AVOIDING INFECTION

02/14/2026

Many types of infections quadriplegics are prone to can cause sepsis: wounds, pneumonia, influenza, urinary tract infections.

When bacteria gets into your bladder or kidneys and causes you to have symptoms, you have a urinary tract infection (UTI). Unfortunately we quadriplegics do tend to get UTIs, especially using catheters. UTIs are a big deal for us. We won’t know when our bladder is full and needs relief.

Sepsis is a life threatening condition that arises when the body's response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs. You can go into shock and experience multiple organ failure if the infection is not controlled locally and spreads throughout the body.

Prevent any infections from getting worse by looking out for symptoms, communicating with your doctor and taking all prescriptions as prescribed, especially antibiotics.

Septic shock is severe sepsis with a drop in blood pressure leading to organ failure. Both sepsis and septic shock are life threatening. Treatment is most successful within the first hour of onset.

Look out for elevated temperature, greater than 38.30C or 101.30F, fast heart rate, greater than 90 beats per minute, fast respiratory rate, greater than 20 breaths per minute, confusion, low urine output, swelling in the extremities, neck, and face, elevated blood sugar without diabetes or lower temperature below 36C or 97F.

Many individuals who experience sepsis recover without any residual dysfunction. Some sepsis survivors will have long-term recovery needs based on organ or tissue damage from the septic event. If there is severe trauma to the extremities, amputation may be performed.

How do you know if you have a urinary tract infection?

Urine is dark, has a strong odor, or a lot of sediment

Increased nerve pain

Increased spasticity in legs, abdomen, or bladder

Fever or chills

Experience leakage

Urge to catheterize more often or immediately

Nausea or headache

Feel extra tired

A UTI can turn into sepsis, and septic shock, which could be fatal. If you suspect you have a UTI, treat the concern as an emergency, because it can become one quickly. UTIs can cause kidney damage if untreated.

How do we avoid UTIs?

If using intermittent catheterization, don’t let urine sit in the bladder more than 4-6 hours

Keep materials clean while performing catheterization.

Drink lots of water- urine should be slightly yellow to clear

Have Foley or SP tube changed every 30-45 days

Products we use to prevent UTIs:

Pure cranberry juice

Lemon water

Apple cider

Cranberry pills

Vitamin C

D-Mannose capsules

Hiprex

Cystex

ProFlow: developed, made and produced by a quadriplegic

AVOIDING INFECTION

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