Urinary Tract Infections 101
Do cranberry pills prevent bladder infections?
Fall is in the air…bladder healthy soup?
Take advantage of the extra time you spend inside this winter to make some tasty meals. Here is a recipe for Chicken and White Bean Soup. It’s made with ‘good for you’ ingredients – and won’t bother a sensitive bladder.
Makes 6 servings, 1 ½ cups each
Calories per serving: 172
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Why do girls get bladder infections more frequently than boys?
Because of the difference in the length of the urethra, the female’s being much shorter, it is easier for bacteria from the outside world to get into the bladder.
- Although most patients think of Ecoli as a very bad bacteria, it is actually the most common cause of bladder infections.
- The most common source of bacteria causing a bladder infection is the person’s own body.
- That is why in females with recurrent urinary infections the urologist will commonly prescribe a low dose antibiotic to take after sexual intercourse.
- The reason females get urinary tract infections more commonly than males is due to the difference in the length of the urethra.
- As seen in the above diagram, the female urethra is much shorter than the males.
- As a result it is easier for bacteria to get into the bladder and and then multiply to cause the symptoms of a bladder infection.
- In a male by the time the bacteria gets in the urethra and begins its travel to the bladder, the male may void and hence wash out the offending bacteria before it can become a true infection.
- An infection in a male is viewed more seriously than in a female for the above reasons.
- Suppressive therapy (a small amount of an antibiotic daily), self treatment protocol (the patient treats herself with a short course of antibiotics at the earliest sign of an infection), or post coital therapy (a pill after sex) are all methods used to manage recurrent urinary tract infections in a female.
- The lack of estrogen in the post menopausal female can contribute to infections and this too is addressed in the female with recurrent urinary tract infections.
The urologists at Northeast Georgia Urological Associates treat recurrent urinary infections in both the male and female on a daily basis. Feel free to contact us for an evaluation if this is an issue for you.
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Understanding Urinary Tract Infections-Northeast Georgia Urological Assoc.
The difference between bladder and kidney infections?
- A urinary tract infection is a broad term and can mean a bladder (lower urinary tract infection) or a kidney infection (pyelonephritis).
- A bladder infection is the most common type of urinary tract infection (UTI).
- UTIs are more common in females because they have a shorter urethra and it is easier for bacteria to reach the bladder from the outside world.
- Ecoli is the most common bacteria for a UTI because this is the most common bacteria of the GI tract.
- When the bacteria causing a bladder infection ascends (travels up the ureter to the kidney) this is called pyelonephritis.
- Pyelonephritis is much more serious than a bladder infection and is associated with fever, flank pain and can require hospitalization.
- When a patient tells the urologist that he or she has a “kidney” infection and the symptoms are that of the bladder ( burning, pressure, frequency and urgency)…it’s okay…we know what they are talking about.
Kidney stones often mimic a bladder infection.
The stone seen above is half in the ureter and half in the bladder. Much like a baby crowning before being delivered. Just before the ureter enters the bladder it travels about an inch between the layers of the bladder muscle. When a stone, such as you see above, is in this area of the ureter the patient will experience symptoms very similar to a bladder infection. Because the stone irritates the bladder the urine will have the look of a bladder infection as well, which further confuses the diagnosis.
Urologists often see females in consultation because of what is felt to be a recurrent or difficult to manage bladder infection when in fact on CT scan there is a stone in the intramural portion of the ureter. With treatment of the stone the symptoms very quickly go away.
A simple way to prevent stones is to always be well hydrated, limit salt and add lemon to the water you drink.
Northeast Georgia Urological Associates 