Urinary Tract Infection
Would you like to know what lab results mean? DDxHub - Differential Diagnosis Hub helps to understand and explains your blood test.
Urinary Tract Infection |
|
Would you like to know what lab results mean? DDxHub - Differential Diagnosis Hub helps to understand and explains your blood test. |
|
Symptoms: |
Laboratory Test Procedures: |
|
|
You have symptoms and blood work results. How do they correlate? What is the health condition? Some disorders have similar signs and laboratory values. DDxHub helps to define a right diagnosis. Run DDxHub now and enter symptoms and test results. |
|||
|
|
 |
|
All information on this page is intended for your general knowledge only and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See Additional Information |
A urinary tract infection is an infection that begins in your urinary system. Your urinary system is composed of the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. Any part of your urinary system can become infected, but most infections involve the lower urinary tract - the bladder and the urethra. Women are at greater risk of developing a urinary tract infection than are men. A urinary tract infection limited to your bladder can be painful and annoying. However, serious consequences can occur if a urinary tract infection spreads to your kidneys. Antibiotics are the typical treatment for a urinary tract infection. But you can take steps to reduce your chance of getting a urinary tract infection in the first place. Bacteria that enter the urethra and travel up the urinary tract are the usual cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Bacteria that normally live in the large intestine and are present in feces (stool) are the most common source of infection. Sexual intercourse may move bacteria into the urinary tract, especially in women. Catheters, which are small, flexible tubes inserted into the bladder to allow urine to drain, are a common source of bacterial infection in people who are in hospitals or who live in long-term care facilities. Sometimes bacteria traveling through the blood or lymph system cause kidney or bladder infections. Kidney stones, an enlarged prostate in men, and structural problems in the urinary tract can contribute to UTIs by limiting the body's ability to eliminate urine completely. Lower urinary tract infection is also referred to as a bladder infection. The most common symptoms are burning with urination and having to urinate frequently (or an urge to urinate) in the absence of vaginal discharge and significant pain. These symptoms may vary from mild to severe and in healthy women last an average of six days. Some pain above the pubic bone or in the lower back may be present. People experiencing an upper urinary tract infection, or pyelonephritis, may experience flank pain, fever, or nausea and vomiting in addition to the classic symptoms of a lower urinary tract infection. Rarely the urine may appear bloody or contain visible pyuria (pus in the urine). 