Urinary Tract Infections

A urinary tract infection (UTI), is an infection in any part of your urinary system. Your urinary system includes your kidneys, bladder, ureters (tubes that carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder), and urethra (a tube that carries pee from the bladder out of the body). You can get an infection in the upper part of your urinary tract (kidneys and ureters) or the lower urinary tract (bladder and urethra). You will likely have an increased urge to urinate and a burning sensation when passing urine.

If you’re a woman, your chance of getting a urinary tract infection is higher than if you’re a man.

The symptoms of a urinary tract infection can include:

• A burning feeling when you pee.
• A frequent or intense urge to pee, even though little comes out when you do.
• Cloudy, dark, bloody or strange-smelling pee.
• Feeling tired or shaky.
• Fever or chills (a sign that the infection may have reached your kidneys).
• Pain or pressure in your back or lower abdomen.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are often caused by bacteria. This happens when bacteria enter the urethra and begin to multiply in the bladder. The infection may sometimes spread to the kidneys.

The following factors can increase the likelihood of developing a urinary tract infection:

• Sexual intercourse.
• Diabetes, as the high sugar levels in you urine help bacteria grow.
• Poor personal hygiene. Especially in women, bacteria in your pooh can reach your urethra and infect your bladder.
• Having a urinary catheter.
• Blocked flow of urine due for instance to kidney stones or blood clots.
• Pregnancy, due to hormone changes in your body.
• Menopause, due to a a fall in the levels of a hormone called estrogen in your blood.
• Being bed-ridden for a long period, leading to residues building up in your bladder.
• Use of spermicides and tampons.

A urinary tract infection usually does not go away on it's own. Contact your healthcare provider if you have signs and symptoms of a urinary tract infection. They may conduct a urine test to detect and identify which type of bacteria are causing the infection.

You can prevent UTIs by practising safe sex, using contraceptives that fit your lifestyle, drinking plenty of fluids, wiping from front to back after poohing and avoiding using a vaginal douche. Early detection of a UTI can help you prevent complications like infertility.

Self-care:

• Drink plenty of liquids, especially water. Drinking water helps dilute your urine and ensures that you'll urinate more frequently, allowing bacteria to be flushed from your urinary tract before an infection can begin.
• Drinking cranberry juice may help prevent a urinary tract infection by making your urine acidic.
• Wipe from front to back after urinating and after a bowel movement helps prevent bacteria in the anal region from spreading to the vagina and urethra.
• Empty your bladder soon after sexual intercourse.
• Avoid potentially irritating feminine products. Using deodorant sprays or other feminine products, such as vaginal douches and powders, in the genital area can irritate the urethra.
• Change your birth control method. Diaphragms, or unlubricated or spermicide-treated condoms, can contribute to bacterial growth.
• You may find that applying a heating pad or hot water bottle to your belly helpful to the soothe pain or discomfort from a urinary tract infection.

Treatment options:

• Antibiotics are the most commonly prescribed treatment for urinary tract infections. Be sure to take all of your prescribed medicine, even after you start to feel better.
• Drink lots of water to help flush the bacteria from your body.
• Your doctor may also give you medication to soothe the pain.
• If you have three or more urinary tract infections a year (chronic UTI), ask your doctor to recommend a treatment plan. Some options include taking:
  • • A low dose of an antibiotic over a longer period may help prevent repeat infections.
    • A single dose of an antibiotic after sex, which is a common infection trigger.
    • Antibiotics for 1 or 2 days every time symptoms appear.
    • A non-antibiotic preventative treatment.

Urinary tract infections usually begin to get better as soon as you begin treatment. The symptoms go away quickly, but the infections or complications may last a while longer. That's why it is important for you to finish your medicine, even if you begin to feel better.