A urinary tract infection (UTI) can come with varying degrees of discomfort. Sometimes there are no symptoms at all, but more often you have some indication that there's something wrong with you.
You may experience:
- A constant urge to urinate.
- A burning in the bladder area or the urethra as you urinate.
- An overall feeling of being under the weather, exhausted, or worn out.
- It may be painful even when you are not urinating.
For women, a urinary tract infection feels like pressure above the pubic bone. Men complain of a fullness in the rectum. And despite the urge to urinate, not much urine passes through when you pee. The urine that does come out is often cloudy. It may even be reddish if blood is present.
Typically a UTI will not cause a fever if it is confined to the bladder or urethra. A fever can be an indication that the infection has affected the kidneys. Symptoms of a kidney infection may include back pain or a pain in the side below the rib cage, nausea, and even vomiting.
For children, a UTI can easily be overlooked. But an unexplained fever, incontinence, or loose bowels should not be ignored.
How a UTI Is Diagnosed
To diagnose a UTI, a doctor needs a "clean catch" of urine. That is simply a urine sample collected in a sterile container, obtained right after the genital area has been cleaned. The precautions are so that surrounding bacteria will not alter the test result. Your doctor will test the sample of urine for pus and bacteria. Usually, the sample is sent to a laboratory, although some doctors' offices are equipped to do the testing.
A person who gets recurrent UTIs may need an ultrasound, which will provide pictures of the internal organs. Another test might be a cystoscopy. An instrument called a cystoscope made from a hollow tube and a light source enables a doctor to see inside the bladder from the urethra.
For more information:
www.medicinenet.com/urine_inection/article.htm
www.mayoclinic.com/health/urinary-trait-infection
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