Urinary
Tract Infections
What is my risk of getting a
urinary tract infection?
Urinary tract infections, also
called UTI’s are very common. Each
year more than seven million doctors’ office visits are made because of
UTI’s. A woman is eight times
more likely to get a UTI than a man. The
main risk factors for UTI’s are the following:
Sexual
activity
Using a diaphragm and spermicide
Not urinating often during the daytime
Anatomic problems in the urinary tract
What are the symptoms of UTI
and how is it diagnosed?
People with UTI’s may have
the following signs and symptoms:
A strong and frequent need to urinate
A burning sensation when they urinate
Pain in their lower belly or back
A change in the color or smell of their urine
In young women, doctors can
often diagnose a UTI based on the symptoms and a urine test called a urinalysis.
In addition, the urine is sometimes cultured.
In a culture, a little sample of urine is put in a lab dish to see what
kind of bacteria grows on it. Your
doctor can use the results of the urine culture to decide which medicine you
need to get rid of your UTI.
How is UTI treated?
Most of the time if you are
woman your UTI can be treated with an antibiotic taken three days.
However, you will need to take medicine for ten to fourteen days if you
keep having UTI symptoms, or if your symptoms come back after treatment.
Men with UTI’s and people with special problems usually take medicine
for ten to fourteen days. Sometimes
people with complicated UTI’s have to be treated in a hospital.
Many complicated infections are managed with intravenous antibiotics in
the hospital, followed by oral therapy at home, or just oral antibiotics.
Intravenous medicines are put into your veins.
Although many people think that cranberry juice can cure a UTI, this has
not been proven.
What can I do to keep from
getting UTI’s?
There are certain things that
you can do to help avoid a UTI. Urinate
right after you have sexual intercourse, stop using a diaphragm with spermicide,
instead use other birth control methods. Urinate
regularly and often during the day. Drink plenty of water every day.
If you are going through menopause, estrogen replacement therapy may
reduce the frequency of urinary tract infections.