Urinary tract infection: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that happens due to microbes. These organisms are too small to be seen with the naked eye and can only be seen by a microscope. Bacteria are the major cause of UTI is but some are caused by fungi and in rare cases by viruses. UTIs are among the most common infections that can happen in the human body.

A urinary tract infection, or UTI, is an infection that can affect any part of your urinary system, which can be anywhere in the kidneys, bladder, and urethra.

Women have higher chances of getting a urinary tract infection. According to studies, the risk of getting a UTI in women is as high as 1 in 2, with many women having repeated infections, sometimes lifelong. However, in Men, only 1 in 10 men will get a UTI in their lifetime. Thus, UTIs in men are very low as compared to women.

Let’s have a look at how to handle UTIs and how to make it less likely that you’ll get one in the first place.

Types of UTIs

Urinary infection can affect different parts of your urinary tract. Each type has a different name, based on where it is.

• Cystitis (bladder): The constant feeling of peeing a lot comes with this type of infection, or it hurts when you pee. lower belly pain and cloudy or bloody urine signify this type of infection.
• Pyelonephritis (kidneys): This comes with fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, and pain in your upper back or side.
• Urethritis (urethra): This infection causes discharge and sensation of burning when you pee.

UTI symptoms

There are different symptoms of a UTI but they usually depend on what part of the urinary tract is infected.

For instance, Lower tract UTIs can affect the urethra and bladder.

Symptoms of a lower tract UTI are as follows.

• burning sensation while peeing
• Increased frequency of urination without much amount of it.
• Feeling of peeing quite often.
• Blood is there in urine
• Kind of cloudy urine.
• Change in color of urine which makes it appear like cola or tea
• urine with a strong odor
• In women pelvic pain is persistent.
• In men rectal pain is persistent.

Kidneys are affected by Upper tract UTIs. This can be extremely dangerous if bacteria move from the infected kidney into the blood. This is called urosepsis and can cause dangerously low blood pressure, shock, and death.

Symptoms of an upper tract UTI are as follows:

• Constant pain and tenderness in the upper back and sides
• chills
• on and off fever
• nauseous feeling
• feeling of vomiting

Treatment of UTI

Treatment of UTIs depends on which part is affected and which microbe has caused it. It is easy for doctors to determine which organism is causing the infection from the test results used to confirm the diagnosis.

In most cases, the bacteria cause bacteria. These kinds of UTIs are treated with antibiotics. Antibiotics are the most common treatment suggested by doctors for urinary tract infections.

Some of the infections can be caused by viruses or fungi. Viral UTIs are treated with medications called antivirals are the best medications for treating such types of urinary infections. Often, the antiviral cidofovir is suggested by doctors. Antifungals are the Best Treatment for Fungal infections.

Other common treatments include:

• Another home remedy is drinking lots of water to help shove off the bacteria from your body.
• A heating pad can also prove to be helpful
• Cranberry juice has also been suggested from time to time to prevent or treat UTIs. what makes cranberry so effective is the fact that the red berry contains a tannin that prevents E. coli bacteria which the most prominent reason behind a urinary tract infection. But researchers are still not sure about these remedies’ effectiveness.

UTI diagnosis

If a UTI is suspected based on your symptoms, you should contact your doctor as soon as possible. To confirm a diagnosis of a UTI, the doctor tests urine for microbes.

Different procedures used to diagnose urinary tract infections include:

• Analyzing a urine sample. A urine sample is taken for lab analysis to look for white blood cells, red blood cells, or bacteria. If the sample contains a large number of white blood cells in your urine. This can indicate an infection. Generally, a urine culture is done to test the bacteria or fungi. The culture helps to identify what underlies the infection.
• Growing urinary tract bacteria in a lab. After Lab analysis of the urine, urine culture is done. This test helps to identify which bacteria are responsible for the infection and which medications will be most effective.
• Creating images of your urinary tract. The frequent infections can be a result of an abnormality in the urinary tract, for that, an ultrasound, a computerized tomography (CT) scan, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is done.

Using a scope to check inside the bladder. Cystoscopy is performed if you have frequent infections using a long, thin tube with a lens (cystoscope) to detect inside the urethra and bladder.