Table of Contents
Common UTI symptoms seen in both men and women include:
- Pain and intense burning during urination,
- A need to urinate much more frequently, sometimes even every few minutes
- Needing to urinate with very little fluid coming out.
- Cloudy or bloody urine which signals the presence of blood in the urine
- A strong urine odor the first time you urinate in the morning. [5]
Additional symptoms of a urinary tract infection may include painful sexual intercourse, penis or vaginal pain, flank pain, vomiting, or fever and chills.
Young children with urinary tract infections may only have an elevated body temperature or even no symptoms at all. Sometimes they might deliberately hold in their pee because it stings them when they urinate. [5]
Mental changes or confusion in might be the only signs of a urinary tract infection in the elderly. [5]
In advanced infections, there may be fever, vomiting, and pain in the mid to lower back. This is a common problem as the infection reaches the kidneys. A kidney infection is serious and needs immediate medical attention and treatment.
Treatment for urinary tract infection
Once a doctor has confirmed that you have urinary tract infection, he or she will probably prescribe medication to relieve the symptoms and also an antibiotic to treat the infection itself.
Although there are also some effective herbal cures (cranberry juice, parsley tea, vitamin D, forskolin, an extract from the Indian coleus plant) you should discuss any kind of alternative treatments with your doctor. [6]
Urinary tract infections can be misleading as sometimes the symptoms go away even though the infection may be spreading to the kidneys as the further stadium of UTI.
Urinary tract infection prevention strategies are particularly important, probably even more than the treatment itself [7]:
- Drinking plenty of unsweetened fluids (water is your best choice)
- Drinking cranberry juice
- Urinating often and whenever needed. Research proved that when you hold urine for a long time, this stimulates bacteria to multiply within the urinary tract and may result in a UTI [8]
- Urinating after sexual intercourse to flush out bacteria that may have entered the urethra during intercourse
- Wiping from front to back, especially after a bowel movement
- Wearing loose-fitting underwear and clothes
- Women should avoid using spermicides (for example diaphragm with spermicide) because spermicides increase irritation and allow bacteria to grow
- Avoid using unlubricated condoms because they may also cause irritation
- Taking probiotics [9]
Urinary tract infections should ideally be avoided, but if they're already present, should be treated either at home or medically as soon as possible because of potential damage to the urinary tract, the kidneys and thus the development of possibly life-threatening problems, which may occur if a UTI is left untreated, or if the patient experiences chronic urinary tract infections. That is why, if your pain and symptoms are persistent, you must see a doctor immediately.
The antibiotics that are commonly used to treat the urinary tract infections include [10]:
- Nitrofurantoin,
- Cephalosporins,
- Sulfa drugs,
- Amoxicillin,
- Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole,
- Doxycycline, or
- Quinolones.
Most non-elderly adult women and men only need 3-14 days of antibiotic treatment, but if the infection has spread to one of the kidneys, you may need hospitalization to receive hydration and antibiotics through the vein. Treatment of a chronic or recurrent UTI must be thorough because of the chance of a kidney infection. Sometimes the antibiotics must be taken repeatedly for as long as 6 months, or more. In some cases, stronger antibiotics are used even for a single, uncomplicated episode of cystitis.