How Do You Contract A Urinary Tract Infection

How Does A Male Get A Urinary Tract Infection

Urinary tract infections, bacterial in nature are quite common in men and cause a lot of discomforts. The infection can be anywhere in the urinary tract system which consists of urethra, ureters, bladder, and kidney. UTIs are more common in females as compared to males. But that does not mean males dont need to take precautionary measures or be aware of the causes of urinary tract infections.

Urinary Tract Infections In Babies And Young Children

Babies and children are at risk of UTIs. These infections always need to be investigated as they may indicate a serious underlying condition, such as urinary reflux. Reflux is caused by a bladder valve problem allowing urine to flow back into the kidneys from the bladder. Reflux can cause the urine to stay inside the body increasing the risk of infection. It may lead to kidney scarring, which in turn leads to high blood pressure and sometimes kidney problems.

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Can Antibiotics For Utis Interfere With Birth Control

Nope, the antibiotics youâre taking for a UTI wonât interfere with your birth controlphew! The only antibiotics that might impact hormonal contraception are rifampicin and rifabutin, according the UKâs National Health Service. Those medications are used to treat certain bacterial infections, like tuberculosis, but not UTIs.

With that said, other medications can make hormonal birth control less effective, per Penn Medicine, so itâs always a good idea to check in with your doctor or pharmacist about potential interference with birth control whenever youâre taking something new.

Another thing to note is that spermicide can make you more susceptible to UTIs, per Mayo Clinic. Also, the new birth control gel Phexxi is not recommended for people with a history of recurrent UTIs, according to the National Womenâs Health Network. If youâre frequently coming down with UTIs, it might be a good idea to talk with your doctor about whether switching birth control could help.

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How Are Urinary Tract Infections Diagnosed

Your doctor will use the following tests to diagnose a urinary tract infection:

• Urinalysis: This test will examine the urine for red blood cells, white blood cells and bacteria. The number of white and red blood cells found in your urine can actually indicate an infection.
• Urine culture: A urine culture is used to determine the type of bacteria in your urine. This is an important test because it helps determine the appropriate treatment.

If your infection does not respond to treatment or if you keep getting infections over and over again, your doctor may use the following tests to examine your urinary tract for disease or injury:

• Ultrasound: In this test, sound waves create an image of the internal organs. This test is done on top of your skin, is painless and doesnt typically need any preparation.
• Cystoscopy: This test uses a special instrument fitted with a lens and a light source to see inside the bladder from the urethra.
• CT scan: Another imaging test, a CT scan is a type of X-ray that takes cross sections of the body . This test is much more precise than typical X-rays.

What Is A Uti

A urinary tract infection occurs when bacteria or other microbes, usually fecal flora, enter the urinary tract and cause an infection. The urinary tract is the bodys system for collecting and eliminating urine and includes the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra.

UTIs can affect several parts of the urinary tract. Most UTIs occur in the bladder , but they may also involve the kidneys , urethra , or prostate . UTIs are common, most frequently affecting women, resulting in more than 8.1 million visits to a doctor each year.

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Risk Factors For Recurrent Utis Include:

• Frequent sexual intercourse, which increases the likelihood of bacteria entering the urethra and bladder.
• Using spermicide with or without a diaphragm, as this can harm protective bacteria in the urinary tract that defend against infection.
• Vaginal atrophy, which is a postmenopausal condition caused by decreased estrogen levels.
• Genetics, especially the inherited genes that regulate the body’s immune response to infections.

It’s common for some people to have bacteria in their urine but not experience any symptoms. In these cases, no treatment is necessary.

Talk with your health care team if you think you have a UTI. You may need an appointment to discuss your symptoms and collect a urine sample.

You should seek medical attention if you develop a fever, chills, disorientation, or back or side pain. These could be signs of a kidney infection, which requires treatment, or a systemic infection of the bloodstream that requires hospitalization.

Sarah Suarez is a physician assistant in OB-GYN in La Crosse and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.

For the safety of our patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown without a mask was either recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in a non-patient care area where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.

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What Is The Prognosis For A Person With A Urinary Tract Infection

Urinary tract infections typically respond very well to treatment. A UTI can be uncomfortable before you start treatment, but once your healthcare provider identifies the type of bacteria and prescribes the right antibiotic medication, your symptoms should improve quickly. Its important to keep taking your medication for the entire amount of time your healthcare provider prescribed. If you have frequent UTIs or if your symptoms arent improving, your provider may test to see if its an antibiotic-resistant infection. These are more complicated infections to treat and may require intravenous antibiotics or alternative treatments.

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Do I Need To See A Doctor

Yes. Painful urination can be a symptom of a more serious problem. You should tell your doctor about your symptoms and how long youve had them. Tell your doctor about any medical conditions you have, such as diabetes mellitus or AIDS, because these could affect your bodys response to infection. Tell your doctor about any known abnormality in your urinary tract, and if you are or might be pregnant. Tell your doctor if youve had any procedures or surgeries on your urinary tract. He or she also need to know if you were recently hospitalized or stayed in a nursing home.

Treatment From A Gp For Utis That Keep Coming Back

If your UTI comes back after treatment, or you have 2 UTIs in 6 months, a GP may:

• prescribe a different antibiotic or prescribe a low-dose antibiotic to take for up to 6 months
• prescribe a vaginal cream containing oestrogen, if you have gone through the menopause
• refer you to a specialist for further tests and treatments

In some people, antibiotics do not work or urine tests do not pick up an infection, even though you have UTI symptoms.

This may mean you have a long-term UTI that is not picked up by current urine tests. Ask the GP for a referral to a specialist for further tests and treatments.

Long-term UTIs are linked to an increased risk of bladder cancer in people aged 60 and over.

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How Do I Read My Urine Test Results

Depending on which tests your healthcare provider ordered for your urinalysis, there may only be a few or several measurements on your test results. Laboratory reports, including urinalysis reports, usually provide the following information:

• The name of the urine test or what was measured in your urine.
• The number, measurement or assessment of your urine test result.
• The normal result, measurement range or assessment for that test.
• Information that indicates if your result is normal or abnormal.

Urine clarity refers to how clear your urine sample was. Most laboratories categorize the clarity of urine as one of the following:

If you had a chemical urine test, such as a glucose urine test or nitrite urine test, the results may be categorized as negative or positive and/or indicate the amount of the substance.

If you had a microscopic urine test, such as one that checked for red blood cells or bacteria, the laboratory will likely categorize the number of the substance as one of the following:

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Can Home Remedies Quickly Treat A Uti

As resistance to antibiotics is becoming more common, many people are looking for ways to avoid using them. While this can be a good thing in some cases, it can draw out your illness in other instances.

The most commonly asked about home remedy for UTIs is cranberry. Drinking cranberry juice or taking cranberry tablets has been long-touted as a natural alternative for treating UTIs. The thought is that cranberry makes your urine more acidic which, in turn, kills the bacteria causing your infection.

Unfortunately, cranberry does not treat UTIs very well. On the flip side, though, it can be useful for helping to prevent infections if youre prone to them. This seems to also be the case for other acidic fruits like lemon. Just be sure if youre going to try this for preventing future UTIs that you drink unsweetened juice, as sugar actually helps bacteria to grow.

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Getting Tested For A Uti

Testing for a UTI usually takes place in a doctors office, laboratory, or hospital. Most tests for UTIs involve a urine sample obtained by clean-catch or catheterization. Your doctor can help determine which method is appropriate for you.

• Clean catch urine samples are collected by patients with special precautions to prevent outside germs from getting into the urine sample. Patients are given instructions on obtaining a clean catch sample and avoiding contamination.
• Catheterization involves inserting a thin rubber tube through the urethra into the bladder. When performing this procedure, the urine is collected in a sterile container for testing before removing the catheter.

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How To Prevent Uti Re

Following some tips can help you avoid getting another UTI:

• Empty your bladder often as soon as you feel the need to pee dont rush, and be sure youve emptied your bladder completely.
• Wipe from front to back after you use the toilet.
• Drink lots of water.
• Choose showers over baths.
• Stay away from feminine hygiene sprays, scented douches, and scented bath products theyll only increase irritation.
• Cleanse your genital area before sex.
• Pee after sex to flush out any bacteria that may have entered your urethra.
• If you use a diaphragm, unlubricated condoms, or spermicidal jelly for birth control, you may want to switch to another method. Diaphragms can increase bacteria growth, while unlubricated condoms and spermicides can irritate your urinary tract. All can make UTI symptoms more likely.
• Keep your genital area dry by wearing cotton underwear and loose-fitting clothes. Donââ¬â¢t wear tight jeans and nylon underwear they can trap moisture, creating the perfect environment for bacteria growth.

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How Do You Get Urinary Tract Infections

The design of the human body makes it so it isnt hard to get a bacterial UTI, because the infection comes from outside, through the urethra. Bacteria in the genital area can enter the urethra and the urinary tract, either because wiping after going to the bathroom, sexual activity, or unsanitary conditions. Once the bacteria have entered the urethra, the body tries fight them off, but sometimes the bacteria multiply and cause an infection.

In the case of a fungal infection, usually the fungus gets to the urinary tract through the blood stream. Those who develop this type of infection are usually ill with a disease that has compromised their immune system, such as AIDS.

Questions To Ask Your Doctor

• Do I need any tests, such as urinalysis?
• What is the likely cause of my urinary tract infection ?
• Do I need medicine? How should I take it?
• What are the possible side effects of the medicine?
• When should I expect relief from my symptoms?
• What symptoms would indicate that my infection is getting worse? What should I do if I experience these symptoms?
• I get UTIs a lot. What can I do to prevent them?
• Do I need preventive antibiotics? If so, should I be concerned about antibiotic resistance?
• My child gets UTIs a lot. Could an anatomical problem be causing his or her UTIs?

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Avoid Vitamin C If Youre Already Experiencing Uti Symptoms

Vitamin C is known to help prevent UTIs by acidifying the urine, which can kill certain bacteria present in the urinary tract. But Dr. Sherry warns if you already have a UTI or are experiencing real symptoms of one, vitamin C will not be effective in killing off bacteria. This is because unless you know the exact bacteria causing the UTI, vitamin Calthough helpfulmay not be doing enough to kill the infection youre experiencing.

What Causes Urinary Tract Infections

Normal urine is sterile and contains fluids, salts, and waste products. It does not contain bacteria, viruses, or fungi. A UTI occurs when germs, most often bacteria from the digestive tract, get into the opening of the urethra and start to multiply.

Most UTIs are caused by E. coli bacteria, which normally live in the colon.

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What Are Causes Of Urinary Tract Infections

When bacteria enter into the urinary system, this can result in an infection. A urine culture can help isolate the bacteria responsible for a particular UTI.

• Escherichia coli is the Gram-negative bacteria that causes the vast majority of UTIs.
• However, other bacterial pathogens can also cause UTIs.

Urinary tract infections are not contagious, and you cant acquire a UTI from someone else.

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Wipe From Front To Back

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases , UTIs can develop when bacteria from the rectum or feces gain access to the urethra. This small channel allows urine to flow out of the body.

Once bacteria are in the urethra, they can travel up into other urinary tract organs, where they can lead to infections.

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Holding In Your Urine

If you have to go, go! Holding our urine for 6 hours or more may make UTIs more common, as bacteria that does get into the bladder has lots of time to overgrow between voids, Dr. Hawes says. While traveling, for example, it may seem like a good idea to hold tight and keep driving until the next rest area, but do yourself a favor and stopthe extra miles arent worth the risk of a UTI.

Organs Of The Urinary Tract

UTIs are usually classified as upper or lower according to where they occur along the urinary tract, although it is sometimes difficult or impossible for doctors to make such a determination:

Some doctors also consider infections of the urethra and prostate to be lower UTIs. In paired organs , infection can occur in one or both organs. as well as in adults.

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Can Ovulating Feel Like A Uti

Image credit: newkidscenter

According to MacKay, ovulation pain ranges from mild to severe depending on the woman. Jasmin Harsono, 37, claims she has a sharp pressing pain on her side while ovulating and a urinary tract infection around the same time.

Getting urinated on a regular basis, especially during pregnancy, is a common and harmless occurrence. If you have a burning sensation while urinating, a frequent urge to urinate, cloudy, dark, bloody, or foul-smelling urine, or a dry, cloudy, dark, bloody, or foul-smelling urine, your gynecologist should be able to determine the source of the problem. Bladder infections that progress to pelvic inflammatory disease can cause worsening symptoms and enter the uterus or ovaries. If you are experiencing pain during urination, you should consult with your doctor for a urine infection test.

Common Causes Of Urinary Tract Infection

A urinary tract infection or bladder infection occurs when bacteria enter the urinary system. Bacteria typically enter via the urethra and multiply in the bladder.

Factors that contribute to the development of UTI include:

• Sex: Womens urethras are shorter than mens, so its easier for bacteria to migrate up to the bladder.

• Age: Post-menopausal women face an additional risk of UTIs because decreased estrogen levels cause changes in the urinary track that increase susceptibility to infection.

• Urinary tract abnormalities: Some people are born with unusually shaped urinary tracts that cause urine retention and increased the risk of infection.

• Blockages:Kidney stones or an enlarged prostate can make it difficult to fully empty the bladder, which may enable bacteria to multiply.

• Suppressed immune system:Cancer treatments that decrease the immune response can increase the risk of UTI. Diabetes also suppresses the immune system and is associated with increased risk of UTI.

• Catheter use: Some people who are hospitalized, paralyzed or have certain neurological diseases use a flexible tube to empty the bladder. However, contaminating microorganisms can also enter the bladder via the tube and cause a UTI.

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