What is a urinary tract infection and who gets them?
-Referred to as a bladder infection or cystitis
-Bacteria gets up into bladder causing the infection
-Sometimes if untreated can go up into the kidneys – more serious infection is called pyelonephritis
-More common in women – most women will get one at some point
-Less common in men – often related to an enlarged prostate as get older
How do you recognise them?
-Burning passing urine
-Increased frequency of urination
-Sudden urgency to pass urine
-Abdominal pain
-Smelly or cloudy urine
-Children can also get urine infections: temperatures, or suddenly bed wetting at night
-Elderly: can be very difficult to diagnose. May present with confusion or a fall.
-Often the GP or nurse will do urine test or send-off sample to the Lab.
How do we treat them?
-Antibiotics from doctor or nurse
-If its straightforward your pharmacist may be able to give you antibiotics
-Drink plenty of fluids
-You need to see a doctor if you haven’t improved in three days, develop shakes, have a spiking temperature, or increasing pain
Can you Prevent them?
-Stay well hydrated, cranberry juice may help prevent them
-Post-sex voiding urine sometimes advised
-Avoid wearing tight-fitting underwear
-Make sure to wipe after bowel movements, going front to back
-Treating constipation if present, as it puts pressure on the bladder
-They can be recurrent and may need ‘preventive antibiotics.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!