Survey for a serious problem.

[Sludge]

P. aeruginosa grows easily in petri dishes (I used to grow it in the lab)

And people say I have weird hobbies...

[amphipod06]

And people say I have weird hobbies...

ah, but that is what makes us all interesting, no?

Dive safe,

Celia

[amphipod06]

...Dive equipment like P-valve tubing that looks inert and not likely to harbor infectious organisms still needs a good cleaning if used for what it's intended.

Precisely, ergo my suggestion to try to isolate offending organisms by swabbing peevalves post dives instead of trying to collect post-facto information on UTI's that may or may not have been cultured (also more difficult to get a large enough sample for the study).

It would likely answer Forrest's questions regarding most common organisms responsible for UTI caused while using a peevalve... I'm thinking we could design a study for this guys...

Dive safe,

Celia

[FW]

...It would likely answer Forrest's questions regarding most common organisms responsible for UTI caused while using a peevalve... I'm thinking we could design a study for this guys...

I agree, prevention is the key, but having the right information to give a physician is also very helpful. Knowing the symptoms will also get some people to a physician sooner.

[amphipod06]

I agree, prevention is the key, but having the right information to give a physician is also very helpful. Knowing the symptoms will also get some people to a physician sooner.

You can find that information on articles about UTI symptoms that have already been published. Bacterial infection of the lower urinary tract (UTI), one of the most common infectious processes, occurs in all age groups, from the newborn to the elderly. However, presentation and treatment of UTI varies according to the age of the patient, and that is the tricky part....

Anyway, it'd be interesting to do the study with the pee-valve population...

Dive safe,

Celia

[apitkin]

Pseudomonas is relatively non-pathogenic, present in the environment in large numbers, and will undoubtedly colonize wet places like pee valves even if they have been rinsed. It's a relatively rare organism to cause a UTI in the absence of an immunocompromised host or foreign material in the bladder. That's why it would be great to do both studies. It will be no surprise if we find it in pee valves, but if we find it as the cause of infection as well then we can start looking at how the normal defense mechanisms that men have against UTIs have been compromised by using a pee valve underwater.

Andy