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[A658]Are Bladder Infections Contagious

by Sven Ullmann, Sve

A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that involved the kidneys, ureters, bladder, or urethra. These are all body parts in which urine passes through before exiting the body. Any or all of these parts can become infected, and the rule is that the farther up the urinary tract the infection is, the worse it is considered.

In your body the upper urinary tract is made up of the kidneys and the ureters. Infections of the upper urinary tract usually affect the kidneys and are referred to as pyelonephritis. Lower urinary tract is composed up of the bladder and urethra. Infection of the lower urinary tract that affects the urethra is known as urethritis and the bladder infection is referred to as cystitis.

Simple infections that occur in a healthy urinary tract do not usually spread to other areas of the body and can be treated easily. Those who have complications that are connected to a UTI can experience infection caused by anatomic abnormalities, spread to other areas of the body, or are resistant to the antibiotics available are more challenging to treat.

UTIS are quite common in America, accounting for more than seven million medical office and hospital visits each year. UTI is more common for adults but can affect about two percent of children. If your child does get a UTI they are treated as more serious than an adult's so seek medical attention as soon as possible if you think your child may have one.

It is good to know that children who have bedwetting problems are most likely to develop a UTI. When it comes to men and women under the age of fifty women are much more likely to develop a UTI. If your son develops a UTI it is likely going to be more serious than a girl's. It has been estimated that bout forty percent of women and twelve percent of men have experienced a UTI at some point in their life.

In a normal healthy body urine is sterile. When an infection occurs it is caused by bacteria that got into the urine and started to grow. The infection will generally start at the opening of the urethra and begins its upward journey through your urinary tract infecting everything it comes in contract with.

The most common cause of UTIS is Escherichia Coli (E coli) which is bacteria that usually lives in the colon. E coli make up for about ninety percent of uncomplicated infections. The bacteria can move from the anus area to the opening of the urethra due to poor hygiene or sexual intercourse. The emptying of the bladder is how you flush out these bacteria.

Women are more likely to have bladder infections than men because their urethra is shorter. All bladder infections are considered complicated when they affect men, because the long male urethra should prevent bacteria from getting into the bladder. You can not get a urinary tract infection from someone else, although females who are just becoming sexually active often get UTIs.

When bacteria get into the bladder and multiply in the urine, it causes a urinary tract infection. The most common type of UTI is a bladder infection, which is also often called cystitis. This kind of infection can be serious, but if treated quickly the kidney is most often not damaged permanently. Some females get urinary tract infections more frequently, this may be because of the differences in the shape and length of the urethra in different people.

Bladder infection is most common among women, during pregnancy there will more stress and infection in the urinary track or bladder, because during pregnancy 50% of blood volume is increased so kidney is the in charge of cleaning the blood.

Symptoms Of A Bladder Infection

Possible symptoms of a bladder infection include: urinating more often feeling an urgent need to urinate a burning, stinging, or pressure sensation during urination a crampy pain or discomfort in the lower abdomen just above the pubic bone or sometimes in the lower backa need to urinate more often in the night cloudy urine that smells bad blood in the urine leaking of urine fever and occasionally chills.

Increasing the intake of fluids (64 to 128 ounces per day) encourages frequent urination that flushes bacteria from the bladder. Drinking cranberry juice prevents certain types of bacteria from attaching to the wall of the bladder and may lessen the chance of infection.

Prevent Bladder Infections

If you have any symptoms of a urinary tract infection, you'll need to go to a health care professional right away. The sooner you contact your health care provider, the sooner you'll be able to clear up the infection.

Your health care provider will prescribe an antibiotic to kill bacteria and prevent the spread of infection to your kidneys. Antibiotics can kill the good bacteria that normally live on the skin of the genital area. It takes about 48 hours to get results from a urine culture, so you may have to switch antibiotics depending on the results. Although antibiotics begin fighting the infection right away, they can't stop all the symptoms right away.

I If you have a lot of pain, your health care provider may recommend a medication to relieve the pain in your bladder, This medicine will clear up the painful symptoms in about 3 days, although it will usually make you much more comfortable within hours.

Preventive Measures

Preventive measures may reduce symptoms and prevent recurrence of infection. To prevent frequent bladder infections, always drink plenty of water and cranberry juice. Cranberry juice also has been shown to have positive effects on UTIs. Make sure the cranberry juice is 100% juice, many brands are now 100% cranberry.

Drinking cranberry juice prevents certain types of bacteria from attaching to the wall of the bladder and may lessen the chance of infection. If pure cranberry juice is not available, cranberry capsules can be substituted. We recommend cranberry capsules, up to nine a day, since cranberry juice often has lots of sugar or honey in it.

If a bladder infection is left untreated, the bacteria may ascend up the urethra to the kidneys. The antibiotic commonly used for the curing bladder infection is d-mannose. The best way to prevent a bladder infection is to wipe yourself the correct way after going to the bathroom.

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Both Sven Ullmann & P.rodgers are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Sven Ullmann has sinced written about articles on various topics from Infections, Allergies and Infections. Article provided by Sven Ullmann, who runs - a site dedicated to different health related articles. Read more about. Sven Ullmann's top article generates over 110000 views. to your Favourites.

P.rodgers has sinced written about articles on various topics from . Natural remedies and holistic therapy can be very effective and have been used for centuries to alleviate pain and discomfort as well as address the underlying symptoms. Read more about. P.rodgers's top article . to your Favourites.