Urinary Tract Infection, also known as UTI, is one of the most painful kinds of infection for both humans and animals alike. The most common thing people complain about Urinary Tract Infection is painful urination. When urinating, people feel as if they’re on fire and that the more they do the worse it gets. And because of this, people would be conditioned to hold their desire to urinate. This can lead to further things such as kidney stones which would further damage kidney function.
For animals, oftentimes Urinary Tract Infection is more prevalent in cats. Cats however do not show signs of pain but instead reveal the blood in their urine. Because of this, veterinarians are often called to help cats with UTI. Prevalence, female cats are more prone to being infected with UTI than male cats because of the multiple uses for their opening which is for birthing, defecating, and urinating.
Causes Of UTI (Urinary Tract Infection)
When talking about the causes of UTI, most people attribute it to sitting on dirty toilet seats. However, Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is a little more complex than that. Urinary Tract Infection is caused normally by Escherichia coli (E. coli) which infects the gastrointestinal tract. Once the bacteria invade the body, it can create a whole list of problems. However, where does this variety of E.coli breed?
Below is the list of causes for UTI:
- Poor personal hygiene – Having dirt stuck everywhere isn’t good. And dirt doesn’t just stay in one place. It can crawl to different parts of the body. And the dirt isn’t just when you walk around, sometimes it can even be in the toilets you use outside. So the whole Urinary Tract Infection from a dirty toilet is not such an impossibility.
- Intense Sex – Sex can cause it due to the heightened level of heat and moisture. There’s also an exchange of bodily fluids or release of bodily fluids. Because these bodily fluids are filled with proteins and sugar, bacteria are extremely attracted to them. For women, the vaginal area is still moist and humid which is perfect for bacteria to breed. Men, also have their entire penis covered in bodily fluid which allows the bacteria to attach.
- Urinary Problems – This is usually when a person is unable to urinate properly. Because the urine stays inside, the ammonia and urea in the urine start to undergo a chemical change. This also serves as an ideal environment for E. Coli to grow. However, for urinary problems, it can also because by a variety of things such as a blocked exit for urine or kidney stones.
- Heightened levels of salt – A high salt diet can force a person to retain a lot of water. And because the kidney cannot completely filter out all the salt, the kidneys become more prone to infection.
Symptoms of Urinary Tract Infection
The most common symptom of Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is having painful urination. If one has UTI, urinating will have an accompanying burning sensation to it. This may cause the one infected to withhold their urine to avoid feeling any further pain.
Other symptoms of UTI include:
- Severe, frequent urge to urinate although there’s only a little urine.
- Pain or pressure in your back or lower abdomen – This is caused by the contraction and the infection that is in the ureter and is slowly circulating throughout your body.
- Weird consistency of urine – it can be dark, cloudy, and bloody.
- Feeling often tired and fatigued.
- Fever and chills – This is often the sign when the infection of the UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) has reached your kidneys
When this happens, consult your doctor immediately. The kidney is one of the most important parts of your body. The moment it starts to fail, your body will be unable to filter out toxins that fill up your body.
Treatments for Urinary Tract Infection
Treatment for Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) widely varies. However, most people usually end up going to the doctor and they have prescribed antibiotics. These antibiotics work best when the person has eaten something and they’re about to go to bed. But once one starts the antibiotics, they have to follow through the entire dose. Otherwise, their body will build up a resistance towards it and make antibiotics useless.
Some recommended antibiotics include Augmentin (or Amoxicillin), Septra, Ciprobay, and Monurol. However, the best thing to do is to consult your doctor before taking these antibiotics. The aforementioned ones are one of the stronger antibiotics which make the weaker antibiotics ineffective.
Home Treatment
While taking the antibiotics at home, there are also some ways to help Urinary Tract infections disappear faster. Below are the possible treatments you can do alongside the doctor’s recommendation:
- Drinking plenty of fluids – This will allow you to get the antibiotics further into your body and let them circulate. While it’s circulating, it will also help you remove the germs inside your body. Although it may hurt for a while, the water will help the UTI disappear faster.
- Increasing vitamin C dose – By increasing your intake of vitamin C, your urine gets more and more acidic which kills the bacteria present.
- Drinking unsweetened cranberry juice – Drinking unsweetened cranberry juice prevents germs from getting stuck to the urinary tract walls.
This however is not a substitute for real medical methods and is meant for supplementing them. Please consult your doctor first before doing anything else.
Sources:
- Foxman, B. (2013). Urinary tract infection. In Women and Health (Second Edition) (pp. 553-564).
- O’sullivan, D. J., Fitzgerald, M. G., Meynell, M. J., & Malins, J. M. (1961). Urinary tract infection. British Medical Journal, 1(5228), 786.
- Nicolle, L. E. (2012). Urinary tract infections. Encyclopedia of Intensive Care Medicine, 2359-2364.
- Kontiokari, T., Sundqvist, K., Nuutinen, M., Pokka, T., Koskela, M., & Uhari, M. (2001). Randomised trial of cranberry-lingonberry juice and Lactobacillus GG drink for the prevention of urinary tract infections in women. Bmj, 322(7302), 1571.
- Stothers, L. (2002). A randomized trial to evaluate effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of naturopathic cranberry products as prophylaxis against urinary tract infection in women. Canadian Journal of Urology, 9, 1558-1562.
- Hooton, T. M., Bradley, S. F., Cardenas, D. D., Colgan, R., Geerlings, S. E., Rice, J. C., … & Nicolle, L. E. (2010). Diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of catheter-associated urinary tract infection in adults: 2009 International Clinical Practice Guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clinical infectious diseases, 50(5), 625-663.