UTI Occurrence Compared to Incontinence Products Used
The products that we sell are suited to a variety of purposes and used by people who have a variety of needs. In this article the occurrences of Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) and their frequencies are broken down by the type of product people use regularly.
Have you ever had a UTI?
We asked our customers if they have ever had a UTI and were unsurprised to find that 92% of respondents said they had. According to research by Kidney Health Australia in December 2018 around 1 in 2 women and 1 in 20 men will have a UTI in their lifetime. Women are more prone to UTIs as the urethra is shorter which makes it easier for germs to travel into the bladder. In women, increased age, a history or family history of UTI, contraceptive choices, pregnancy and changes in sexual health can increase the chance of contracting a UTI.
What incontinence products do you use?
The people who purchase items from Paralogic have a range of conditions that require them to use incontinence products and we asked them which products they used on a regular basis and whether they suffered from UTIs.
|
UTIs |
NO UTIs |
|
|
100% |
0% |
|
|
95% |
5% |
|
|
94% |
6% |
|
|
Absorbent products only |
89% |
11% |
|
81% |
19% |
|
|
Catheter irrigation (Suby-G, PHMB, NaCl) only |
50% |
50% |
D-Mannose tablets are used to prevent/treat infections so there was no surprise that 100% of customers using that product had experienced a UTI. The rates of infection in the users of other incontinence products were very high, with rates of infection dropping slightly with less invasive, external products.
How many UTIs have you had in the last 12 months?
While it was gratifying to hear that 21% of respondents reported zero infections in the previous 12 months, over 44% of respondents suffer from recurrent UTIs. A UTI is classed as recurrent if you have more than two in 6 months or three in a year.
How many UTIs have you had in 12 months intermittent catheter users only?
How many UTIs have you had in 12 months SPC/Indwelling/Foley Catheter users only?
How many UTIs have you had in 12 months absorbent products users only?
How many UTIs have you had in 12 months male external catheter/uridome users only?
 |
Return to the landing page for UTIs |
Comments (1)
well done!
9 November 2021Well done Anne- Marie and team, I found the findings very interesting. I hope these findings are made available to Urologist across Australia. Perhaps in their journals. I had botox injections last week and my Urologist told me to reuse catheters. She said she has a patient in her 80's who has been using the same one for 20 years and never had an infection. I asked if it was made of metal? She said she thinks so. Otherwise how can this be? My reply was, well two things: I'm not using a metal catheter and secondly they don't (thankfully) make them anymore! This research will benefit doctors greatly. Thank you for taking the initiative! Kind regards, NS