What is UTI?
The condition is known as urinary tract infection. It’s widespread among women but can also appear in men. Residents of the United States spend $1.6 billion yearly to beat this condition.
If you have stabbing pains while urinating, combined with constant burning sensations and too frequent urges to urinate, you might have health UTI that should be treated at once regardless of the severity and acuteness of pain.
Are there any underlying conditions causing UTI?
UTI can be part of the complex conditions, including:
- Kidney problems (kidneys filter the blood and help the body produce the urine);
- Urethra problems (urethra helps you release the urine from the bladder):
- Ureters infection (ureters are tubes connecting the bladder with the kidneys);
- Bladder problems (bladder collects and stores the urine until you release it naturally).
UTI is a universal name for several types of urinary tract infections. Everything depends on where the harmful bacteria start the development. There’s a widespread lower UTI type known as cystitis — it’s when the bacteria get to the bladder through the urethra. When the infection gets deeper, the condition develops into pyelonephritis (inflammation of the kidneys).
What are the essential symptoms?
- Burning pains experienced in the urination process;
- Too frequent urges to urinate;
- Insignificant urine amount;
- Stains of blood or pinkish urine;
- Cloudy-looking urine;
- Strong smell of the urine;
- Pains in the pubic area.
UTI conditions are often coupled with high temperature and fever. Kidney problems also cause nausea. Burning pains in the process of urination can also be a symptom of urethritis. This infection can be transmitted through penetrative sex. Take care of your partner and visit your physician if you have any suspicion.
UTI Medical Treatment Options
Regardless of the causes, that can either be bacterial or connected with the age, treatment methods are almost the same. Thankfully, there’s no trouble dealing with UTI in modern days.
UTI & Antibiotics
Thankfully, there’s a wide range of medication options for different UTI infection types. There are the brand and generic drugs that can be taken orally or injected. The accessibility of the meds is different depending on the region of the country.
In most cases, the medications are prescribed without individual analysis because the primary symptoms are sufficient for the physician to understand your problem. If there’s a questionable situation, laboratory technicians will have to study the patient’s urine samples and make an X-ray test.
Antibiotic treatments are highly effective in the majority of cases. If you experience pains and burning sensations, you’ll feel comfortable on the second day of treatment.
IMPORTANT! Don’t stop taking the antibiotic if the symptoms disappear on the second day of treatment! The course should last for as long as the medication instruction leaflet says.
Frequent UTI symptoms demand thorough analyses and prolonged treatment. If you’re a pregnant woman, you’ll have to experience extended medication therapy.
Oral Antibiotics
Even acute cystitis can be entirely eliminated through the use of the following medications:
- Monurol (fosfomycin);
- Macrobid, Macrodantin, and Furadantin (nitrofurantoin);
- Bactrim DS, Septra DS (sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim).
Your medical practitioner should pick out the most appropriate antibiotic option depending on your latest medical check-up, resistance patterns, the UTI type, and other factors.
Some infections might require injection courses that can last up to 7 days and even more depending on the severity.
NEVER use a UTI antibiotic prescribed to the other person because the choice is a very personal thing.
UTI & Quinolones
Some patients are still afraid of taking Cipro and Levaquin fluoroquinolones. FDA approves this drug, but you should remember it’s one of the most reliable UTI medications.
- All quinolones, regardless of whether they are oral or injectable, can cause severe complications and problems with the functionality of the nervous system, muscles, and tendons.
- The dangerous after-effects can become permanent or last for weeks if the intake of quinolone medication is administered improperly.
Intravenous Antibiotic Options
Usually, if a doctor prescribes an intravenous antibiotic treatment, it means that your condition is either severe or if the patient is pregnant. These are long maintenance medication courses that can start within the hospital walls and continue at home with the intake of the oral medications.
Injectable UTI meds are also prescribed if the patient has resistance to fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Some people are allergic to quinolones.
In these cases, the most common injectable treatments are:
- Gentamicin;
- Ceftriaxone;
- Tobramycin.
IMPORTANT! When a patient takes a UTI medication regularly, bacterial resistance starts to develop, making the antibiotic ineffective.