Patty;
Because this is the diabetes board, I would like to take this opportunity to share some information with you and the other members of this board about UTIs. I have posted an answer about cystoscopies for you over on the UTI board.
In the articles I have published on this topic I have come up with a quick way to remember who gets UTIs:
S (sex - females)
A (females - any age, males greater than 55)
D (diabetics)
D (debilitated and infirmed)
So here is how this works. It is a matter of anatomy for us females. Our urethras are so close to our rectal and vaginal areas that they get contaminated even at an early age. Once contaminated, they remain that way. So once you have had an UTI you remain at risk for another one for the remainder of your life and it most likely will be the same bacteria that caused the first one (even with adequate treatment).
As we age our anatomy sags and our hormone levels change and both work against us! For men their prostates get bigger and they do not empty completely.
Diabetes plays a role because of the fluctuations in uroglucose levels that we are not even aware of despite good control of our diseases. These bacteria like to live in a rich nutritive environment and so they grow in our urine when there is enough sugar present to support them.
So when you add it all up it is SADD but we women at set up by our gender, our age, and in our cases our diseases to get UTIs; and it works.
Sorry for the length of this but I do hope that you find this informative.
