Urinary Tract Infection: Causes, Symptoms, Prevention and Treatment

Urinary tract infection happens most typically at the bottom of the urinary tract. If this condition is left alone, the infection can gradually spread to other parts such as bladder, urethra,kidneys, etc. In fact, women are with a higer risk of urinary tract infection than men. As we know, the basic function of urinary system is to remove the waste out from the body.

Once the waste products are excreted, the stability of salts is actually taken care of in your body, as well as helps the production of the hormone, which assists the development of RBC. In addition, urine is actually excreted from the urethra in the bladder.

Causes 

 

Urinary tract infection(UTI) is a disease caused by the growth and reproduction of pathogens in the urinary tract and urine, and invasion of urinary tract mucosa and tissues. According to the types of pathogens, they can be divided into fungal, bacterial and viral; gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae are the main pathogens, and other bacteria and microorganisms (such as mold, chlamydia, mycoplasma, etc.) can also cause diseases.

 

UTI is the most common disease in all bacterial infections. Female patients account for most of the cases, and the majority of the cases are related to sex. The incidence of married women is high, which reaches about 5%. It is not common for males to suffer from UTI; it generally occurs in men over 50 due to enlarged prostate. The incidence in elderly men and women can reach 10%, which is mostly asymptomatic bacteriuria.

 

Symptom

 

The clinical manifestations included the following four groups.

 

1. Cystitis

 

Typical symptoms: urinary tract stimulation, i.e., frequent and urgent urination, pain in urination, leucocyte urination, hematuria, and even gross hematuria occasionally occurs, and discomfort in the bladder area. 
 

Generally, there are no obvious symptoms of systemic infection, but a few patients may have low back pain and low fever (generally no more than 38 ℃).
 

 

2. Acute pyelonephritis

 

Typical symptoms: bladder irritation, low back pain, lower abdominal pain, chills, fever, etc.

 

3. Chronic pyelonephritis

 

Typical symptoms: asymptomatic bacterial urine, the urgency of urination, frequency of urination, polyuria, etc.

 

4. Atypical urinary tract infection

 

Typical symptoms: acute abdominal pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, hematuria, lumbago, etc.

 

Prevention

 

1. Timely voiding
 

When urinating, the urine will flush out the bacteria in the urethra and vagina, which has a natural cleaning effect.

 

2. Keep a good personal hygiene 
 

The most common bacteria causing infection is Escherichia coli. Under normal circumstances, it is parasitic in the intestine and does not cause disease, but if it enters the urethra through the anus, it will cause urethritis. 

 

So after relieving yourself, it is suggested to wipe with a private area with clean toilet paper in the order from the front to the back to avoid contamination of the vagina. If the toilet has flushing equipment, it's better to wash the anus carefully.

 

3. Vitamin C supplementation

 

Vitamin C can improve the acidity of urine and make all kinds of bacteria that induce urinary tract infection difficult to survive.

 

4. Seeking help from the doctor

 

If the above symptoms appear, it is advised to consult the doctor as soon as possible, make prevention or treatment plan, and work with the doctor to find out what causes repeated infections.

 

5. Antibiotic prevention

 

Antibiotic prevention can significantly reduce the chance of recurrence of urinary tract infections in women. Antibiotic therapy is recommended for women who have recurrent urinary tract infections 2 or more times in half a year, or 3 or more times in a year.

 

6. Menopausal women

 

Local application of estrogen ointment in the vagina can restore the local environment of the vagina and reduce the recurrence of urinary tract infection.

 

Note: or patients with frequent recurrent uremia, the urinary system should be examined for anatomical abnormalities, basic diseases (such as stones, polycystic kidney, medullary sponge kidney, etc.) and overall immune system abnormalities.

 

Treatment
 

The choice of the treatment of urinary tract infection is different from that of the patients with different diseases, different genders, different positions and different periods.

 

1. Common urinary tract infection

 

Patients with simple acute cystitis can be treated with three-day therapy, and the symptoms can be relieved by taking drugs, but single-dose therapy is not recommended; simple acute pyelonephritis is treated with antibiotics, the general course is 14 days, and the symptoms can be adjusted according to the actual situation.

 

If the symptoms of complex urinary tract infections are severe, except for timely antibiotic treatment, it is necessary to prevent the occurrence of other diseases.

 

2. Male cystitis

 

Patients can be treated with quinolones, the course of treatment generally takes 7 days.

3. Urinary tract infection in pregnancy

 

Urinary tract infection in pregnancy is very special, which is also a high incidence period. The routine urine culture examination should be carried out for pregnant women, and antibacterial treatment should be carried out according to the actual situation.

 

4. Asymptomatic bacteriuria

 

For asymptomatic patients, sensitive antibiotics should be used according to the results of bacterial culture.

 

5. Recurrence of urinary tract infection

 

This refers to the occurrence of urinary tract infection after treatment of urinary tract infection. For patients with recurrent conditions, it is necessary to select antibiotics with strong bactericides for a long time.

 

The purpose of UTI treatment is to prevent or treat systemic sepsis, relieve symptoms, remove isolated infection focus, eliminate urinary tract pathogens from intestinal and vaginal flora, prevent long-term complications, and achieve the least possibility of drug-resistant flora. The best effect can be achieved by choosing different drugs to treat different UTI.

 

Therefore, patients should use antibiotics reasonably according to some important clinical pharmacology principles. Besides, patients can also choose Chinese herbal medicine Diuretic and Anti-inflammatory Pill without side effects. It can not only treat recurrent urinary tract infection and its complications such as prostatitis, but also heal the damaged urinary system, and enhance the patients' immunity to prevent a recurrence.