What is Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)? Symptoms and Treatment Methods

It is an infection that starts in the urinary system. The urinary system consists of the kidneys, urinary tubes, bladder and urethra. The infection can attack any component of the urinary tract, but the lower urinary tract, namely the urethra and bladder, is most susceptible to infection. Women are more likely than men to get urinary tract infections. A UTI that is confined to the bladder only is very painful and a source of discomfort. However, the infection can also spread to one of the kidneys and the consequences are more severe.

Antibiotics are the most widely accepted and popular treatment for urinary tract infections. But some easy-to-take precautions reduce the risk of infection and urinary tract infection in the first place.

What Are the Symptoms of Urinary Tract Infection?

The symptoms of a urinary tract infection are not clear to everyone infected with it, but most infected people usually have one or two of the following symptoms:

• A strong and constant need to urinate
• Burning sensation while urinating
• Persistent leakage of small amounts of urine
• Blood in the urine (hematuria) or cloudy urine with a very strong odor
• Presence of microbes in the urine

For each of the different types of inflammation, there are characteristic UTI symptoms depending on the site where the infection occurred.

Symptoms of Urinary Tract Infection Depending on the Affected Area

• Kidneys (acute pyelonephritis) - back pain, chills, nausea, vomiting and fever.
• Bladder (cystitis) - abnormal drop in body temperature (hypothermia), pressure in the pelvic area, discomfort in the lower abdomen, frequent urination
• The need and pain when urinating.
• Urethritis - burning sensation when urinating.

Causes and Risk Factors of Urinary Tract Infection

The urinary system consists of the kidneys, urinary tubes, bladder and urethra. Each of these compounds plays an important role in removing waste from the body. The causes of urinary tract infection are usually that germs enter the urinary system from the urethra and then begin to multiply in the bladder.

Although the urinary system is designed to prevent the entry of these prokaryotes, this defense system sometimes fails to do its job. When such a failure occurs, microbes take control and begin to multiply, causing a strong and acute inflammation of the urinary tract.

Most urinary tract infections occur in women and affect the urethra and bladder.

In most cases, the cause of cystitis is Escherichia coli. This type of bacteria is usually found in the gastrointestinal tract and intestines. Sex can lead to an infection in the bladder, but it is not necessary for a person to be sexually active to develop this inflammation. All women are at risk of developing a bladder infection as a result of the anatomical structure of the female body, especially due to the proximity of the origin of the urethra to the anus and the short distance between the origin of the urethra.

Urethritis can begin to form when digestive bacteria in both the stomach and intestines cross the short distance from the anus to the beginning of the urethra.

In addition, as a result of the short distance between the origin of the urethra and the opening of the vagina in women, sexually transmitted diseases (STD) such as the herpes simplex virus (Herpes simplex), gonorrhea and chlamydia (Chlamydiosis), which can cause urethritis.

What are the Risk Factors of Urinary Tract Infection?

There are people who are more likely than others to get urinary tract infections. UTI causes and risk factors include:

• Gender: About half of women will develop a UTI at some point in their lives, and some will develop the infection more than once. The main reason for this is the anatomical structure of the female body. The urethra in the female body is shorter than in the male body, which shortens the distance bacteria must travel to reach the bladder.
• Sexual activity: Women who engage in sexual activity more frequently have a higher risk of developing a UTI. Sexual intercourse can cause irritation of the opening of the urethra, causing bacteria to more easily enter and pass into the bladder.
• Use of certain methods of contraception: Women who use the diaphragm to prevent pregnancy are at greater risk for UTI infection than women who use spermicide (spermicide) as a method of contraception.
• Age: Postmenopausal (menopausal or amenorrhea) urinary tract infections become more common because the tissues of the vagina, urethra, and bladder floor become thinner and weaker due to loss of estrogen.
• Urinary tract disorders such as kidney stones or others
• Diabetes and other chronic diseases that can impair the immune system
• Long-term use of catheters in the bladder.
• The immune system in women plays a very important role in the degree of risk of recurrent urinary tract infections, which is one of the most important causes of urinary tract infections in women. Bacteria can associate very easily with urinary tract cells, especially in women, because they lack the protective elements that allow the bladder to usually defend itself against microbial invasion.
• More studies are needed to determine the causes of micro-urinary tract infection, the risk factors that cause it, and how to deal with it and how to activate it in a way that helps women who suffer from recurrent urinary tract infections.

What Are the Complications of Urinary Tract Infection?

If a UTI is treated promptly and well, complications are rare. But if the infection is left untreated, it can worsen and lead to more severe symptoms that cause great discomfort. Untreated, urinary tract infection can progress to acute or even chronic kidney inflammation (acute pyelonephritis), which can cause permanent damage to the kidneys.

Young children and the elderly are most vulnerable to kidney damage from urinary tract infections because they tend to ignore other completely different medical conditions, often their symptoms or defects. Pregnant women suffering from UTIs are at higher risk of having low-birth-weight babies or premature babies. A woman who has had more than three UTIs is more likely to develop additional infections in the future.

How Is Urinary Tract Infection Diagnosed?

When a urologist suspects an infection, he or she will order a urine sample to check for pus, red blood cells, or bacteria (germs) in the urine. To avoid contamination of the sample, it may be necessary to clean the genital area with disinfectants before starting to collect samples from the middle of the urine stream.

Sometimes laboratory examination of a urine sample added to a urine culture test (urine test) reveals whether there is a purulent infection. While there is no simple test that can distinguish whether the infection is in the upper or lower urinary tract, the combination of fever and local pain may indicate that the infection has also reached the kidneys.

How Is Urinary Tract Infection Treated?

If the characteristic symptoms of a UTI occur in a generally healthy person, the primary effective treatment for a UTI is antibiotics. The type of drug and duration of treatment are determined according to the general health of the patient and the type of bacteria detected in the urine test.

Treat simple inflammation

The most common medications to treat a simple urinary tract infection include:

• Sulfamethoxazole - trimethoprim
• Amoxicillin
• Ampicillin
• Nitrofurantoin
• Ciprofloxacin
• Levofloxacin

Symptoms usually go away within a few days of receiving treatment for urinary tract infections. However, the patient may need to continue antibiotic therapy for more than a week. It is necessary to observe all dosages prescribed by the doctor to ensure complete and final neutralization of inflammatory triggers.

When treating a UTI in a generally healthy person, a doctor will usually recommend short-term treatment, such as taking antibiotics for just three days. However, confirming whether this treatment is appropriate for UTI symptoms actually depends on the patient's characteristic symptoms and medical history.

The doctor may also prescribe pain medications (Analgesics) that relieve pain in the bladder and urethra and relieve the intensity of burning during urination. One of the side effects of these drugs is a light blue or orange staining of the urine.

Treat recurrent inflammation

If the patient suffers from frequent urinary tract infections, the doctor may prescribe antibiotics for a longer period or run a self-treatment program so that the patient takes antibiotics for a few days as soon as the characteristic symptoms of the urinary tract infection appear.

Home urine tests by dipping special sticks into a urine sample (available today) are very sensitive tests and can help with recurrent urinary tract infections. To treat infections caused by sexual intercourse, the doctor may prescribe a single dose of antibiotics after each sexual intercourse.

If the woman has passed the menopause stage, the doctor may recommend vaginal estrogen therapy to reduce the risk of recurrent urinary tract infections.

Cranberry juice has been proven in many studies to be effective in preventing recurrent urinary infections, and it is possible to prescribe it to those who can tolerate it and drink it chronically.

The use of probiotics, cytokines and other methods, which are beneficial bacteria and live yeast species for the human body and can help prevent recurrent urinary infections in many ways, such as maintaining low pH in the vagina or many anti-inflammatory secretions.

Women who use spermicidal condoms to prevent pregnancy should consider changing this type of condom as this can be directly linked to frequent urinary infections.

Vaccination is a successful and effective way to reduce the likelihood of recurrent urinary inflammation, which is currently being studied and studied, and may be a possible and effective solution in the future.

Treat acute inflammation

Treatment of acute urinary tract infection may require hospitalization (hospitalization) as well as administration of intravenous antibiotics (intravenous injection).

How to Prevent Urinary Tract Infection?

The following steps can reduce the risk of developing a UTI:

• Drink plenty of fluids, especially water.
• Wiping (cleaning) from front to back after WC
• Empty the bladder as soon as possible after sexual intercourse.
• Avoid feminine hygiene products that can cause irritation.