Bladder Infection Q & A

What is a bladder infection?

A bladder infection affects only your bladder, and it’s classified as a lower urinary tract infection. Bladder infections can be extremely painful and irritating.

It’s important to get treatment for a bladder infection quickly. Otherwise, the infection can potentially spread to your upper urinary tract, including the kidneys. At that point, it’s a much more serious infection and needs more aggressive treatment.

What are the risk factors for bladder infections?

Women are much more susceptible to bladder infections than men. This may simply be because the female urethra is much shorter than the male urethra, which means that bacteria can enter the female urethra more easily.

Other risk factors for bladder infections include:

• Sexual activity
• Using a diaphragm for birth control
• Using spermicidal foam or other spermicidal agents
• Low estrogen level (usually due to menopause)
• Pregnancy

If you know that you have one or more of the risk factors for bladder infections, be sure to watch closely for the signs of an infection so you can get prompt treatment if needed.

What are the signs of a bladder infection?

Pelvic pain and pain while you’re urinating are usually the main indicators that you have a bladder infection. Other common symptoms can include:

• Lower back pain
• Constant urge to urinate
• Traces of blood in your urine
• Cloudy urine
• Dark-colored urine (dark yellow or dark orange)
• Smelly urine
• Burning sensation when you urinate

If you’re suffering from a bladder infection, you’ll likely have several symptoms at one time.

What treatment is available for a bladder infection?

Treatment typically focuses on killing the bacteria that are causing your infection. Usually, within just days of starting oral antibiotics, your symptoms abate. However, you may also need medication for pain or burning.

It’s very important to seek treatment from your Unified Premier Women’s Care OB/GYN as soon as symptoms of a bladder infection arise. This can minimize the amount of time that you have to suffer and may prevent it from turning into a more serious infection.

If you’re suffering from a bladder infection right now or have chronic bladder infections, put a stop to it now. Schedule your appointment by calling the office to start treatment today.