Urinary tract infections: how to treat them and avoid them

Have you ever experienced that sharp pain when you go to the bathroom? L'urinary tract infection ou cystitis is a pathology that affects many women!

How to recognize it, treat it and avoid it? Louloucup gives you all the keys to have a great summer while taking care of yourself. We answer here, as simply as possible, all your questions about urinary tract infection.

What is a urinary tract infection?

UTIs are common urinary tract infections in women. Originally, a bacterium lodged in your bladder. As it is a bacterium, antibiotic treatment is necessary to overcome it. This infection can affect various places in theUrinary System :

  • the bladder,
  • the urethra,
  • kidneys,
  • the ureters.

What are the symptoms of a urinary tract infection?

  • a very strong urge to urinate,
  • once on the toilet, despite the urge, urination occurs in a very small amount,
  • urine may have a bad smell and be cloudy,
  • a more or less strong burning sensation during urination,
  • fever in some cases,
  • severe fatigue,
  • pain in the lower abdomen,
  • pain in the lower back,
  • blood in the urine.

How to treat a urinary tract infection?

Mono-dose or single-dose antibiotic

The antibiotic prescribed will obviously have to be effective against the specific bacteria that has decided to lodge in your bladder or urethra. The most common situation today is to receive from your doctor a single dose of antibiotic, single-dose, broad-spectrum. If the infection has not had time to settle, the mono-dose is enough most of the time. This one-shot antibiotic is really convenient and very effective. It is often given before the lab results are even available and in many cases it frees many women from cystitis burns. As an accompaniment, we recommend that you drink at least two liters of water a day in the days that follow.

Are you used to cystitis and can you recognize them? To avoid suffering for a long time, don't hesitate to teleconsult to save time and get your prescription quickly.

Urinalysis or ECBU

The urinalysis will above all make it possible to highlight the bacteria responsible for your cystitis and to prescribe, if necessary, another more effective antibiotic. The doctor treating you therefore prescribes a ECBU.

THEcytobacterioligical urine exam (ECBU) highlights the germs present in your urine. With the urine sample you give to the lab, they can conduct a cytology (study of cells) and a bacteriology (search for bacteria). ECBU is therefore essential, especially if the infection shows signs of resistance.

For the most common cystitis, the bacteria responsible is Escherichia coli. This bacterium causes inflammation of the bladder but also of the urethra (infectious urethritis).

Longer treatment in some cases

Sometimes the single dose is not enough. The single dose is prescribed as first-line therapy to treat acute cystitis without gravity. Unfortunately, the bacteria can be harder to dislodge. The burns when you urinate have disappeared to migrate to your lower abdomen or your back, at the level of your kidneys. You may have a fever and be very tired. The bacteria was then able to go up in one of your kidneys.

The form of your urinary tract infection is more serious. Physical visit to a doctor and ECBU are then essential. A antibiotic treatment suitable longer (10 days or more) is then started. We strongly advise you throughout the duration of your treatment to to drink a lot and not to refrain from going to the toilet. Bacteria are thus eliminated more quickly.

Untreated or poorly treated cystitis can worsen and turn into pyelonephritis. The infection of the bladder then goes up to the kidneys.

Prevention: are there solutions to avoid urinary tract infections?

Here are some valuable tips and advice to avoid recurrent urinary tract infections :

  • Hydrate regularly and extensively throughout the day. It is important to exercise your kidneys and to go to the bathroom regularly. Do not hesitate to drink diuretic drinks to help you: apple juice or cranberry juice.
  • Have the reflex of always go to the toilet after sex. The fact of urinating after a sexual postponement makes it possible to "wash" your intimate flora.
  • Avoid keeping your bathing suit wet on you. A moist cloth in prolonged contact with your intimate flora can help the development of bacteria.
  • Avoid too tight clothes that prevent your privacy from breathing, jeans or narrow pants that tighten at the crotch are to be banned if you are prone to urinary tract infections.
  • Avoid sexual intercourse in the sea, in a swimming pool or in a natural aquatic environment, your delicately balanced flora will be attacked and may be less resistant to any bacteria.
  • Properly cleanse your vulva and private parts without overdoing it. It may be curious but multiplying the washes will only weaken your intimate flora. Find a balance and stick to it. Also do not abuse hygiene products full of chemical components, perfume or alcohol. Prefer simply water or a mild natural pH neutral soap.
  • When you're in the toilet, wipe yourself, always from front to back!
  • Finally last piece of advice, do not refrain from going to the toilet. Never. Evacuate as soon as you can.
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