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At least half of us will experience a urinary tract infection at least once, and for many women, this can happen more often. Not only is a UTI painful, but left untreated, it can have some serious consequences on our health. This is not an infection that will simply go away on its own. That’s why it’s important to know what the symptoms are and how to treat them.
First, it’s important to understand what a UTI is. Essentially, it’s an infection that typically occurs when bacteria enters the urinary tract through the urethra and begin to multiply in the bladder. Your urinary system is composed of the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra, so any of those areas can become infected, but most infections involve the lower urinary tract—the bladder and the urethra.
Second, it’s important to know the risk factors. Women are at a greater risk of developing a urinary tract infection than men. It is also more common in women who are sexually active, on birth control or going through menopause.
A urinary tract infection can be painful and annoying. However, according to the Mayo Clinic, serious consequences can occur if a urinary tract infection spreads to your kidneys. That’s why it’s important to know these warning signs:
–A strong, persistent urge to urinate
–Passing frequent, small amounts of urine
–Urine that appears cloudy
–Urine that appears bright pink or cola colored, which is a sign of blood in the urine
–Strong-smelling urine
–A burning sensation when urinating
–Pelvic pain
A UTI must be treated by your doctor with antibiotics. Which drugs are prescribed depend on your health condition and the type of bacteria found in your urine. Untreated urinary tract infections can lead to acute or chronic kidney infections, which could permanently damage your kidneys. Pregnant women who have urinary tract infections may have an increased risk of delivering low birth weight or premature infants.
As far as preventing UTI’s, there is some research that indicates drinking cranberry juice can help. Although, it’s not clear how much cranberry juice you’d need or how often you’d need to drink the juice to have an effect.
Other preventative measures include drinking a lot of water to dilute your urine and ensure that you’ll urinate more frequently, allowing bacteria to be flushed from your system before an infection can begin. Also, when using the bathroom, it’s important to wipe from front to back. This helps to prevent bacteria in the anal region from spreading to the vagina and urethra. And finally, empty your bladder soon after intercourse and avoid using deodorant sprays or other feminine products, such as douches and powders, in the genital area as these can irritate the urethra.
As always, see your doctor with any concerns or unusual symptoms.
Photo: thinkstock
It bothers me there is so misconception about the advice “drink lots of fluid.” While half true, drinking lots of water has the effect of diluting the urine so much that bacteria aren’t combated by natural flushing agents of urine and grow resistant. When attempting to flush via lots of fluid, it is important to add some baking soda to the water or cranberry juice, bacteria can’t tolerate alkaline environments, and this will work 100 times better than plain water or cranberry.
recently I saw a urologist who told me that im prone to uti’s but the best way to get rid of one is by cleansing your body naturally by drinking a lot of fluid – and he said don’t take antibiotics unless your urine is cloudy, and smells foul because it’s believe that the overuse of antibiotics for uti’s can cause irritation of the bladder’s lining (there’s a term for it) but basically you always feel like you have to pee