UTI Specialist

What’s a UTI?

A UTI is a urinary tract infection. UTIs can affect any part of the urinary system, including the bladder, kidneys, urethra, and ureters. Women get UTIs much more often than them because women’s urethras are shorter, and bacteria have a shorter distance to travel to reach them.

What are some UTI symptoms?

Depending on where the infection is located and its severity, UTI symptoms vary. However, in general, some common UTI symptoms that women experience include:

• Burning sensation during urination
• Cloudy urine
• The frequent urge to go
• Frequently passing only small amounts of urine
• Pelvic pain
• Red or bright pink urine (blood in the urine)
• Strong smelling urine

UTIs that have traveled to the kidneys are more severe and have symptoms including:

• Shaking and chills
• Nausea and vomiting
• Side pain
• Upper back pain
• High fever

When should I see a doctor about a UTI?

If you suspect you have a UTI, you should see a doctor, regardless of the severity of your symptoms. When left untreated, UTIs can develop into much more serious infections and complications like:

• Permanent kidney damage
• Increased risk for low-weight and premature deliveries
• Sepsis
  
  

When you reach out to the team at Alliance OB/GYN, the doctors can quickly determine whether or not you have a UTI and give you medication that quickly works to ease your suffering and resolve the infection.

Note that, if you’re prescribed antibiotics, you must take the full course, even after you begin to feel better, or the infection may resurface.

How can I prevent a UTI?

To prevent a UTI, you can practice these lifestyle choices:

• Regularly drinking cranberry juice
• Wiping from front to back
• Drinking plenty of fluids throughout the day
• Avoiding feminine products with perfume or anything that could irritate the area
• Urinating after intercourse
• Avoiding birth control that can promote bacterial growth (diaphragms, spermicidal condoms)

If you think you might have a UTI, don’t sit around waiting for it to get worse. Come into Alliance OB/GYN right away to get it taken care of. The sooner you stop in, the sooner you’ll start feeling better. To schedule an appointment with the team, call either office or use the online booking tool today.