About Urinary Tract Infections

A urinary tract infection (UTI) occurs when bacteria enter any part of the urinary tract, namely the urethra, bladder, or kidneys. Before urine is eliminated from the body, it passes through these organs.

Women are more prone to infection since the urethra, which is the passageway through which urine flows out of the body, is short and because the vagina and rectum are close to the urinary opening. Approximately 20 percent of all women develop a UTI at least once. Men, however, can also develop a UTI.

UTIs are not a sexually transmitted infection.

Symptoms

Most women will experience at least a few symptoms of a UTI. Symptoms include a frequent urge to urinate, while often producing only small amounts; burning, pain, or difficulty with urinating; bloody or cloudy urine, low back pain, chills, fever, and muscle aches. In men, a UTI sometimes often causes the same symptoms.

Diagnosing a UTI

Your clinician will check for symptoms and ask you for a sample of urine. Urine cultures may also be done to determine the best medicine for treating the infection.

Treating a UTI

UTIs are typically treated with antibiotics. To relieve discomfort you may:

• Drink more liquids, at least eight to 10 glasses a day.
• Avoid coffee, tea, alcohol, and soft drinks, since they irritate the bladder.
• Urinate more often.
• Soak in a hot bath.
• Use a heating pad for low back pain.
• Have sex less often, or not at all, until the infection clears up.

Complications

Some women may experience recurrent cases of UTIs after having one. In that case, you may need special treatment. If a UTI goes untreated, it can lead to kidney infections.

Return visits

Follow-up visits are not needed, unless symptoms persist or return following treatment.

Prevention

You can take steps to prevent urinary tract infections, including:

• Urinating as soon as you feel the urge.
• After using the toilet, wiping from front to back to avoid placing bacteria at the urinary opening.
• Washing hands, penis, or mouth after anal contact and before contact with the genital area to avoid placing bacteria at the urinary opening.
• Urinating before and after sex.
• Drinking at least eight glasses of water a day.
• Wearing cotton underwear and loose fitting clothes, so air can keep the area dry.
• Make sure your diaphragm fits correctly. If you have discomfort, have your clinician check the fit.
• Avoiding deodorant soap, vaginal hygiene sprays, and deodorant tampons or sanitary pads.

How to Protect Against STIs and HIV/AIDS

The only way to guard against getting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is not to have sex or to have sex only with partners who you know are free of infection. If you do have sex, you should use a latex barrier, such as a male condom, a female condom, or a dental dam, every time. Condoms provide protection against STIs, including HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Tapestry Health clinicians recommend using such barriers even in combination with other methods of birth control. Latex condoms are preferred to lambskin condoms for the prevention of STIs. 

If you have questions about urinary tract infections or any STI, talk to your clinician.