UTI Introduction

    Urinary tract infection has become quite a concern for thousands of women all over the world and also quite a few men. To start with what exactly is the urinary tract and how can it get infected. The urinary tract of our bodies comprises of three major body organs which are the urethra, bladder and kidneys. These three organs work in harmony with each other to clean the blood and expel toxins and other waste products from the body. Hence, if any of these three parts gets infected with bacteria or any other micro organism, it is known as a urinary tract infection or more commonly UTI.

Urinary tract infections are quite common so you do not need to get scared if you have ever been through the experience of developing this infection. It has been seen that one in every five women develops UTI. We usually hear of women and how they have UTI and hear little about men so we automatically assume that men don’t get UTI. However, this is a major fallacy that although the urinary tracts of both males and female differ in anatomy, they do serve the same purpose and are both prone to urinary tract infections. However, the probability or chance of men having UTI is quite less when compared to women having UTI.

    About Escherichia coli, Chlamydia and Mycoplasma

    Moving on to what actually causes a urinary tract infection and how can you tell that you have UTI. Whenever, bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) or any other micro organism such as Chlamydia and Mycoplasma enter the urinary tract, they tend to multiply and hence cause an infection. Many causes of these bacteria infecting you could be improper hygiene or lack of water. However, the exact causes why some people are more prone to UTI than others still remains a mystery. All that we know Is that it is not a serious issue and can be easily treated.

Coming on to the part of how the infection actually spreads in the body or urinary tract. Firstly, the urethra becomes infected with bacteria and this initial phase is called urethritis. When the bacteria move up to the bladder and start multiplying there then the infection is known as cystitis. Lastly, when the infection spreads to the last region of the urinary tract, the infection becomes more serious and is known as pyelonephritis.

    How to Recognize Urinary Tract Infection Symptoms?

    Its symptoms are actually quite distinct and can not be confused by any other infection. First of all older women and men might feel a burning sensation while they are urinating. However, do not be alarmed sometimes the sensation could simply be due to you holding your urine for long periods of time. Moreover, you need to feel the sensation at least 3 times to be sure that you might have a slight infection. Another symptoms of UTI is the urge to urinate again and again and when you do urinate, the urine is not expelled from the body properly. As in you might experience urine coming in drops. Blood coming along with urine is also another way you can tell if you have a urinary tract infection.

Urine which is expelled from the body is usually clear and odorless. This is due to the fact that little or no bacteria is present in the urine when is it expelled from the body. However, if you sense that your urine is cloudy or has a distinctive odor to it then you might want to go for a urinalysis. A urinalysis is when a test is done on a specimen of your urine and the white and blood cells are counted and also the presence of any bacteria or other organism is checked. If your doctor has asked you get a culture test done then you should also get that done as that test would tell you which bacteria of micro organism has infected your urinary tract and has been causing you discomfort. Moreover, if your infection has persisted for quite some time and has not been curbed even when you have taken strong dosages of antibiotics then your doctor will ask you to get an ultrasound done or some other tests such as intravenous pylegram in which the physician takes x-ray images of your urinary tract to check if everything is normal.

However, these tests are only done when all medicines do not seem to be curing you so you can relax if you feel that you have a slight infection as urinary tract infections are quite common and are also very easily cured. You just need to be wary of the symptoms which might also include you getting a fever and also feeling back aches but remember UTI are absolutely curable!