UTI is the abbreviation of Urinary Tract Infection.It is the urinary infection that doesn’t only occur in men but also in women.According to the survey of clinical medicine,females have a higher risk for UTI than most males, probably because of their anatomy,with half of women having at least one infection at some point in their lives.
What is UTI?
A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection caused by pathogenic organisms (for example, bacteria, fungi, or parasites) in any of the structures that comprise the urinary tract. However, this is the broad definition of urinary tract infections; many authors prefer to use more specific terms that localize the urinary tract infection to the major structural segment involved such as urethritis (urethral infection),
cystitis (bladder infection), ureter infection, and pyelonephritis (kidney infection). Other structures that eventually connect to or share close anatomic proximity to the urinary tract (for example, prostate, epididymis, and vagina) are sometimes included in the discussion of UTI because they may either cause or be caused by UTI.
The common symptoms of UTI
The most common symptoms are burning with urination and having to urinate frequently (or an urge to urinate) in the absence of vaginal discharge and significant pain.These symptoms may vary from mild to severe and in healthy women last an average of six days. Some pain above the public bone or in the lower back may be present. People experiencing an upper urinary tract infection or pyelonephritis may experience flank pain, fever, nausea and vomiting in addition to the classic symptoms of a lower urinary tract infection. Rarely the urine may appear bloody or contain visible pyuria (pus in the urine).
In children, the only symptom of a urinary tract infection (UTI) may be a fever. Because of the lack of more obvious symptoms, when females under the age of two or uncircumcised males less than a year exhibit a fever, a culture of the urine is recommended by many medical associations. Infants may feed poorly, vomit, sleep more, or show signs of jaundice. In older children, new onset urinary incontinence (loss of bladder control) may occur.Urinary tract symptoms are frequently lacking in the elderly.The presentations may be vague with incontinence, a change in mental status, or fatigue as the only symptoms.While some present to a health care provider with sepsis an infection of the blood, as the first symptoms. Diagnosis can be complicated by the fact that many elderly people have preexisting incontinence or dementia.
