A UTI or urinary tract infection is certainly not a good thing to have and can make you very down and sometimes physically sick. A UTI is best described as an infection that can occur in the urinary tract. This can literally happen anywhere from the urethral opening and as far up as the kidneys. Along this path are the urethra, the ureters, the bladder and the kidneys.
Because an infection can happen at different points, the urinary tract symptoms experienced can differ significantly. If the infection is in the urethra then the person will experience great discomfort and even a burning sensation when urinating. Urinary tract infections are most common in women and research has shown that up to 50% of women have experienced a UTI in their lifetime. Men can suffer from these infections as well but cases of this are a lot less. Age doesn’t matter with urinary tract infections and they can affect seniors right down to very young children.
There are many different types of UTI symptoms and examples of these are traces of blood in the urine, urine that has a bad odor, urine that is cloudy in appearance, not being able to urinate when you feel the urge to, a burning sensation when urinating, pelvic area pains in women and rectal area pains for men. It is also possible to suffer from other symptoms for example a mild fever, feeling generally unwell or malaise, having a feeling of nausea and even vomiting.
UTI symptoms are often the result of an inflammation of the lining of either the bladder or the urethra and this can only be seen with special equipment at a hospital. There have been many cases where what seemed to be clear cut symptoms were actually masking a more serious problem so don’t try to fully diagnose this yourself and get help from a medical expert. It is not a good idea to avoid visiting your doctor if you feel that you have a urinary tract infection. A doctor will take a sample of your urine and either diagnose through in house testing or sending to an external lab for tests. The test measures the number of red blood cells compared with the number of white cells. If the white blood cell count is high then an infection is the likely cause. It is imperative that you get medical assistance if you fear an infection.
If you have a UTI then there are a number of options open to you. It is likely that a doctor will recommend antibiotics to fix the problem and this will help but it may not get rid of it altogether. Drinking a lot of cranberry juice is a well known natural remedy that has worked for a large number of people. Prevention of UTI’s begins with cleanliness and it is very important that the genital area is washed thoroughly each day. Try not to keep urine in your bladder for too long a time period as this can lead to infections due to the bladder stretching and it not being completely empty after you have urinated.
If you have just had sexual intercourse then make sure that you wash carefully. It is also good to take lots of vitamin C and drink a lot of water.
Remember that having urinary tract infection symptoms is not the end of the world and that there are several ways that these symptoms can be treated and it is a fact that you can eradicate UTI symptoms forever.