Urinary tract infections(UTIs) should be no stranger to females. Studies have shown that women get at least one urinary tract infection before 60.
Margaret, 34, went to the hospital again for more than one year because of frequent urination, urgent urination, and pain. The doctor inquired about her condition in detail. It turned out that she didn't go to the hospital for treatment when she first appeared with symptoms a year ago. Instead, she went to the drugstore to buy antibiotics.
After taking the pills for a day, the symptoms alleviated, and she stopped them. Unexpectedly, it broke out again after some time, repeatedly for more than a year, affecting routine work and life.
Unique physiological structure makes women more susceptible to infection.
A UTI is a bacterial infection, and the most common is Escherichia coli. The female urethra is short and straight, and its length is only about 3 ~ 4 cm. The perineum is divided into the urethra, vagina, and anus from front to back. Inflammation occurs in one of the above parts, which is easy to cross infect with other adjacent parts.
Moreover, E. coli can colonize the area around the urethra, and the pathogenic bacteria can easily cause retrograde infection through the short and straight urethra. Pathogenic bacteria will climb up along the short and straight female urethra and ascend to the bladder, leading to cystitis. It can also reach the kidney upstream along the ureter, causing pyelonephritis. Such anatomical characteristics determine that the proportion of urinary tract infections in women is higher than in men.
These are the most common causes of recurrent UTIs.
1. Self-medication. Stop the medication when the symptoms are relieved
Many people think a UTI infection is a simple disease. They ignore it in the early stage of the disease. They take some antibiotics and stop them when their symptoms are relieved.rnClinically, Margaret developed into a chronic urinary tract infection due to the non-standard and incomplete acute urinary tract infection treatment.
2. Patients with urinary calculi
Some patients have urinary tract obstructions, such as urinary calculi. And if the urinary calculi are not discharged, the urinary tract infection will occur repeatedly.
3. diabetic patients
Some middle-aged and older women have diabetes, usually having poor blood sugar control and high glucose content in urine, which is very conducive to the reproduction of bacteria, thus causing repeated urinary tract infections.
Without standardized treatment, acute urinary tract infections will develop into chronic. In addition to increasing treatment difficulty, chronic urinary tract infection will also lead to bladder wall thickening and roughness, glandular cystitis, urinary retention, and hydronephrosis. Severe patients can lead to renal function damage and even uremia.
How to get rid of this recurrent urinary tract infection?
1. Be prepared for long-term treatment
First of all, patients should be psychologically prepared for long-term treatment. The complete cure is a long-term thing. They should see a specialist and do a urine culture. Select sensitive antibiotics for therapy according to the drug sensitivity test results.
It is important to note that people should not stop taking drugs because of the improvement of symptoms. They should take sufficient antibiotics under the guidance of the doctor. Many doctors will also suggest that patients take some herbal medicine to treat urinary tract infections, improving the therapeutic effect.
And herbal medicine can continue to consolidate the treatment after the withdrawal of antibiotics, remove pathogenic bacteria to the greatest extent and treat more thoroughly, such as
Diuretic and Anti-inflammatory Pill. rnMoreover, this pill can also improve the body immunity of patients and effectively prevent the recurrence of symptoms.
Patients with these urinary tract obstruction diseases, such as urinary calculi, renal scar stenosis, congenital malformation of the urinary system, etc., should be actively hospitalized during the acute attack. They should recheck the urine every month within half a year after the drug withdrawal. If there are signs of recurrence, treat it immediately. Diabetic patients must actively control their smooth blood sugar to avoid repeated urinary tract infections.
2. Drink more water
Patients should drink more than 2000 ml of water every day. Drinking more water can increase the amount of urine, make the urine continuously wash the urinary tract, discharge bacteria and toxins as soon as possible, and keep the urinary tract clean. Don't reduce drinking and eating because you have the symptoms of frequent urination, which is not conducive to the recovery of the disease.
3. Keep the vulva clean
Clean the vulva with clean water once a day. It is not recommended to use disinfectant or cleaning solution, even acidic cleaning solution. Also, disable sitting bath. If you take a bath in the bathtub, the sewage can easily immerse into the urethra and cause infection.
4. Pay attention to sexual hygiene
Poor sexual hygiene habits are the more common causes of a UTI. The bacteria in the vulva or reproductive tract of men and women are very easy to pass on to each other, and they are also easy to be infected by themselves. Therefore, both men and women should clean their private places before sex.
In addition, women should avoid wearing tight pants at ordinary times. Change the underwear frequently. Wipe the anus after defecation, from front to back, to prevent anal dirt to the urethral orifice. Menstrual hygiene, especially the cleaning and disinfection of menstrual supplies, is vital to reducing bacterial invasion.