In case of a urinary tract infection

What is a urinary tract infection? A urinary tract infection is an infection of the bladder. A urinary tract infection is easy to recognize by a couple of symptoms. If you have contracted a urinary tract infection it is advisable to visit your general practitioner as soon as possible. There are also a few things that you can do by yourself to help ease the pain and to stimulate the healing process. Read more about this in the following article.

What is a urinary tract infection?

What is a urinary tract infection? A urinary tract infection is a reaction to an infection inside the bladder. This is often caused by external bacteria. When the patient has a low immune system he or she is much more susceptible to bacteria and viruses. When this happens, bacteria or viruses can easily invade the body and cause a urinary tract infection. People that have sexual intercourse with a large number of different people have an increased risk of contracting a urinal tract infection. The infection usually enters the bladder via the urethra. A urinary tract infection can be identified by the following symptoms.

Symptoms

• High fever
• Pain when urinating
• Burning sensation
• Blood in the urine
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• heightened perspiration

A urinary tract infection can be a serious illness. When someone suffers from a urinary tract infection it is therefore wise to visit a general practitioner or other doctor. Should you contract am acute urinary tract infection then there are several things you can do to encourage the healing process and to ease the pain.

What can you do by yourself?

• Drink lots of water
• Take Paracetamol

It's important to drink lots of water if you have a urinary tract infection; it helps lower the fever and helps the body to get rid of its waste products. Some of you will probably think; 'But if I drink, I will also urinate much more and that hurts!' This might be true, but it will help your body to regenerate and 'dilutes' the concentration of your urine. This should lessen the irritation. Paracetamol will reduce the pain and has anti-inflammatory properties. When you have even the slightest cause to believe you have an infection ALWAYS visit a doctor! A urinary tract infection can have serious consequences when left untreated.

What can your general practitioner do?

• Prescribe painkillers
• Test your urine
• Prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs
• Refer you to a hospital

Painkillers are obviously meant to help ease the pain. The general practitioner can also prescribe an anti-inflammatory, this works much like antibiotics but usually doesn't cause resistance of the bacteria or virus. Since a urinary tract infection could potentially lead to something much more dangerous, the general practitioner will prescribe antibiotics quite fast in most cases. The use of antibiotics should cure the urinary tract infection within 14 days. In some cases you could be referred to the hospital, although this rarely happens.

Sources: www.todio.nl