SYMPTOMS AND CONTRIBUTING FACTORS OF UTIs

If you experience urinary urgency or frequency, a burning sensation when urinating, abdominal or lower back pain, elevated body temperature, increased spasticity, or dark, foul-smelling urine, a urinary tract infection is probably present.

Between 70 and 90 percent of people with MS develop some bladder dysfunction over the course of the disease which places them at increased risk for UTIs. Chronic UTIs are prevalent, particularly among women with disabilities. They are primarily associated with disorders characterized by neurogenic (related to nervous tissue or impulses) bladder, such as multiple sclerosis. Contributing factors are believed to include difficulty in maintaining adequate cleanliness, restricted fluid intake with the hopes of reducing trips to the bathroom or to avoid searching for accessible rest rooms, indwelling or contaminated catheterization, infrequent urination and excessive sweating with prolonged sitting in a wheelchair.

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