Urinary Tract Infection: Treatment, Procedure, Cost and Side Effects

The urinary tract starts from the kidneys to the urethra where urine is passed out. Given the rich concentration of minerals and toxic wastes, it is highly prone to multiple infections. UTI, as urinary tract infections are often referred to, is one of the most common infections. In women, especially, every 1 in 2 women is affected by an UTI. Whichever part of the tract is affected, the symptoms and treatment are mostly the same. Read on to know some of the most common symptoms and treatment options for these.

Symptoms

1. A burning sensation with urination
2. Pain with urination
3. Burning sensation or pain in the urethra or vagina
4. Frequent urge to urinate, though not much urine is passed out
5. Sense of incomplete emptying of the bladder
6. Pain in the lower back on the sides of the spine
7. Change in the urine characteristics color, smell, or appearance
8. Fever or chills, maybe associated with shivering, nausea and vomiting

Causes

Most urinary tract infections are bacterial in nature, and these could find their way into the body through multiple ways.

1. The most common is through the urethra, which could happen due to unclean toilet habits.
2. Women especially are advised to wipe the urethra after each toilet visit. The bacteria from the feces can also enter the urethra due to close proximity
3. Use of unclean public toilets is another reason for UTIs

Tests

Though most often UTI does not require specific testing, the following are useful in confirming the diagnosis.

1. Culture and sensitivity: The urine is sent for a culture to identify the exact organism that has caused the infection. It also helps identify the right antibiotic which will help bring the infection under control.

Treatment:

UTIs are very common infections and though there is nothing to worry, it should be cleared completely.

1. Antibiotic course to get rid of the infection. Though you begin to feel better, the complete course should be completed to clear the infection.
2. Following culture testing to ensure the infection is cleared
3. Improve water intake to get rid of the toxins
4. Fever and pain to be controlled with medications
5. Healthy hygiene habits to ensure clearing of infection

Prevention:

Recurrent UTIs is a common problem, and the following can help prevent.

1. Ensure complete emptying of the bladder
2. Drink adequate water
3. Safe toilet habits, including before and after sex
4. Comfortable and clean underwear to prevent infection

Haematuria refers to a medical condition where blood is passed out with urine. Blood can ooze out in tiny droplets or in large volume, often causing discomfort and pain.

Urine mostly has a reddish hue when you have this condition, and can be colored anything ranging from pink to a darkish brown. While in many cases this disease may be caused by trivial underlying issues, there may be major complications at work too. Hence, you should consult a doctor right away if you locate any symptoms such as abdominal pain, frequent urination, etc.

Causes of haematuria

Haematuria may be caused by factors both minor and severe. These include-

Urinary tract infection (UTI) - UTI is caused when foreign bodies like viruses or bacteria get accumulated in the urinary tract. This causes haematuria, as the kidneys may be affected leading to leakage of red blood cells into the urine.

Cancer - There are various types of cancer that may cause blood to come through the urine. These include prostate, renal and bladder cancer. This is a symptom visible during advanced stages of the cancers when treatment becomes difficult.

Kidney or gallbladder stones - This is another type of serious ailment that may cause haematuria as a symptom. The key difference from the other causal factors of haematuria is that in this case bleeding is very painful.

Traumatic injury to kidneys - A sharp hit or blunt attack to the kidneys you may sustain while falling down or a vehicle crash may cause internal injuries in the kidney and make blood show up in your urine.

Treating haematuria: What are the different approaches?

To treat haematuria, most doctors generally treat the underlying disease that is causing it as a symptom. The treatment entails-

Several types of anti-bacterial or antifungal agents are used to treat urinary tract infections. These medicines can both be prescribed by a doctor or bought over the counter.

Kidney and bladder stones may heal if you drink a lot of water. However, in very severe cases, you may need a surgical procedure called lithotripsy. Lithotripsy involves using ultrasound shock waves that break kidney stones into tiny particles and passes them out of your body.

For cancers, the extent of spread determines the treatment course recommendable. In general, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery are the treatment modes used.

When the traumatic injury is the underlying factor, drugs or bandages may help, but you should also not ignore large injuries. In such cases, surgery may be required to set things right.

Haematuria is the medical name for the condition in which either small or large amounts of blood become visible in your urine. While this condition may be developing in you due to a number of reasons that may be minor, you should get yourself checked anyway.

The urinary system of our body consists of kidneys, ureter, bladder, and urethra. A urinary tract infection occurs in the system and is the most common disease in women, especially during pregnancy. Pregnancy leads to many hormonal changes in a woman’s body. The changes increase the risk of vesicoureteral flux and urinary stasis. Though most of the infections are limited to the bladder and urethra, sometimes it might even affect the kidneys. When the UTI reaches the kidneys during pregnancy, it can lead to premature child birth and below average weight of the baby after birth.

Why are pregnant women more susceptible to UTI?
Pregnant women are considered to be immunocompromised UTI hosts. It is due to the physiological changes that a woman undergoes during this period. The changes raise the risk of serious infectious complications from symptomatic and asymptomatic urinary infections.

Hormones cause changes in the body during pregnancy and these hormonal changes are one of the main reasons behind getting an infection. The developing uterus presses on the bladder as you carry the baby and it grows with time, and this makes it hard for the woman to let out all the urine which is unhygienic. It becomes difficult to empty the bladder; as a result, it becomes more prone to reflux. It is a state where some of the urine travels back to the ureter and finally to the kidneys.

The symptoms to look out for

• The need to urinate often and with an urgency
• Feeling of burning sensation during urination
• Cramps in the lower back or lower belly
• The color of the urine is not transparent and has an odor to it

Why should you be worried?
Asymptomatic bacteriuria is a bacterial infection in the urinary tract and which shows no symptoms as such. If the woman is not pregnant, then the asymptomatic infection would not be severe. Moreover, it would clear on its own. On the other hand, if the person is pregnant, this type of bacterial disease needs to be treated immediately as there is a chance of a kidney infection if it is left untreated.

When the progesterone levels are high, it decreases the muscle tone of the ureter causing them to dilate and slowing the urine flow. The slow rate of the flow of urine gives the bacteria more time to multiply and take hold of the bladder before the urine is flushed out of the system. It becomes easier for those bacteria to flow back to the kidneys. Moreover, during pregnancy, the urine becomes less acidic and contains more glucose, a condition which is suited for bacterial growth.

Drinking plenty of water prevents you from a Urinary Tract Infection during pregnancy. If you detect any of the symptoms, report to your doctor who would advise urine test to perform diagnosis and proceed with the treatment.

Proteinuria is a condition that presents itself as an abnormal amount of protein in the urine. It is very often symptomatic of a kidney disease. When the kidneys are functional and healthy, they do not allow proteins to filter through them into the bladder. But if the kidneys are damaged then they might be unable to filter proteins like albumin from the blood stream. It could also be a result of an over synthesis of proteins in the body.
Since kidney diseases are usually asymptomatic, proteinuria may be one of the first sign of an underlying disease affecting your kidneys. This can be easily diagnosed by a simple urine test to determine whether the kidneys are functioning properly.

Symptoms-

1. Frothy urine means that there is a heavy loss of protein.
2. Bloating due to an excess of water in the body tissues.

Risk Factors-
1.Diabetes: Diabetes with its irregularities in insulin secretion can cause an imbalance of protein filtration by the kidneys.

2.High Blood Pressure or Hypertension, as it is more commonly known, can affect the hormonal balance causing damage to the kidneys.
Other risk factors include obesity, a genetic history of kidney diseases. Race and ethnicity also tend to play a role when it comes to developing kidney diseases.

Causes-
The major and most probable causes of proteinuria are-

1. Diseases that affect the kidney’s filtering units such as glomerulonephritis. An acute inflammation caused by an immune response can damage the kidney’s function in eliminating excess fluids and waste from the bloodstream before it passes into urine.
2. Urinary tract infections can cause proteinuria. But they usually occur in conjunction with other signs.
3. Proteinuria can also be caused by an underlying congestive heart condition. It could be one of the earliest warning signs of eclampsia during pregnancy.
4. Temporary proteinuria can occur after a bout of vigorous exercise or if you have a high fever.

Though not specifically a disease, it is symptomatic of other serious diseases. Its treatment is dependent on identifying and managing the underlying cause. If left untreated it could lead to kidney failure. For mild and temporary cases, treatment might not even be necessary. But for those with chronic diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes, it is essential to prevent the progression of the kidney damage that causes proteinuria.

Urology is a branch of medicine that deals with the diseases and disorders of the male and female urinary system and the male reproductive organs. It is a specialized branch of medicine that has been in existence for a long time and has advanced in many ways over the past two decades, courtesy the introduction of the laser technology. Laser technology has helped urologists tremendously and they have been able to treat a number of patients through laser-assisted surgery. The use of lasers has made it possible for the urologists to utilize endoscopic instruments with small-diameter that allow them to see the minutest details of the urinary tract and treat the complex cases with ease.

• Laser in bladder outlet obstruction: Bladder outlet obstruction is a blockage at the base of the bladder, which slows down or stops the flow of urine to the urethra, causing discomfort to the patient. Most men in their old age suffer from this problem and laser technology helps in conducting the surgical procedure to remove this blockage. It has been found that laser-assisted surgery results in lesser loss of blood as compared to open surgery. In some cases, blood transfusion after surgery is not required at all. Also, the hospital stay post operation is shorter, which ensures more comfort to the patient.
• Laser in urolithiasis: The formation of kidney stones in the urinary tract is known as urolithiasis. Treatment of this conditions requires surgical intervention and it is nowadays done with the help of endoscopic intracorporeal laser lithotripsy. This technique uses strong beams of laser light to locate the stones, fragment them, and remove them from the urinary tract. The laser technology is safe and can be used in the case of pregnant women too. It can easily access the hard stones present in difficult locations.
• Laser in benign prostatic hyperplasia: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) refers to the enlargement of the prostate. Some of the symptoms of this condition include a frequent urge to urinate, problems in urination, inability to urinate, and loss of bladder control. It can also lead to UTI (urinary tract infection) and stones. It can be treated with photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP) in which the excess prostate tissues are melted away and the prostate shrinks back to its original state. Holmium laser ablation of the prostate (HoLAP) also does the same but holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) cuts the excess tissue blocking the urethra.
• Laser in bladder cancer and urinary tract strictures: Bladder cancer refers to the abnormal growth of cells in the urinary tract and this is mostly found in the form of tumors. The tumors can be cancerous and transurethral bladder tumor resection (TURBT) laser technology can help in diagnosis, staging, as well as the treatment of malignant tumors. It makes use of cystoscope to remove the tumor. In case of urinary tract strictures, the urethra becomes narrow, hindering the passage of urine. It can be caused due to an infection or injury. With endoscopic urethrotomy and usage of the cystoscope, the urologist removes the stricture or makes it evaporate with the help of a laser.

Laser technology is of immense value to urologists and offers many advantages to the patients as well. It is more comfortable and with more advances being made in this field, the future looks even brighter for the doctors as well as patients. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!