What women need to know about urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections, or UTI’s, are responsible for more than 8.1 million visits to physicians' offices per year and about five percent of all visits to primary care physicians.  About 40% of women and 12% of men will have a symptomatic urinary tract infection during their lifetime.  For this reason getting the right information is necessary to you can diagnose and treat the infection as promptly as possible.

What happens under normal conditions?

The urinary tract makes and stores urine, which is one of the waste products of your body. The Urine is made in the kidneys, travels down the ureters and down to the bladder.  The bladder serves as a storage container for urine, which is then emptied by urinating through the urethra.  Normal urine is sterile and contains no bacteria, but this is not the case for urinary tract infections. Bacteria may get into the urine from the urethra and travel up the urinary tract - this is a UTI.

What are the symptoms of a urinary tract infection?

Below are some of the main symptoms of a UTI:

●      Lining of the bladder and urethra become red and irritated

●      Irritation can cause pain in your abdomen and pelvic area

●      urgency

●      burning with urination

●      foul smelling or cloudy urine

●      fevers and back pain can indicate for kidney infections – these need to be treated immediately as the infection can spread into the bloodstream from there

What causes urinary tract infections?

Below are some of the main caused of UTI’s:

●      Bacteria may get into the urine from the urethra

●      Sexual intercourse increases the frequency of UTIs

●      those who have recently had a urethral procedure or catheter are at higher risk for UTI

●      genetically, some people are predisposed to UTI, as bacteria can more easily adhere to their urethras

●      Disorders such as diabetes also put people at higher risk for UTIs because of the body's decrease in immune function and thus a reduced ability to fight off infections such as UTIs.

How are urinary tract infections diagnosed?

A UTI is typically diagnosed through a urinalysis and/or urine culture. A sample of urine can be examined under a microscope, looking for bacteria or white blood cells in the urine that will point to infection.

How are urinary tract infections treated?

A simple UTI can be treated with a short course of oral antibiotics. A 3-5 day course of antibiotics will usually treat most uncomplicated UTIs.