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Urinary Tract Infection – Causes, Symptoms, Prevention And Treatment
By peterhutch

A urinary tract infection ( UTI ) is a bacterial infection that affects any part of the urinary tract. The most common cause of UTI are bacteria from the bowel that live on the skin near the rectum or in the vagina which can spread and enter the urinary tract through the urethra. Urinary tract infections usually develop first in the lower urinary tract (urethra, bladder) and, if not treated, progress to the upper urinary tract (ureters, kidneys).

There are three main types of UTI. Bacteria that infect only the urethra (the short tube that delivers urine from the bladder to the outside of the body) cause urethritis (pronounced: yur-ih-threye-tis). Bacteria can also cause a bladder infection, which is called cystitis (pronounced: sis-tie-tis). Another, more serious, kind of UTI is infection of the kidney itself, known as pyelonephritis (pronounced: pie-low-nih-fry-tis). With this type of UTI, a person often has back pain, high fever, and vomiting.

Kidney Infections :

Glomerulonephritis

Acute glomerulonephritis is an inflammatory disease involving the renal glomeruli of both kidneys. It is thought to involve antigen-antibody reaction which produces damage to the glomerular capillaries.

Pyelonephritis

Pyelonephritis is an inflammation of one or both kidneys with variable manifestations. It may be acute, relapsing or chronic. The complications of this disorder are hypertension, chronic infection, renal insufficiency and renal failure. The course is extremely variable but typically the chronic disease progresses extremely slowly, with patients having adequate renal function for more than 20 years after onset.

Causes -

The urinary tract is the body's filtering system for removal of liquid wastes. Women are especially susceptible to bacteria which may invade the urinary tract and multiply resulting in infection.

Although most urinary tract infections or UTIs are not serious, they are painful. Approximately fifty percent of all women will have at least one UTI in her lifetime with many women having several infections throughout their lifetime.
A urinary tract infection is usually caused when bacteria enter the urethra and bladder and cause inflammation and infection. In normal conditions, the urethra and bladder have no bacteria. When bacteria enters the bladder, it is usually removed during urination.

Signs and Symptoms of Kidney Infections

A kidney infection when diagnosed must be treated immediately. If ignored and left untreated, it will cause toxins to keep re-circulating in the body and increasing, leading to severe water retention and blood poisoning. Most of the persons are aware of the symptoms, but ignore it till it is too late.

Treatment

A mild case of cystitis may go away on its own without treatment. Because of the risk of the infection spreading to the kidneys, however, antibiotics are usually recommended. It is important that you finish the entire course of prescribed antibiotics.

In children, cystitis should be treated promptly with antibiotics to protect their developing kidneys. In the elderly, prompt treatment is recommended due to the greater chances of deadly complications.

Prevention

Do not douche or use similar feminine hygiene products.

Do not drink fluids that irritate the bladder, like alcohol and caffeine.

Drink cranberry juice or use cranberry tablets, but NOT if you have a personal or family history of kidney stones.

Drink plenty of fluids.