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Urinary tract infections

Urinarytractinfections(UTIs)areverycommonparticularlyinwomen,babiesandtheelderly. Aroundoneintwowomenandonein20menwillgetaUTIintheirlifetime. Theurinarysystemisdesignedtominimisetheriskofseriousinfectioninthekidneys.Itdoesthis bypreventingtheurinefromflowingbackupintothekidneysfromthebladder.Sothemajorityof urinaryinfectionsareconfinedtothebladderand,whilecausingimportantsymptoms,arenot seriousorlifethreatening. Types of infections Thekidneyscontroltheamountofwaterinthebloodandfilteroutwasteproductstoformurine. Eachkidneyhasatubecalledaureter,whichjoinsthekidneytothebladder.Theurineleavesthe kidneysthroughtheuretersandentersthebladder.Thebladdersignalstheurgetourinateand urineleavesthebodythroughatubecalledtheurethra. Urinarytractinfectionsarecausedbymicro-organismsorgerms,usuallybacteria.Thedifferent typesofurinarytractinfectioncaninclude: Urethritisinfectionoftheurethra Cystitisinfectionofthebladder Pyelonephritisinfectionofthekidneys.

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Symptoms of urinary tract infection Someofthesymptomsinclude: Wantingtourinatemoreoften,ifonlyafewdrops(urgency) Burningpainorascaldingsensationonurination Afeelingthatthebladderisstillfullafterurination Painabovethepubicbone Bloodintheurine.

Kidney infections are serious Ifinfectionreachesthekidneys,promptmedicalattentionisneeded.Inadditiontothegeneral symptoms,apersonwithakidneyinfectioncanalsoexperience: Chills Fever Loin(lowerabdominal)pain Painintheback.

Micro-organisms are the cause Urineisnormallysterile,whichmeansitdoesntcontainanybacteria,fungusorviruses.Toinfect theurinarysystem,amicro-organismusuallyhastoenterthroughtheurethraor,rarely,fromthe bloodstream.Themostcommonculpritisabacteriumcommontothedigestivetractcalled Escherichia coli(E. coli).Itisusuallyspreadtotheurethrafromtheanus(openingintheback passage). Othermicro-organisms,suchasMycoplasmaandChlamydia,cancauseurethritisinbothmenand women.Thesemicro-organismsaresexuallytransmittedso,whentheseinfectionsaredetected, bothpartnersneedmedicaltreatmenttoavoidre-infection. People at greater risk Somepeopleareatgreaterriskthanothersofdevelopingurinarytractinfections.Theseinclude:

Urinarytractinfections

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Womensexuallyactivewomenarevulnerable,inpartbecausetheurethraisonly4cm longandbacteriahaveonlythisshortdistancetotravelfromtheoutsidetotheinsideof thebladder. People with urinary catheterssuchasthecriticallyill,whocantemptytheirown bladder. People with diabeteschangestotheimmunesystemmakeapersonwithdiabetes morevulnerabletoinfection. Men with prostate problemssuchasanenlargedprostateglandthatcancausethe bladdertoonlypartiallyempty. Babiesespeciallythosebornwithphysicalproblems(congenitalabnormalities)ofthe urinarysystem.

Urinary abnormalities in children Urineinfectioninachildneedstobeinvestigatedasitmayindicateamoreseriouscondition.The mostcommonurinarysystemconditionisvesico-uretericreflux.Thismeansthebladdervalveisnt workingproperlyandallowsurinetoflowbacktothekidneys,increasingtheriskofakidney infection. Vesico-uretericrefluxandtheassociatedinfectionscanscarorpermanentlydamagethekidney.It canalsoleadto: Highbloodpressure Toxaemiainpregnancy Kidneyfailure.

Thedisordertendstoruninfamilies,soitsimportanttoscreenchildrenasearlyaspossibleifa closerelationisknowntohavetheproblem. Preventing infection Althoughnotalwaysbackedupbyclinicalresearch,somewomenhavefoundthefollowing suggestionsusefulinreducingtheirriskofdevelopingurinarytractinfections: Drinkplentyofwaterandotherfluidstoflushtheurinarysystem. TreatvaginalinfectionssuchasthrushorTrichomonas quickly. Avoidusingspermicide-containingproducts,particularlywithadiaphragmcontraceptive device. Practicegoodhygiene. Gotothetoiletassoonasyoufeeltheurgetourinate,ratherthanholdingon. Wipeyourselffromfronttoback(urethratoanus)aftergoingtothetoilet. Emptyyourbladderaftersex.

ControlledtrialshaveshownthatcranberryjuicemaydecreasethenumberofUTIswithsymptoms overa12-monthperiodinwomen.CranberryjuiceappearstolowertheabilityofE. colitostickto theurinarytractliningcells.CranberryproductscanalsobeeffectiveinreducingtheriskofUTIsin womenwhohavehadrecurrentinfections.Letyourdoctorknowifyouarehavingcranberryjuice asitcanaltertheeffectivenessofsomeantibiotics. Seek medical attention Itisimportanttoseekmedicalattentionifabladderorkidneyinfectionissuspected.Early treatmentofurinaryinfectioncanhelptopreventtheinfectionspreadingtothekidneys.Ifthe infectionisinthekidney,permanentdamageorevenkidneyfailurecanoccurifitisleftuntreated. Yourdoctorwilltestyoururinetocheckwhichmicro-organismispresent.Urinarytractinfections usuallyrespondquicklyandwelltoantibiotics. Where to get help Yourdoctor Yourlocalcommunityhealthcentre KidneyHealthAustraliaInformationLineTel.18004KIDNEY(543639),TTY1800005881

Things to remember

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Aurinarytractinfectioniscausedbymicro-organisms,usuallyabacteriacalledEscherichia coli(E. coli). Theurethra,bladderorkidneyscanbeaffected. Eventhoughurinarytractinfectionsareverycommon,treatmentwithantibioticsmaybe neededsoseekadvicefromyourdoctor.

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KidneyHealthAustralia

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Urinarytractinfections

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