Hi, Paula. Does this girl drink cranberry juice regularly even when she doesn't have a UTI? If not, I would suggest that. She also needs to drink about 64 oz of water a day when she doesn't have an infection. When she has one, she should up that amount. She needs to use the bathroom regularly. I get UTIs if I don't go to the bathroom as needed. Since I can't afford medical care at this point, I drink a ton of cranberry juice (more than I normally do without an infection) and more water. I rarely get UTIs, though.
Taking a lot of antibiotics does not help. Your body (and the infections) eventually get used to the medicine and mutate into another strain that is more resistant to the medicine (that's one way we ended up with MRSA). However, when she's prescribed antibiotics, is she taking the entire bottle of medication as prescribed? Most people are told they must take the entire bottle even if they start feeling better after a few days, they nod in agreement, and then stop taking the antibiotic when they feel better in a few days. This was the other way we got MRSA. When one doesn't take the entire bottle as prescribed, then you're more likely to get that infection again, but the bacteria will have mutated and will need a stronger antibiotic to get rid of it. Eventually, there's not going to be a strong enough antibiotic.
You mentioned this has been ongoing for the past year and a half. When was she diagnosed with scoliosis? I'm not suggesting a connection between the two, but if there was the UTIs would have been ongoing since the onset of the scoliosis (or around the time of the onset). It would take a doctor or nurse to answer that specifically.
At 17, with regular UTIs, I would draw the conclusion she's sexually active and not taking necessary precautions during or after sex. My sister gets UTIs constantly because she doesn't use the restroom immediately after her and her husband have sex. Urination is important afterward because it flushes bacteria out of the urethra that was pushed up there during sexual activity. Also, if one's sexual partner has a UTI and a condom isn't used, it's possible to catch a UTI from having sex. It's a bacterial infection that can be transmitted from one person to another during sex. If she is having sex, I hope your friend can take the time to sit down and explain the importance of using condoms and then urinating after (and even before) sex, even if it's not the response she's hoping for from her daughter.
Hope it helps!
M.
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