Myth: A Uti Will Go Away On Its Own
Fact: Asymptomatic bacteriuria, which is a UTI without symptoms, could go away without treatment. However, UTIs with symptoms rarely resolve on their own.
If you are experiencing UTI symptoms, like burning, pain or frequency, talk with your health care team about obtaining a urine culture and the right treatment for you.
Home Remedies For Bladder Infection
Here are some effective and natural remedies for bladder infection that are inexpensive, harmless and easy to use at home.
1. Drink Plenty of Water : This is the best treatment for bladder infection. Water is a great cleansing agent and helps in flushing out the harmful bacteria in the form of diluted urine. So, drink lots of water for a quick relief from bladder infection.
2. Baking Soda : Baking soda is one of the best home remedies for bladder infection pain. You just need to mix a spoonful of baking soda in a glass of water, and drink it. Repeat this remedy daily till the symptoms subside completely.
3. Cranberry Juice : Cranberry juice is an effective home remedy to stop a bladder infection in pregnant women. Cranberry contains enzymes, which are really beneficial in treating a bladder infection. Therefore, drinking cranberry juice will let you to get rid of a bladder infection quickly.
Note- Avoid intake of cranberry juice if you or any family member of yours has a history of kidney stones, or if you are taking medicines for thinning the blood.
4. Apple Cider Vinegar : Soak in water, containing apple cider vinegar. It will greatly reduce the burning sensation that is caused while urinating due to a bladder infection.
5. Yoghurt : Eating yoghurt is also beneficial as it contains acidophilus, which helps in curing the bladder infection.
6. Heating Pad : In order to ease out the pain, caused due to a bladder infection, use a heating pad over the abdominal area.
Check If It’s A Urinary Tract Infection
Symptoms of a urinary tract infection may include:
- pain or a burning sensation when peeing
- needing to pee more often than usual during the night
- pee that looks cloudy, dark or has a strong smell
- needing to pee suddenly or more urgently than usual
- needing to pee more often than usual
- lower tummy pain or pain in your back, just under the ribs
- a high temperature, or feeling hot and shivery
- a very low temperature below 36C
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How Are Urinary Tract Infections Treated
You will need to treat a urinary tract infection. Antibiotics are medicines that kill bacteria and fight an infection. Antibiotics are typically used to treat urinary tract infections. Your healthcare provider will pick a drug that best treats the particular bacteria thats causing your infection. Some commonly used antibiotics can include:
- Nitrofurantoin.
Its very important that you follow your healthcare providers directions for taking the medicine. Dont stop taking the antibiotic because your symptoms go away and you start feeling better. If the infection is not treated completely with the full course of antibiotics, it can return.
If you have a history of frequent urinary tract infections, you may be given a prescription for antibiotics that you would take at the first onset of symptoms. Other patients may be given antibiotics to take every day, every other day, or after sexual intercourse to prevent the infection. Talk to your healthcare provider about the best treatment option for you if you have a history of frequent UTIs.
Why Do I Still Have Uti Symptoms After Antibiotics
Extensive research demonstrates that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are gradually reducing the effectiveness of UTI treatments. Its becoming increasingly common for some urinary tract infections to fail to respond to such therapy. When this occurs, the bacteria will continue to multiply, and symptoms persist.
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Urinary Tract Infection Symptoms
Urinary tract infections can cause a frequent urge to urinate and occur when bacteria gets into the body through the opening of the urethra. The longer a UTI goes untreated, the farther the infection may spread. It can reach the bladder and eventually the kidneys.
The best way to find out if your frequent urge to urinate without pain is due to a UTI is to visit a medical professional.
Some additional common symptoms of UTIs include:
- An urge to urinate when the bladder is empty
- Pain or burning when urinating
- A foul or unusual odor to the urine
- Pain or pressure in the lower back and abdominal area
- Fever or chills
Women get UTIs more frequently than men. However, one urinary tract issue for men is prostatitis, an infection or inflammation of the prostate gland. Symptoms of prostatitis are similar to those of a UTI, and men should consult a medical professional if suffering these symptoms.
When To Get Medical Advice
It’s a good idea to see your GP if you think you might have a UTI, particularly if:
- you have symptoms of an upper UTI
- the symptoms are severe or getting worse
- the symptoms haven’t started to improve after a few days
- you get UTIs frequently
Your GP can rule out other possible causes of your symptoms by testing a sample of your urine and can prescribe antibiotics if you do have an infection.
Antibiotics are usually recommended because untreated UTIs can potentially cause serious problems if they’re allowed to spread.
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Further Investigation If Simple Treatments Dont Help
Depending on your particular symptoms, your doctor may recommend:
- Less common medications for bladder pain
- Cystoscopy and hydrodistension under anaesthesia with diathermy of any ulcers found
- Pelvic Physiotherapy. This is particularly useful where there is spasm or tensing of the muscles around the bladder, making the bladder pain worse. This can happen without you realising the muscles are tight. There is information on the management of pelvic muscle pain on other pages on this site.
- A bladder installation . Soothing medicine is inserted into the inflamed painful bladder through a small catheter inserted through the urethra into the bladder. This can be done in the doctors office or treatment centre. If you find it helpful, you doctor may teach you how to do this at home. A common plan for installation might include installation once a week for 6 weeks, with top-up treatments when your problems return.
- Other treatments depending on your personal situation
Over time, your bladder pain may change and need different treatments. You can expect that there will be times when the pain is easier to manage than others. It may even go away altogether for months or years at a time then come back at a time when you are stressed or run-down. Treatments are always improving and evolving. Even if a particular treatment hasnt worked for you in the past, there may be newer treatments that suit you well.
Reasons Your Negative Uti Test Could Be Wrong
Lets just put it out there that if you have received negative results for a urine culture, but you still have symptoms, it is very possible you have a UTI. Unfortunately, these testing issues can add another layer of confusion and uncertainty when seeking answers.
This happens very frequently, and we can help explain why below. Its also a good idea to have an understanding of how a standard urine culture works.
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A Uti That The Test Isnt Detecting
One possibility is that you really do have a UTI thats flying under the radar. One 2017 study in Clinical Microbiology and Infectionfound that one in five women with UTI symptoms had negative results on the standard tests, but almost all these women had UTIs according to the more sensitive quantitative polymerase chain reaction test.
Standard urine cultures test for specific types of bacteria, but many women will have infections that are not able to be grown in these cultures, Rice says. Another possible reason for a false negative test is that often, the test requires a certain number of bacteria to be grown in culture. For instance, if someone has just urinated prior to leaving a sample and there is not a sufficient quantity of urine built up in the next voided sample, it is possible for a standard urine culture to report negative findings. A false negative can also occur if youve already taken antibiotics, so make sure not to do that.
If you think you might have a UTI thats not being detected, your doctor may be able to do a PCR laboratory test, Rice says. Dr. Jennifer Linehan, M.D, urologist and associate professor of urology and urologic oncology at the John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint Johnâs Health Center in Santa Monica, tells Bustle that another type of test called Next-Generation Sequencing is even more accurate.
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Silent Utis: How They Start
That weekend was supposed to be so fun. I always looked forward to hosting my grandchildren, who lived 45 miles away, overnight. But this time my extreme fatigue stole most of the energy and joy from our precious time together. The strange thing is, it wasnt the I probably did too much yesterday kind of fatigue. It was concerning, Mashunkashey said. That heavy blanket of fatigue covered me the rest of the week. All I wanted to do was lie down, and that just wasnt like me Im not a napping kind of person. She visited her doctor to ask about the exhaustion, but her doctor couldnt provide an answer.
This wasnt like other health issues Id had in the past, though. Years earlier I was prone to urinary tract infections. I once had six in the span of six months. I dreaded that unmistakable backache, the painful urination, and the urgency to pee, not to mention the doctors appointments and prescription co-pays for all those antibiotics. Thankfully, I seemed to have outgrown UTIs, but this new health complaint was such a mystery It worried me, Mashunkashey said.
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What Is Cystitis
Cystitis is an infection of the bladder that almost always follows bacterial infection in the urine. It is the most common type of urinary tract infection , particularly in women.
The bladder is a muscular bag that stores urine from the kidneys. Urine leaves the body through a tube called the urethra. Cystitis occurs when bacteria travel up the urethra, infect the urine and inflame the bladder lining.
Most women will experience cystitis at least once in their lives. While it is painful and annoying, it isnt dangerous or contagious, and the infection cant be passed on to your partner during sex.
If left untreated, the infection can backtrack deeper into the urinary system from the bladder and reach the kidneys. A kidney infection is serious and needs prompt medical attention as it can cause kidney damage or even kidney failure.
When To See A Gp
See a GP if you feel feverish and have pain that will not go away in your tummy, lower back or genitals.
You should also see a GP if you have symptoms of a UTI that have not improved after a few days, or if you have blood in your pee.
Contact a GP immediately if you think your child may have a kidney infection.
If you cannot get a GP appointment and need urgent medical attention, go to your nearest urgent care centre .
If you do not have a local UCC, go to your nearest A& E.
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What If The Infection Does Not Clear Up With Treatment
Most infections clear up with treatment. However, if an infection does not clear up, or if you have repeated infections, you may be given some special tests such as:
-
a type of x-ray called an intravenous pyleogram , which involves injecting a dye into a vein and taking pictures of your kidney and bladder
-
an ultrasound exam, which gives a picture of your kidneys and bladder using sound waves
-
a cytoscopic exam, which uses a hollow tube with special lenses to look inside the bladder.
What Causes A Uti
The most common cause of UTIs is bacteria. While more than one type of bacteria can cause a UTI, Escherichia coli is often the culprit. When bacteria get inside of the urinary tract, your body takes steps to protect you from the threat and fight it off. This results in inflammation that you may perceive as pain or pressure.
Inflammation also leads to swelling, making it difficult for urine to move through the urinary tract. Thats why you may feel like you need to urinate often or like you cant completely empty urine when you go to the bathroom.
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What Does A Uti Feel Like
Generally, UTIs feel like a sharp burning sensation while urinating. Oftentimes, the burning is from the acidic urine irritating the lining of the bladder and urethra, urologist Lisa Hawes, MD, told Readers Digest. The bacteria damages the lining of the bladder and urethra and then the acidic urine acts like alcohol over a cut, causing the burn. You may also experience itching and a constant feeling of needing to urinate. If you have a UTI, back pain might also be something you notice. Back pain is one of the common symptoms of a bladder infection, which is a type of UTI.
But is it possible to have a UTI without Symptoms? Could you be sick and not even know it? The scary answer is yes.
How To Know If You Have A Uti
The scary truth: Up to 50 percent of women with energy-draining UTIs go undiagnosed, mainly because these women dont experience any of the typical symptoms theyd normally associate with other UTIs theyve had before. Most women arent used to having a UTI without pain.
At least 80 percent of women will get a urinary tract infection in their lifetime, says Laura Corio, MD, an OB-GYN in New York City. She adds that as many as 1 in 5 UTIs dont cause the red flags most women associate with the infections, like burning, pain, or frequent urges to urinate. Instead, women notice fatigue, lower-back pain, and muscle aches subtle symptoms they dont link to UTIs. As a result, says Pamela Peeke, MD, author of Body-for-Life for Women up to half of silent UTIs go undiagnosed.
Women are most at risk for UTIs in the summer, since heat can cause bacterial growth in the urethra. The risk also goes up as estrogen levels plummet, since the hormone helps bolster the production of antimicrobial proteins in the bladder. Once an infection takes hold, the body revs its immune system, leading to inflammation that impairs the function of every system in the body. The result? Fatigue, body aches, weakness, and nausea.
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Myth: All Utis Must Be Treated With Antibiotics
Truth: Not all UTIs require antibiotics.Some people can have bacteria in their bladders but not experience any symptoms. This is called asymptomatic bacteriuria. In most cases, no treatment is necessary as the bacteria is not causing issues.
But there are a few groups of people that may require treatment, including people who are pregnant, people with planned urologic surgery and people with weakened immune systems.
Antibiotics are used to treat UTIs when the person is experiencing painful or bothersome symptoms and bacteria present in the urine.
Can Alcohol Cause Bladder Problems
Because alcohol is a diuretic, it causes the body to produce more urine, while also making a person use the restroom more frequently. The additional effect of alcohol on the bladder is that it irritates it, which can exacerbate symptoms of overactive bladder. In case of incontinence, you should try to eliminate alcohol.
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How Can You Tell The Difference Between Uti And Interstitial Cystitis
The Difference Between a UTI and IC In women who have interstitial cystitis, urine culture results will be negative, meaning that no bacteria are found in the urine as with a urinary tract infection. With IC, women may also experience pain during sexual intercourse, another symptom not commonly associated with a UTI.
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When To Seek Medical Advice
You may find your UTI symptoms are mild and pass within a few days. However, you should see your GP if you find your symptoms very uncomfortable or if they last for more than five days.
Also see your GP if you have a UTI and:
- you develop a high temperature
- your symptoms suddenly get worse
- you are pregnant
- you have diabetes
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When To See A Doctor
Although the body may sometimes fight off a UTI on its own, waiting for this to happen carries risks. UTIs can quickly spread, causing serious kidney infections.
A person should see a doctor for any symptoms of a UTI, particularly if they are pregnant or have an underlying health condition that affects their immune system.
A person with should go to the emergency room for immediate medical care. The symptoms of a kidney infection include:
Can I Get Uti Treatment Online Without Insurance
Yes! You dont need insurance to use Virtuwell. A visit to Virtwells online clinic is never more than $59. This includes a diagnosis, treatment plan and free follow-up care. If youre prescribed antibiotics or other prescription medication, your prescription is sent to your pharmacy where you pay for it just like you would if you visited an in-person clinic. If you do use insurance, your cost for care will likely be reduced or with some insurance plans covered completely.
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