Are you a man or woman that is currently dealing with a urinary tract infection? This article will help you understand what it is, what causes it, the dangers it can cause, and also how to treat and prevent them.
What Are Urinary Tract Infections?
A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection of your urinary system. This infection can be any part of your urinary system, including the bladder, urethra, ureters, and kidney. The most common form of UTI occurs within the urethra and bladder; this is the lower urinary tract.
Although urinary tract infections can happen for both men and women, they’re more common among women.
What Causes Urinary Tract Infections?
Urinary tract infections are caused by bacteria that enter your urinary tract. The bacteria enter via the urethra and multiply once it reaches the bladder. The urinary system has a defence system to deal with bacteria but sometimes it simply fails and is overwhelmed.
What Are Symptoms of Urinary Tract Infections?
So, how do you know if you’ve got a urinary tract infection? What are the symptoms? UTIs don’t always have obvious symptoms or signs to look for. However, there are several issues you should keep an eye out for.
If you need or have the urge to urinate a lot, this can be a sign you’ve got a UTI. If you experience a burning sensation when urinating, this might be a symptom of a urinary tract infection. Frequently urinating in small amounts is another one to watch for.
Urine colour can also be an indicator that you’ve got a urinary tract infection. Look out for urine that’s cloudy, red, pink, or brown; this means there’s blood within your urine. The smell of your urine is also a strong indicator. For women, pelvic pain is also a common symptom.
What Are UTI Risk Factors?
So, what are the risk factors involved with a urinary tract infection? There are several, such as kidney stone formation. These can block up your urinary tract, affecting the flow of urine. Because UTIs are more common in women, they have more risk factors.
Females have different anatomy compared to men; this can act as a urinary tract infection risk factor. Women have shorter urethras which makes the trip to the bladder shorter for bacteria. Older women experiencing menopause are also more susceptible to UTIs.
Diaphragms used for birth control can also act as a UTI risk factor. Spermicidal agents can also increase the risk of urinary tract infection.
How to Prevent UTIs
Now that you know what urinary tract infections are, what causes, them, and what the symptoms are, it’s time to talk about how to prevent them. There are several steps you can take to decrease your risk of experiencing a UTI.
Drinking plenty of water or liquids helps to dilute your urine and makes you urinate more often. This is a good way to flush out all the bacteria, putting a stop to infections forming. Cranberry juice is a good option. It’s a good idea to use it with uti tablets.