>From my experience, home is better than hospital. There isn't a lot of danger >to a picc line as long as you pay attention and keep the site very clean and >don't have the entire population of nurses messing with it. Dan, you cannot be sterile if you have a SP cath. It is a direct line for bacteria to enter your body. I'm guessing someone is cleaning your drain line from your SP to your collection bag. This is a great route for an infection. There is nothing to stop what is in your line from flowing back into you. I'm sure you think I'm crazy, but if you connect a small leg bag to your SP and then connect your normal drain line to the that leg bag and leave it open to flow to the usual drain collection, you can almost eliminate it as a source of infection. (Leg bags have anti-backflow valves built in.) Change that small leg bag whenever you change the SP cath. If you have lots of house plants, get rid of them. They all harbor pseudamonas bacteria. Start taking good bacteria such as acidopholus. The anti biotics you take wipe out most of the good bacteria with the bad. If you take good bacteria then it has a chance to keep bad bacteria in check. It simply eats the same things and leaves too little for the bad bacteria to stay established. If you like yogurt, col, but if you want to get something (good bacteria)to work you need to get it in capsule form. Many places have what is called pro-biotics. I've had the best results from acidopholus. Don't forget daily vitamins. I'm just guessing you need to try a stress formula and at least one 500 mg vitamin C two times a day. Take the acidopholus an hour after each dose of anti-biotics. You may want to ask your doctor about using anti-infectives. This may require that you check the pH of your urine. Bacteria in general do not like acid environments. This is another reason the vitamin C is important. You must not drink carbonated drinks or alcoholic beverages. Limit tea to one drink per day and coffee the same. Drink Water! Not 8 glasses a day, but when you're thirsty. (never less than 24oz. per day) When your aid cleans around your SP have them use water that was bioled for ten minutes then cooled and add 25% Apple Cider Vinegar solution. ACV can be used to clean your urine collection lines and bags. If you use chlorine to clean your leg/bed bags you must allow the bag to hang open until it is completely dry. There are patents for catheters with check valves built in, but I can't find any at the online stores or local places. I hope that helps. I wish you the very best and hope you feel better soon.
john ----- Original Message ---- From: Danny Hearn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 11:06:39 AM Subject: [QUAD-L] repeat UTI infections --- Hiospital I.V. or PICC line ? Hi all..... I may have to choose to go into the hospital for a week or so of IV antibiotics or get a Picc line to do it at home. This is my 4th time of serious Pseudomonas infection colonizing . I know a few of you have had a PICC LINE-------Can you tell me if they are painful or dangerous?? The docs have been fighting this with oral antibiotics for 2 months but we are waiting for another culture result today or tomorrow. Reapeated infections are depressing, (I suppose just as bedsores are for others on the list.) We are sterile and do everything right but UTI's just keep making my life hell on and off for about 4 years now. Anyway if you had a choise would you choose Picc Line OR hospital stay and IV drugs?? Also I don't even have a clue what options are open for me if this keeps happening>>> has anyone with this trouble or having a supra-pubic catheter had to change or reroute bladder to another way?? Thanks for any idea's Dan H. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Special deal for Yahoo! users & friends - No Cost. Get a month of Blockbuster Total Access now http://tc.deals.yahoo.com/tc/blockbuster/text3.com
