SYMPTOMS
The
symptoms of a lower urinary tract infection include irritation
and burning, a frequent urge to urinate without a full bladder,
and pain in the pelvic region and above the pubic bone. Occasionally
there may be fever. If the infection involves the kidneys, flank
pain, fever and chills are quite common.
The
symptoms of a lower urinary tract infection can be very similar
at times to those of some sexually transmitted diseases so it
is important that these be excluded by your doctor.
Urinary
tract infection includes infection of the urethra, bladder and
kidneys. They are known as urethritis, cystitis and pyelonephritis
respectively. The urethra and bladder are part of the lower
urinary tract and are the most common sites of urinary tract
infection. Bacteria, especially E.coli, which are normal inhabitants
of the intestine are often the cause of the infection.
Urinary
tract infections are much more common in women than men. This
is because of the short female urethra. The urethra is the tube
that takes urine from the bladder to the outside of the body.
In males the urethra is several inches long, but in the woman
the urethra is much shorter. This means that bacteria from the
anal and vaginal region can enter the urethra and reach the
bladder much more readily. Bacteria can be introduced into the
female urethra during sex. Bladder infections in young women
used to be known as "honeymoon cystitis" since they commonly
occurred in recently sexually active females.
Males
and females can also get urinary tract infections which are
not related to sex. These can occur if there is a urinary outflow
obstruction of some sort such as a stone, enlarged prostate,
or congenital or developmental abnormality.
Kidney infections are unusual but can occur if there is reflux
of infected urine up into the kidney. This usually does not
happen unless there is an abnormality in the attachment of the
ureter to the bladder. This can be a cause of upper urinary
tract infection in children
TREATMENT
Simple
urinary tract infections can be treated with antibiotics taken
by mouth. It is important to go to your doctor if you think
you might have a urinary tract infection so your urine can be
cultured and the appropriate antibiotics prescribed. It is also
important that your doctor rule out the possibility of sexually
transmitted disease. A special note to males: since urinary
tract infections are much less common in young men, pain or
irritation on urination is much more likely to be a sexually
transmitted disease in a young male.
Since
urinary tract infections are so common in young women, you might
ask how can I avoid this annoying problem. There are a few practical
things a woman can do to reduce the chance of bladder infection:
1.
Drink plenty of fluids. Some people say that cranberry
juice and other acidic juices may help. Drinking fluids makes
you urinate more. The simple act of urinating flushes bacteria
out of the urethra and reduces your chance of infection.
2. Urinate soon after sex. The flow of urine
through the urethra will help flush out any bacteria that entered
the urethra during sex.
3. Avoid very tight clothing. This can rub
bacteria into the urethral area and again may predispose you
to infection
