UTIs are anything but fun. The burning, the itching, and most annoyingly – the pain when peeing; these are all symptoms that accompany the dreaded UTI.
What is a UTI?
A UTI, aka urinary tract infection, is an infection of the urethra. It most commonly occurs when bacteria living in the vagina or rectum enters into the urethra, and begins multiplying causing an infection. This, in turn, causes you to experience symptoms such as:
- An intense urge to pee
- Bloody, cloudy, or pus-filled urine
- A burning sensation
- Cramping
- Pain while urinating
Sometimes, one or all of these symptoms can mildly occur and then disappear only to return with a vengeance.
How It Starts
There is a multitude of ways bacteria can get into the urethra. For women, the most common way is wiping back-to-front instead of front-to-back, but this is far from being the only way. Other causes include holding your pee for more than 6 hours, not peeing after sex, spermicides, allergies to lubricants containing glycerin, dehydration, feminine hygiene sprays, etc. Basically, anything that either keeps the urethra from being flushed out or physically plugs up the urethra has the potential to cause a UTI.
So do I have a UTI?
For me personally, the first symptom is always feeling an intense urge to pee. It doesn’t matter if it’s only a trickle or a deluge, it feels as though you’ve been holding it for an eternity. However, once you start peeing, instead of finding relief, the feeling only intensifies to the point where you could find yourself gripping the walls of the stall praying for it to stop. The symptoms that follow tend to vary from person to person, but those whom I have talked to report experiencing a discoloration of their urine and an itchy feeling. In short, if you are experiencing a UTI, you’ll most likely know it.
#NowWhat?
From personal experience, no matter what anyone has told you cranberry juice will NOT cure a UTI. I once drunk an entire jug of unsweetened cranberry juice. And all I can say is, it’s about as useful as putting a band-aid on a person who just had a heart attack. The only noticeable benefit was that it kept me from being dehydrated. Moreover, the only relief the pharmacy can offer you are pills that help your trips to the throne room become a little less painful, but those pills hardly kill off the bacteria at the source.
To successfully rid your urethra of its unwelcome squatters you have to pay a visit to your doctor to get an antibiotic. And yes, I know it’s somewhat humiliating to be told to pee into a cup and then hand it off to a lab technician to have them test it. But if you don’t seek medical help, the infection can spread. Traveling up the urethra, those microscopic invaders will set up camp in the bladder. And after the bladder surrenders to the invasion, it will continue on up the ureter – the tube connecting the bladder to the kidneys – and into the kidneys where it wreaks havoc. In the kidneys, the bacteria can cause permanent damage, and if not treated, it can enter the bloodstream where it will travel throughout the body infecting whatever organs it comes into contact with. So yea… go to the doctor.
Let’s See Other People
Ready to break up with bacteria? Here are some tips to help prevent UTIs:
- Wipe front-to-back
- Stay hydrated
- Pee after sex
- Change to glycerin free lubricants
- Maintain good hygiene
- Don’t hold your pee for extended amounts of time
- Limit the use of feminine hygiene products
Oh and a UTI is not a sexually transmitted infection, but it is suggested that you don’t have sex if you are suffering from a UTI. Moreover, if you find yourself experiencing more than three UTIs a year, it may be important to mention it to your doctor. Experiencing frequent UTIs could be a sign that something else may be going on.
Your health is important to us, find a doctor near you using this directory.