Infection of the urinary tract (also known as cystitis) can affect your urinary system, including your kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. These organs play an important role in producing urine and getting it out of your body. Urinary tract infections are frequently broken down into two types, which are identified by where they occur in the urinary system:
Lower tract infection:
Lower urinary tract infections are caused mostly by bacteria in the gut, which go up the urethra and then spread into the bladder from the skin. Urethritis may be the result of sexually transmitted bacteria, such as gonorrhoea and Chlamydia. Men can develop an inflammation of the prostate, known as prostatitis, as well as other types of urinary infections.
In cases of upper tract infections, patients experience issues with their ureters and kidneys, with pyelonephritis as the most common of them (kidney infection). Germs frequently move through the urinary tract from the bladder, leading to infections in the kidneys. These can arise as a result of bacteria that gather in the kidneys from the circulation.
Urinary tract infections affect most women. Only a small number of them are found in younger males. The prostate gland can get enlarged in males over 50, and it can cause urinary blockage. BPH benign prostatic hyperplasia, a disease characterized by an enlarged prostate, is an illness that affects an estimated one-third of men over age sixty. If this problem occurs, it can hinder the bladder from completely emptying, increasing the risk of germs building up and resulting in an infection. Men who are uncircumcised or engage in anal sex are at higher risk for having bladder inflammation, also known as cystitis. Besides objects in the urinary tract (e.g., stones or catheter-related strictures), other variables that might raise the risk of urinary tract infections include insufficient bladder emptying (the above-mentioned stent placement or other reasons that prevent proper emptying) (as may be inserted to relieve a blockage in the urethra).
Symptoms
If you're suffering from a urinary tract infection, you could have one or more of the following symptoms:
Urinating more often than normal.
An intense need to pee.
Pain, discomfort, or the sensation of burning during urinating.
coming out of bed to use the restroom.
An ache in the bladder region (in the middle of the lower abdomen, below the navel).
Bedwetting in someone who has always gone to bed dry.
Urine that is murky or has a pungent odour.
Fever, with or without chills.
Feeling sick and throwing up
Sharp, intense pain in the side or upper back
Diagnosis
Your doctor will likely discuss the duration of your urinary tract infection, along with the details of the pain and other associated symptoms. Your doctor may need to investigate your sexual history, including any STDs you or your partner may have, condom use, sexual partners, and anal intercourse.
You can be diagnosed with a urinary tract infection when a physician examines you and sees if you exhibit any symptoms. When your doctor analyzes your urine for infection under a microscope, white blood cells (fighting illness) and bacteria will be present in the urine sample. Your doctor will likely send your urine to a laboratory to find out what bacteria has infected you and which medications you need to fight the infection.
To evaluate the size and structure of the prostate gland, your doctor will do a rectal examination on males. If you're a young guy without any symptoms of an enlarged prostate, your doctor may want to do more tests to find an abnormality in your urinary tract, which is a risk factor for infection. Urinary tract infections are less common in males who have normal urinary tracts. In addition to these, a number of additional procedures tests can be used, like intravenous pyelography (an X-ray study of the kidneys) or a CT scan, which provides an image of your urinary tract. In addition, you can get an ultrasound or a cystoscopy (an inspection of your bladder using a hollow instrument) performed.
Most uncomplicated urinary tract infections begin to heal in one to two days after appropriate treatment begins.
Prevention
Men often can't avoid getting urinary tract infections. In order to avoid diseases that are transmitted through sexual contact, it is important to use condoms.
Drinking less coffee and alcohol, or taking specific drugs prescribed by a doctor, can benefit men to improve urine flow and help prevent the bladder from being full of urine and increasing the risk of getting an infection. Many men with enlarged prostate glands who suffer from urinary infections require surgical removal of some parts of the gland. The procedure is beneficial because it has the ability to enhance urine flow, which can help avoid infections.
Treatment
When an infection is located in the urinary system, doctors will often prescribe antibiotics of various kinds. Lab findings from your urine testing can assist your doctor to decide which antibiotic to prescribe. Generally, most lower tract infections are entirely cleared by five to seven days of therapy, which usually resolves simple cases. After your doctor sees that the antibiotics have worked, he or she will want to do a second urine test to be sure that all the germs have been eliminated. Your doctor will likely prescribe medicines for many weeks if they discover an infection in your upper tracts or in your prostate.
Patients with upper tract infections who are also in danger of losing their kidneys may require hospitalization and intravenous antibiotics (in a vein). When nausea, vomiting, and fever raise the risk of dehydration and restrict the administration of oral antibiotics.
When should you see a doctor?
If you have any reason to suspect that you have a urinary tract infection, contact your doctor. If you're over the age of 50, you should make an appointment with your doctor if you experience any of the following: a loss of urine stream force, a hard time starting your stream, continued urine flow even after you have finished urinating, or the sensation that your bladder isn't completely empty after you finish urinating. Symptoms of an enlarged prostate can be treated prior to it triggering a urinary tract infection.
Most urinary tract infections can be treated with antibiotics, and hence their prognosis is rather favourable. Men with certain medical issues, such as problems with their bladder or prostate, are at a higher risk of developing more frequent urinary tract infections as long as the underlying medical issue remains untreated.
