Urinary tract infection - related to lupus?

Sister has just been diagnosed with SLE, lupus. During her testing, her rheumatoid Dr. called and let her know she had a urinary tract infection and gave her an antibiotic. Is this because of the lupus, or just coincidence?

The answer to your question is that if she is taking prednisone to control her Lupus then it is the prednisone that is making her more prone to urinary tract infections. Lupus doesn't actually make people more succeptible to disease as stated by someone earlier. Lupus causes the body's immune system to attack both good and bad cells indiscriminately. Prednisone is used to treat inflammation caused by these attacks of the immune system but in doing so lowers the body's immune response thus opening a person up to increased risk of infection. Other drugs such as Cellcept, Myfortic, plaqunil, most recently Rutixan also lower the immuno response and have a side effect of increased infection risk.

this is just coincidence as urinary tract infeciton are caused by bacteria in the urinary tract. She needs to have good hygiene when using the restroom. Always wipe from front to back to avoid any bacteria being brought in thru the urinary tract. Also cranberry juice ( not the cocktail) helps in flushing out the urinary system.

I have an aunt with Lupus and she doesn't get urinary tract infections, so I bet it was just a coincidence. But if she was on steroids or an immune lowering medication that may have made her more susceptible to getting the UTI. There is such a thing as Lupus nephritis. See link below.

I have lupus and I get them a lot. It's because you have a weaker immune system.

Lupus patients have an immune response that is both over active and confused. The immune system may attack the self and leave the germs or viruses alone. Yes, infections of all kinds are more common in lupus. And because we are ill equipped to fight infection, both because of our whack job immune system and the immunosuppressive drugs we take, it is important to always get medical attention for any infection or suspected one.

PS and after the antibiotics we can usually expect thrush in the mouth or a vaginal infection. She should eat yogurt at least once a day for a while. Alternatives would be Kefir drinks or probiotics in pill form (acidopholis, etc find it in health food stores in fridge section)