PSA on UTI and cognitive changes in older folks

[mom2binsd]

So the thread about post surgery complications reminded me how often friends of mine describe cognitive effects in their parents/grandparents as result of an UTI. Working with that population I forget many don't realize this.

So, as a PSA for those of you with older parents/grandparents. If you notice a sudden change in personality/cognition, it is often a UTI, which in older folks can cause some very serious cognitive deficits, many of the families report "it was like she became crazy overnight". When we have a long term resident who has sudden change/seems off, the first thing we do is dip their urine, and often a UTI is the culprit. Both men and women are equally affected from my experience (15 years in long term care). I do a lot of education on recognizing the signs of a UTI and sequencing proper bathroom habits, something I didn't learn in grad school.

[robinsmommy]

We saw this with my MIL. We thought she’d had a stroke, she was so out of it.

[MSWR0319]

Yes! This happened to my grandma when she was in the hospital for her diabetes. They tried to blame her being in the hospital, having sundowners, etc until a nurse finally said let’s check for a UTI. Sure enough that’s what it was and she was fine after she was treated. I almost mentioned it in the other thread.

[DietCokeLover]

This was true for my dad. He had Alzheimer’s, but when he would start to get aggressive or mean spirited, we knew to check for a UTI and it was always the cause.