What Causes a Urinary Tract Infection?

Urinary tract infections, or UTIs, can be diagnosed based on either symptoms or a urine sample test. The good news is that most urinary tract infections can be cleared up in 2 or 3 days of treatment. When the bacteria of the genitourinary tract are out of balance, there is more opportunity for micro organisms like E. coli to thrive. Here are some causes of UTIs:

  • Difficulty with being able to empty the bladder completely
  • Bowel incontinence
  • Kidney stones
  • Diabetes
  • Poor personal hygiene
  • Some types of birth control, including spermicides
  • Use of tampons
  • Frequent and/or intense sexual intercourse, especially with new partners
  • Pregnancy or menopause
  • Having a catheter
  • Long-term immobility
  • Suppressed immune system
  • Prolonged use of antibiotics

If you believe you have a urinary tract infection, you should see a doctor as soon as possible for treatment. While most UTIs aren’t serious, they can be very painful and they can also develop into more serious problems such as kidney infections.

Symptoms that might indicate a UTI include:

  • frequent or strong urges to urinate
  • cloudy, smelly or bloody urine
  • burning pain when urinating
  • nausea and vomiting
  • muscle aches in the lower back and abdominal pains

Prevention is preferable to treatment, and these practices can reduce your risk of developing a UTI:

  • Drink plentiful amounts of water and urinate frequently.
  • Avoid alcohol and caffeine, as they can irritate your bladder.
  • Urinate before and shortly after sex.
  • After using the toilet, remember to always wipe front to back.
  • Shower instead of taking baths.
  • Consume cranberries. While cranberry extracts don’t actually treat UTIs, they are effective in reducing your risk of recurrent UTIs. Try cranberry extract tablets, which can be twice as effective as drinking cranberry juice.
  • Regularly taking probiotics, especially after completing a course of antibiotics, may lower your risk of UTIs.
  • Be vigilant about keeping the genital area clean.
  • Choose cotton underwear and loose-fitting clothing.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Consult with your doctor if you develop symptoms of a urinary tract infection. Diagnosis includes assessing symptoms and following up with testing a sample of urine to analyze counts of bacteria, white blood cells and red blood cells. Since UTIs happen due to an imbalance of bacteria, the most common treatment is antibiotics or antimicrobials.

Prescription or over-the-counter pain relief meds can alleviate pain. You also can try putting a heating pad on the abdomen or back.

If you think you have a UTI, you may wish to contact St Pete Urology for a consultation. For more information, visit the St Pete Urology website or make an appointment with one of our board-certified physicians.

Why Do I Keep Getting UTIs?

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are caused by bacteria or E.coli in the organs of the urinary tract — the kidneys, ureters, urethra and the bladder. Most UTIs affect the urethra and the bladder alone. While UTIs affect both men and women, the rate of prevalence and recurrence is higher among women, with about 50 percent of all women expected to contract the infection at least once in their life time and 20-30 percent expected to suffer a recurrence.
The high prevalence of UTIs among women is attributed to the fact that the urethra in women is shorter than in men. The urethra in women is placed closer to both the anus and the vagina. Bacteria from the anus and those that enter the vagina during intercourse have only to travel the short length of the urethra to reach the bladder. Besides gender, the other risk factor for UTIs for both genders is advanced age.

Causes of recurrence

A case of UTI is said to be recurrent or persistent if a patient contracts at least four infections in a period of one year. Recurrence of UTIs occurs almost solely among women. Other than the positioning of the urethra in their bodies, this recurrence may be caused by factors such as:

1. Failure to complete a dose of antibiotics. Once the benefits of taking the prescribed antibiotics start to manifest, some patients stop taking the drug because they think the UTI has cleared. Urologists discourage this behavior and advise patients to complete the dose to reduce the chances of any left over bacteria causing a recurrence.

2. Sex is a risk factor. Sexually active women face a higher risk of contracting a UTI because of the transmission of bacteria during intercourse. The risk can be reduced by urinating before and after sex or by taking an antibiotic before or after sex if a doctor prescribes it.

3. Post-menopausal hormonal changes. Menopause lowers estrogen levels in women causing an imbalance in the bacteria in the vagina. This makes women susceptible to infection and recurrence. A urologist can prescribe a vaginal estrogen cream to remedy the problem.

Women are genetically predisposed to contracting UTIs, both because of their anatomy and hormonal changes as they get older. But UTIs in women are highly treatable and are only rarely very serious. If anyone experiences persistent infections, she should seek the advice of expert urologists, such as those found in St. Pete Urology. The experienced specialists at St. Pete Urology can offer consultation, diagnosis and treatment for any UTI problems. For more information, visit the “St Pete Urology” site.

What is Urethritis?

Urethritis is a disease characterized by the swelling or inflammation of the urethra, the tube through which urine travels from the urinary bladder to outside of the body. People with this condition experience acute pain while urinating. One of the most common causes of urethritis is a bacterial infection caused by E.coli, Gonococcus (it also causes gonorrhea) and Chlamydia trachomatis (responsible for chlamydia). The viruses HSV-1 and HSV-2 may also be responsible. [Read Full Article…]

How to Prevent UTI with Urinary Incontinence

If left untreated, Urinary Tract Infections can lead to complications such as Urinary Incontinence. Know how to prevent this from happening by following these helpful tips from the urology specialists at St Pete Urology. For more information about UTI, call us at (727) 478-1172 or visit us in St Petersburg, Florida