Many individuals suffer from a urinary tract infection (UTI) at some time in their adult life, especially females. Fortunately most urinary tract infections can be easily diagnosed and treated, but knowing the signs and symptoms is important.
What is a urinary tract infection?
A urinary tract infection occurswhen organisms infect the system that carries urine out of your body. The urinary tract consists of the kidneys, bladder, and the tubes that connect them. Bladder infections are common and usually not serious if treated promptly. If the infection spreads to the kidneys, it can cause more serious illness.
What are the signs and symptoms of urinary tract infections?
Infections of the bladder (cystitis) are the most common and the symptoms/signs may include the following:
• Pain or burning during urination
• The urge to urinate often
• Pain in the lower abdomen
• Urine that is cloudy or foul-smelling
An individual might have a bladder infection and does not have any symptoms.Yet, a urine test shows the presence of bacteria. This is known as asymptomatic bacteriuria.
An untreated bladder infection can spread to the kidneys. Signs of kidney infection include the following:
• Pain on either side of the lower back
• Fever and chills
• Nausea and vomiting
Although burning during urination is usually indicative of a urinary tract infection, it can also be a symptom of certain sexually transmitted diseases (STDs.)These include chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis. Simple lab tests are available to distinguish a UTI from an STD.
When to see your doctor?
Most healthy adults who develop a bladder infection can see their doctor for treatment, and do not need to go to the emergency room in the middle of the night if they have signs and symptoms of a urinary tract infection. Urinary tract infections can result in serious complications if they occur in pregnant women, the elderly and individuals with diabetes, kidney problems, or a weakened immune system. These individuals should seek urgent medical attention if they have signs and symptoms suggestive of a UTI.
What factors increase your risk of getting a UTI?
Almost anyone can get a urinary tract infection, but certain factors increase your chances of getting one. These may include the following:
• Being female. Urinary tract infections are very common in women, and many women will experience more than one. A key reason is their anatomy. Women have a shorter urethra which cuts down on the distance bacteria must travel to reach the bladder.
• Being sexually active. Women who are sexually active tend to have more urinary tract infections than women who are not sexually active.
• Undergoing menopause. After menopause, urinary tract infections may become more common because the lack of oestrogen causes changes in the urinary tract that makes it more vulnerable to infection.
• Having urinary tract abnormalities. Babies born with urinary tract abnormalities that do not allow urine to leave the body, or cause urine to back up in the urethra, have an increased risk of urinary tract infections.
• Having blockages in the urinary tract. Kidney stones or an enlarged prostate can trap urine in the bladder and increase the risk of urinary tract infection.
• Having a suppressed immune system. Diabetes and other diseases that impair the immune system — the body’s defense against germs — can increase the risk of urinary tract infections.
• Using a catheter to urinate. People who cannot urinate on their own and use a tube (catheter) to urinate have an increased risk of urinary tract infections. This may include people who are hospitalised, people with neurological problems that make it difficult to control their ability to urinate and people who are paralyzed.
• Taking frequent baths, instead of showers
• Holding your urine for a very long time
What causes urinary tract infections?
The urinary system is composed of the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. All play a role in removing waste from your body. Urinary tract infections typically occur when bacteria enter the urinary tract through the urethra and begin to multiply in the bladder. Although the urinary system is designed to keep out such microscopic invaders, the defenses sometimes fail. When that happens, bacteria may take hold and grow into a full-blown infection in the urinary tract.
The most common urinary tract infections occur mainly in women and affect the bladder and urethra.
• Infection of the bladder (cystitis) is usually caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli), a species of bacteria commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract. Sexual intercourse may lead to cystitis, but you do not have to be sexually active to develop it. All women are susceptible to cystitis because of their anatomy — specifically, the close proximity of the urethra to the anus and the short distance from the urethral opening to the bladder.
• Infection of the urethra (urethritis) can occur when gastrointestinal bacteria spread from the anus to the urethra. In addition, because of the female urethra’s proximity to the vagina, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), such as herpes, gonorrhea and chlamydia, are also possible causes of urethritis.
What are the complications of urinary tract infections?
When treated promptly and properly, urinary tract infections rarely lead to complications. But left untreated, a urinary tract infection can become something more serious than merely a set of uncomfortable symptoms.
Untreated urinary tract infections can lead to acute or chronic kidney infections (pyelonephritis) which could permanently damage your kidneys. Urinary tract infections may be overlooked or mistaken for other conditions in older adults. Young children also have an increased risk of kidney infections. Pregnant women who have urinary tract infections may have an increased risk of delivering low birth weight or premature infants.
Diagnosing UTIs
The first step in diagnosing a UTI is usually a simple urine test called a urinalysis. It looks for bacteria, as well as abnormal counts of white and red blood cells. The dipstick test provides quick results. Your doctor may also send your urine to a lab for culture to confirm the type of bacteria. At-home test kits can help detect a UTI, but are not 100% accurate. Be sure to go over the results and your symptoms with your doctor.
Treatment
Antibiotics are typically used to treat urinary tract infections. Which drugs are prescribed, and for how long, depend on your health condition and the type of bacterium found in your urine. Your experienced doctor will discuss the various treatment options available if you have a UTI. Usually, symptoms clear up within a few days of treatment but you may need to continue taking your antibiotics for the time prescribed by your doctor. Take the entire course of antibiotics prescribed by your doctor to ensure that the infection is completely eradicated.
For severe urinary tract infections, hospitalisation and treatment with intravenous antibiotics may be necessary.
Urinary tract infections can be painful, but you can take steps to ease your discomfort until antibiotics clear the infection. The following might prove helpful:
• Drink plenty of water to dilute your urine and help flush out bacteria.
• Avoid drinks that may irritate your bladder. Avoid coffee, alcohol, and soft drinks containing citrus juices and caffeine until your infection has cleared. They can irritate your bladder and tend to aggravate your frequent or urgent need to urinate.
• Use a heating pad. Apply a warm, but not hot, heating pad to your abdomen to minimize bladder pressure or discomfort.
Treating Recurrent UTIs
Some women are prone to getting UTIs over and over again. If you have three or more a year, talk to your doctor about how to prevent or minimize these infections. Your options may include:
• Taking a low dose of antibiotics long-term
• Taking a single antibiotic dose after sex
• Taking antibiotics promptly as self-treatment when symptoms appear
How can you decrease your chances of getting a UTI?
The following can help prevent urinary tract infections from occurring:
• Drink plenty of liquids, especially water. Drinking water helps dilute your urine and ensures that you will urinate more frequently — allowing bacteria to be flushed from your urinary tract before an infection can begin.
• For females, wipe from front to back. Doing so after urinating and after a bowel movement, helps prevent bacteria in the anal region from spreading to the vagina and urethra.
• Avoid potentially irritating feminine products. Using deodorant sprays or other feminine products, such as douches and powders, in the genital area can irritate the urethra.
• Take showers instead of baths
• Visit the toilet before and after sex
Cranberry juice and UTI
Some studies suggest it can prevent, but not treat, an infection, and is more effective in young and middle-aged women. Cranberries contain a substance that prevents E. coli bacteria from sticking to the walls of the bladder. If you do not like the taste of cranberry juice, capsules or tablets may work, too. People with a history of kidney stones should check with a doctor, first.
Conclusion
A urinary tract infection, or UTI, is an infection that can happen anywhere along the urinary tract. Urinary tract infections have different names, depending on what part of the urinary tract is infected, but infection of the bladder (cystitis) is the most common. Urinary tract infections occur more commonly in women than men, with half of women having at least one infection at some point in their lives. If diagnosed and treated correctly most urinary tract infections do not have serious complications. If not treated complications can develop and some can become very serious.
Ask Your Doctor is a health education column and is not a substitute for medical advice from your physician. Dr Brett Hodge is an Obstetrician/Gynaecologist and Family Doctor who has over twenty eight years in clinical practice. Dr Hodge has a medical practice in theJohnsonBuildingin The Valley.
