Urinary Tract Infections or UTIs are extremely common among senior humans - and it turns out, senior dogs as well. Humphrey had a little experience with a few aged human relatives, and then before his eyes he was a victim!
Some people say that once an older human has a UTI they never really get rid of it. All healthy people and dogs have bacteria in their urinary tract, and become prone to infections when the natural flora and immune system lead to over-production of those bacteria. Natural changes in age and conditions like diabetes make a person or dog especially prone to these infections.
It started with increased thirst, and an urge to urinate RIGHT THIS SECOND. Humph went to his vet to find out what was wrong. Since it was close to his physical anyway, he had full blood work which ruled out a lot (it was perfect). Next came urinalysis...
Humphrey's beloved veterinarian he shared an important piece of information about UTI diagnostics with us! When the veterinarian's office takes a urine sample, they dip a test strip in to determine various parameters (Leukocytes, Nitrite, Urobilinogen, Protein, pH, Blood, Specific Gravity, Ketone, Bilirubin, and Glucose). Anything out of the normal range can indicate a problem - ranging from high blood glucose, to ketoacidosis, to a UTI.
This specific test costs about $40 or $50 in the vet's office, but we learned that you can just purchase a jar of the test strips for under $15! The test strip is a piece of paper, and you can hold it under a person or dog's urine stream instead of collecting in a bottle.
Anyone with an aging parent or dog will find these particularly useful (and potentially huge savings). We got ours through Amazon, but most pharmacies and some health food stores sell versions of them.
However, the strips only let you know "Yes or No" to the burning (he he) question. The next step is to culture the sample to determine WHAT bacteria is present in the urinary tract. Unfortunately, Humph can't do this at home! And it ain't cheap.
The type of bacteria present determines the treatment - which is almost always antibiotics. While vets usually prescribe a week or two of antibiotics, we learned from our online forum that in practice, it usually takes two courses to clear up a UTI (which is what happened with Humph). We learned that about 90% of UTIs in people or dogs are caused by ecoli.
People prone to UTIs often take
concentrated cranberry supplements daily as a preventative measure - these are NOT suitable for dogs. They are effective (in HUMANS) because cranberries contain various natural substances or chemicals that prevent bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract and multiply, thus flushing them out. Cranberries also contain a good amount of salicylic acid which has additional benefits.
However, dogs (and humans) can take
D-Mannose, which is one of the substances found in cranberries, available as a supplement in hugely concentrated amounts. To reiterate, D-Mannose contains one of the substances in cranberries, but not all of them. People (and some dogs) consume it daily as a preventative for UTIs (in place of cranberry pills), or over several days once a UTI is active. It's also used for other conditions, including for those who do not absorb protein well in the digestive tract - in this way it can act as a prebiotic. It appears to also have diuretic properties.
The research evidence for D-Mannose is strong - for example, a relatively recent randomized control trial (RCT - the gold standard for evidence) points to its effectiveness as a
preventative measure for recurring UTIs. It is a
promising treatment for acute UTIs, possibly eliminating the need for antibiotics (there's a lot more published research on this - but Humphrey is too tired to summarize it here, and recommends readers do a search on Google Scholar to review the most up to date publications).
D-Mannose comes in powder form (colourless and tasteless when dissolved in water) or capsules. Humphrey tried
Now brand powder but his human Granny stole it from him because she found it effective not only for UTIs but also for her aging knees (the diuretic helps with excess fluid!). The human takes 1 teaspoon, while the recommended dose for small dogs is about 30 grams (or less than 1/16 of a teaspoon!) according to Humphrey's online forum - which means he got some nifty, dog sized measuring spoons!
