Urinary tract infection, is it just a sexually transmitted infection?

The kidney is an organ in the human body, a two shaped organ with its entire size as that of a fist, the kidney is perfectly located below the rib cage, with each of them under each side of the spine. The kidney filters about 120-150 quarts of blood to eliminate balance fluids and wastes, making it possible for the elimination of 1-2 quarts of urine on a daily basis.

The uterus is a thin tube of muscles, connecting the kidney with the bladder, responsible for moving urine into the bladder.

The Urethra is a tube comfortably placed at the bottom of the bladder that gives room for smooth urination.

The bladder is a muscular, hollow, organ shaped in the form of a balloon, which expands upon getting filled with urine. The bladder is comfortably located in the human pelvis, placed between the hip bones, the process of emptying the bladder, is known as urination and although, humans cannot control the kidney, we can choose to empty the bladder as soon as we can in order to prevent expansion.

We cannot completely speak about the urinary tract without speaking about the two sets of muscles that comfortably works together as a sphincter, they function by closing off the urethra in order to prevent any form of harassment that may occur like urine dripping down between your thigh on your journey to the bathroom. 1
The urinary tract remains extremely important as it is responsible for filtering of wastes and excessive fluid from the bloodstream and gets rid of them from the body.

Now that we have an appropriate knowledge on the urinary tract, we can proceed to speak about the infections that may come with it, most cases of UTI often involves the bladder and the urethra in the lower tract region, some other cases of UTI would involve the kidneys and the uteres in the upper tract.
The female gender stand a higher chance of having urinary tract infection than the male gender, it could still be regarded as a minor case if the infection is limited to the bladder region, although it comes with annoying and painful symptoms, a more complicated health issue is attached to the infection, when the UTI begins to spread to the kidney region.

UTI becomes evident when bacteria enter into the urinary tract, and moves through the urethra and spreads through the bladder, remember that the urinary system is supposed to keep bacteria's out, but when the defense fails, the bacteria would get in and grow into a full-blown infection in the urinary tract.

The most common type of UTI that affects women is often associated with the urethra and the bladder.
Bladder infection: This nature of urinary tract infection is caused by E.coli (Escherichia coli), commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract, but it is not only E.coli that causes the infection, as all women are at risk of developing the infection as a result of their natural anatomy since the urethra is close to the anus and the urethral opening is close to the bladder, this structure makes it more convenient for bacteria around the anus to get into the urethra and travel into the bladder.

Urethra Infection: This type of urinary tract infection happens when bacterial GI spreads from the anus through to the urethra, urethra infection can be can also be caused by a sexually transmitted infection like; gonorrhea, mycoplasma and chlamydia.

UTI's do not often come with associated symptom especially at the beginning of the infection, but when they begin to show associated symptoms, the symptoms are usually;

• Frequent urge to urinate and eventually passing only a small amount of urine.

• Urine with a cloudy look.

• Urine with a strong smell.

• Burning feeling during urination.

• Experienced pelvic pain in women.

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As explained earlier, the urinary tract is made up of different organs, the nature of symptoms felt is highly dependent on the area of urinary tract that is affected.
When the kidney is affected with the UTI, the patient experiences; high fever, back or side pain, shivering and chills, as well as vomiting.

In the case where the bladder is the one affected with urinary tract infection, it comes with the experience of; urine in the blood, lower abdominal discomfort, pressure on the pelvic, as well as painful and frequent urination.

When the urethra is affected, it comes with discharge and burning urination. 2

There are factors that can increase the possibility of having the urinary tract infection;

• Age
• A previous case of UTI.
• Kidney stone.
• Certain cancer types.
• Enlarged prostate.
• Diabetes.
• Pregnancy.
• A weak immune system.
• Abnormal urinary structure, usually from birth. 3

The case of UTI may get severe, the possibility of developing UTI once, is standing a chance to have another over and over again, in most cases of infection reoccurrence, the infection is caused by a different type of bacteria, some bacteria's however creates a strong case of chronic behavior as they multiply rapidly as they create a colony of bacteria that are antibiotic resistant, then they travel out of the cell, and re-invade the urinary tract. If you notice you have UTI more than one time in a year, you may need a serious discussion with your doctor, who would recommend a treatment plan. 4

Having declared the severity of the urinary tract infection, there are simple lifestyle practice's that would help us limit the risk of getting a urinary tract infection.
The first thing, is to ensure, consistent intake of water, taking adequate water helps to dilute the urinal content, this will result in frequent urination, giving room for bacteria to get flushed through the urinary tract before any infection begins.

The female gender are advised to wipe from front to back and not from back to front, this will help prevent the spread of bacteria from the anus to the vagina and the urethra. Certain feminine products can irritate the urethra, every form of irritating feminine product should be avoided.

After sex, make it a habit to empty your bladder, to hasten this, take a full glass of water, this will help flush out bacteria from the system.

Creates a narrowed urethra in men, causing constant infections of the urethra.

Another case of complication is sepsis, sepsis is a life-threatening complication occurring from an infection.

Some birth control may contribute to UTI, every item treated with spermicide has the possibility of increasing bacterial growth. 5
Complications that come with untreated urinary tract infection case are;

• Permanent damage to the kidney.
• Giving birth to a low weight to a premature infant for a pregnant woman.
• Having a narrowed

Conclusion.

UTIs are not very rare conditions, we must have heard about their existence a couple of times and just like other infections, early detection would help us get fast treatments, so the moment you notice any symptom, you should visit a doctor.

References.

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/urologic-diseases/urinary-tract-how-it-works

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/urinary-tract-infection/symptoms-causes/syc-203534

https://www.healthline.com/health/urinary-tract-infection-adults

https://www.webmd.com/women/guide/your-guide-urinary-tract-infections

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/urinary-tract-infection/symptoms-causes/syc-20353447

https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/health-and-wellness/urinary-tract-infections-utis

https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/231574-overview

https://www.webmd.com/women/guide/womens-health-healthy-eating

https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/bacterial-vaginosis

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Hi, I am Tobi a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, and lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. Want to hear me speak on relationships and general life issues, you can find my podcast channel Here and I also have a youtube channel where you can listen and watch any episode for free, do not forget to subscribe and share with friends. I sincerely appreciate every love I get from members of the community and do well to keep them coming.