel the driveway or sidewalk if you are spending a lot of time with your loved one?
  4. Ask someone at your place of worship to set up a meal-train or to set up a CaringBridge account to keep friends and family abreast of the current situation.
  5. AFA–Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s licensed social workers are available Monday through Friday, from 9am to 9 pm EST, and Saturdays from 9am to 1pm EST, via AFA’s National Toll-free helpline–866-232-8484. They are also available by e-mail, chat and Skype.
  6. The Alzheimer’s Association Helpline is open 24/7-800-272-3900.
  7. Hospital chaplains console families and help in times of grief and the difficult period of waiting for a loved one to recover or pass.
  8. Hospice offers support to the patient by providing personal services that include bathing, and palliative care. Hospice also offers grief counseling to families.
  9. It is important that as a caregiver you take care of yourself. On days that I was too exhausted to make dinner, I would heat a pan with a bit of olive oil, saute pre-washed spinach, and pour over a couple of eggs for a healthy, quick meal. Protein is important and so are greens that contain the stress-reducing nutrients vitamin B and magnesium. If you have difficulty eating because of nerves and emotions or time limitations, make yourself a protein shake with berries and/or a banana, a scoop of protein powder and liquid of your choice.
  10. Aromatherapy is a miracle cure for stress and anxiety. Use a wall plug-in to diffuse the aroma of lavender oil to uplift mood, or place a few drops on a handkerchief and tuck it into a shirt pocket or on a pillow. Other oils to try: vetiver, frankincense, myrrh, orange, lemon, bergamot, and grapefruit.

Blessings to you, your family and your loved one.

Barbra Cohn cared for her husband Morris for 10 years. He passed away from younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2010. Afterward, she was compelled to write “Calmer Waters: The Caregiver’s Journey Through Alzheimer’s & Dementia”—Winner of the 2018 Book Excellence Award in Self-Help—in order to help other caregivers feel healthier and happier, have more energy, sleep better, feel more confident, deal with feelings of guilt and grief, and to ultimately experience inner peace. “Calmer Waters” is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Boulder Book Store, Tattered Cover Book Store,  Indie Bound.org, and many other fine independent bookstores, as well as public libraries.