Can A Uti Cause Flu Like Symptoms

Risk Factors For Urinary Tract Infections

And now a brief note about reproductive parts: Although people with penises do get UTIs, people with vaginas are more at risk. It all boils down to the anatomy, Minkin says.

Bacteria that cause UTIs often make their way from the back door to the front and then up the urethra to wreak havoc on the urinary system.

Because the male reproductive system has a longer urethra than the female reproductive system, the bacteria have farther to travel, which makes it more difficult for a UTI to develop.

But regardless of anatomy, once youve had one UTI, youre more likely to get another, especially if you have a vagina. Hickling DR, et al. . Management of recurrent urinary tract infections in healthy adult women.

How To Prevent A Kidney Infection

Preventing a kidney infection is really all about preventing urinary tract infections and getting prompt treatment if you ever get one. Sorry, but dont rely on cranberry juice or supplements for thisthe science is far too mixed to consider either of these a definitive UTI-prevention method. Instead, whenever you feel a bladder infection coming on, make it a habit to drink enough water every day to stay hydrated. That will ensure youre peeing often enough to help flush out bacteria that could lead to an infection. The NIDDK recommends peeing as often as you get the urge, but definitely at least every three to four hours, since urine hanging out in your bladder for too long may help bacteria to grow, the organization says.

Kaufman also stresses the importance of urinating like a fire hose after sex. It might even be helpful to skip peeing before sex as long as that doesnt make you uncomfortable, he says. This allows you to build up a forceful stream that may better help remove any bacteria that might have been pushed up there during sex.

Also, we referenced this above, but its important to reiterate: After you pee , you should be sure to wipe from front to back, as wiping back to front can spread harmful bacteria from your rectum to your urethra, where it can cause an infection.

What Kinds Of Doctors Treat Urinary Tract Infections

Most urinary tract infections can be treated by your primary care doctor or your child’s pediatrician. They are usually the best provider to treat you as they are most familiar with your medical history, medications you are taking, and other factors that might affect your treatment. If you seek treatment in an urgent care facility, a specialist in emergency medicine may be involved in your care.

If there are frequent reoccurrences of UTIs or if complicating circumstances are present, your primary care doctor might refer you to a urologist, a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions related to the urinary system.

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Preventing Utis And Yeast Infections

Urinary tract infections and yeast infections can be safely and easily treated. However, if you have experienced either of these conditions, you know just how uncomfortable they can be.

Luckily, there are some things you can do to try to prevent these infections.

• In addition to staying hydrated, proper bathroom hygiene, such as remembering to wipe from front to back, can reduce the chance of bacteria entering the urinary tract.

• Urinating after sex naturally flushes bacteria from your urinary tract that may have found their way there during intercourse.

• Avoid using douches or sprays, as they can kill good bacteria that keeps your vagina healthy.

• Wear underwear and clothing that is made from natural materials to prevent bacteria or yeast buildup.

• When exercising or after enduring a hot day, be sure to change out of sweaty clothes and shower as soon as you can.

Can The Flu Cause A Bladder Infection

Urinary conditions can have a big impact on our daily life. Oftentimes, theyre restrictive, uncomfortable, and downright annoying. This is especially true for bladder infections. Bladder infections can be mild and merely increase the urge and frequency of urination or they can be severe and lead to fevers, chills, and pelvic pain. Regardless of the severity of your bladder infection, treatment is paramount to your long-term health. However, the cause of bladder infections is sometimes unknown. They seem to coincide with other illnesses, creating even more discomfort. One thing that many people have speculated is that the flu and bladder infections are somehow connected. With the weather cooling down and flu season just around the corner, were here to answer a common question: can the flu cause a bladder infection?

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Your Urine Looks Cloudy

Normal urine should be clear and have a light yellow colour. If thats not the case, you may want to keep a close eye. Cloudy urine can be caused by a variety of conditions including vaginal discharge, dehydration and sexually transmitted diseases, explains Dr. Feuerstein. Its also a very common symptom of a UTI.

Symptoms Of Stds In Men And Women

Symptoms of STDs can play lowkey and do not tend to show up at least a few days after the initial exposure, and some types can remain dormant for multiple weeks without any noticeable symptoms. This makes sexually transmitted diseases quite difficult to detect in the initial phase and remains a common reason for the infection to get spread to other partners even without your knowledge. When the symptoms start to show up, the following are some of the commonly reported STD symptoms in both men and women

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What Is A Urinary Tract Infection

A urinary tract infection often called a UTI is an infection of any part of your urinary system. This includes your:

• Kidneys

• Ureters

• Bladder

• Urethra

UTIs can be classified as involving the upper tract or the lower tract . Since infections usually come into the urethra from the outside, most infections involve the lower tract. UTIs can affect people of all ages, and they tend to be more common in women. In fact, some studies have shown that women are eight times more likely than men to develop a UTI.

The most common cause of a UTI is a bacteria called Escherichia coli , which causes more than 80% of infections outside of the hospital. Other types of bacteria and certain types of fungi and viruses can also cause UTIs.

Frequent Urge To Urinate

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This is a very common sign, and its one of the first symptoms that something is not right. You will have painful urination and feel an urgency to go right away, Dr. Mohan says. Pubic pain is not uncommon. All of these are associated with a bladder infection. The fever comes when the bacteria has moved up to the kidneys, he adds.

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Things That Can Cause Symptoms That Feel Like A Uti And What To Do About It

There’s pain, bloating, and burning when you pee. Staying near the toilet all day feels like a necessity because even if you just went, it feels as if you have to go again. And yet, the urine test at your doctor’s office comes back negative for a urinary tract infection.

Plenty of women each year are faced with this conundrum. It’s frustrating and obviously uncomfortable, causing you to lose faith in your gyno. However, one thing that doctors often fail to tell their patients is that there are a number of other conditions that sometimes mimic certain symptoms of a UTI. It’s easy to jump to something like “kidney failure,” but here are the most common conditions you could be dealing with.

How To Prevent A Uti

Bathroom habits can help: Wiping from front to back will avoid pulling bacteria toward your vagina. If youre prone to UTIs, drinking plenty of liquids is important water is safer and less expensive than cranberry juice, long touted as preventive medicine for UTIs. The juice could upset your stomach and may be associated with kidney stones. Whatever youre drinking, urine should be pale yellow to clear as an indication youre staying hydrated. Increased urination can wash out bacteria.

Dr. Shukla also said that urinating after intercourse can help prevent the spread of bacteria to the urethra and decrease the chances for infection. The use of spermicides, especially in conjunction with condoms and diaphragms, is also associated with recurrent UTIs.

Bindi Shukla, MD, is an urgent care doctor at Duke Urgent Care Croasdaile.

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Symptoms In Children And Elderly People

While the typical range of symptoms for a kidney infection applies to most adults, older adults and young children may have different symptoms.

If youre over age 65, you may experience none of the typical symptoms of a kidney infection summarized above. Instead, you may only experience problems with your thinking, such as:

• Confusion
• Hallucinations
• Difficulty speaking

Children under 2 years old with a kidney infection may only have a high fever.

Caregivers of very old and very young individuals should know to seek help when these signs or symptoms occur.

Preventing Urinary Tract Infection

You can reduce your chances of developing a UTI by keeping your bladder and urethra free from bacteria.

You can help prevent an infection by:

• drinking plenty of fluids

Toilet tips

To help keep your urinary tract free from bacteria:

• go to the toilet as soon as you feel the need to urinate , rather than holding it in
• wipe from front to back after going to the toilet
• practice good hygiene by washing your genitals every day and before having sex
• empty your bladder after having sex
• if you’re a woman, avoid hovering over a toilet seat as it can result in your bladder not being fully emptied

Diaphragms and condoms

If you use a diaphragm and have recurring UTIs, you might want to consider changing to another method of contraception. This is because the diaphragm may press on your bladder and prevent it emptying completely when you urinate.

If you get recurring UTIs and you use condoms, try using condoms that don’t have a spermicidal lubricant on them it will say whether it does on the packet.

Spermicidal lubricant can cause irritation and may make it more likely that you’ll experience symptoms similar to a UTI.

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How Are Utis Treated And Prevented

UTIs are usually treated with antibiotics. The specific antibiotic used and how long treatment lasts depend on the type of bacteria causing the infection and if there are any other health complications.

Some common antibiotics used to treat UTIs include:

There are also some steps you can take that may help prevent UTIs. These include:

• Practicing good hygiene, including wiping from front to back for women, which helps prevent the spread of bacteria from stool.

• Drinking plenty of water, which increases urination and can help flush out bacteria.

• Avoiding some types of birth control, like spermicide, which in some women may increase the risk of UTIs.

Some studies suggest that cranberry juice and probiotics can help prevent UTIs in women, but more research needs to be done to see how helpful they really are.

If you develop symptoms of a UTI, its important to let your healthcare provider know right away so that you get the right diagnosis and treatment.

Treatment For Utis Vs Kidney Infection Treatment

UTIs, including kidney infections, can be treated with a course of antibiotics. The type of antibiotic can depend on the type of bacteria thats causing your infection as well as how severe your infection is.

The doctor will often start you on an antibiotic that works against a wide variety of UTI-causing bacteria. If a urine culture is performed, the doctor may switch your antibiotic to one thats most effective at treating the specific bacterium thats causing your infection.

Simple UTIs can be treated with short 3- to 5-day courses of antibiotics. Treatment for kidney infections generally lasts 7 to 14 days, depending on which class of antibiotic is prescribed.

You may begin to feel better after only a few days on antibiotics. However, you should still make sure that you complete your entire treatment course as prescribed. If you do not take all of your antibiotics, the stronger bacteria may not be killed, causing your infection to persist and flare up again.

If youre pregnant, your doctor may also request a repeat urine sample following a kidney infection, even if your symptoms have resolved. This allows them to check to see whether your infection has completely cleared.

If there are still bacteria present in the sample, you may need another course of antibiotics. Persistence of bacteria can potentially harm an unborn baby.

People with severe kidney infections may need to be hospitalized. In this case, you may receive antibiotics and fluids intravenously.

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How Long Will The Effects Last

For most UTIs, the symptoms go away within 24 hours after you begin treatment. Take all of the medicine your healthcare provider prescribes, even after the symptoms go away. If you stop taking your medicine before the scheduled end of treatment, the infection may come back.

Without treatment, the infection can last a long time. If it is not treated, the infection can permanently damage the bladder and kidneys, or it may spread to the blood. If the infection spreads to the blood, it can be fatal.

What Causes Each Condition

If youre trying to determine whether you have allergies or the flu, it can also be helpful to think about what might have led to the sickness. An allergic reaction occurs when someones immune system mistakenly identifies a normally harmless substance as dangerous, and then takes the steps necessary to fight it off. Some common allergens include pollen and animal dander. So, if you started feeling under the weather after spending time outdoors or with a friends new pet, then chances are good that you might be experiencing allergies.

The flu, on the other hand, is a viral infection caused by various influenza viruses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , most experts believe that these viruses are primarily spread through airborne droplets produced when an infected person sneezes, coughs, or talks. The flu can also be contracted when someone touches a contaminated surface and then touches their nose, mouth, or eyes. So, if youve recently been in contact with someone who was diagnosed with influenza, then its likely you could also have the flu.

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When To See A Doctor

If you have signs of a kidney infection, you should see a doctor right away. Again, a kidney infection is seriousit can sometimes lead to a dangerous, life-threatening health condition called , the NIDDK says. Even if your infection doesnt progress to that, a kidney infection can become chronic, i.e., long-lasting, and can cause permanent damage to your kidneys, the NIDDK says. Kaufman recommends heading to your local urgent care facility or emergency room if you have signs of a kidney infection.

You Have Nausea Or Vomiting

You can have nausea or vomiting from severe pain, says Dr. Feuerstein, although its not a common symptom of a UTI. It can be a sign you have an upper UTI thats moved up into your kidneys and should be checked out.

If you end up with a kidney infection youll have high back pain, too, explains Dr. Feuerstein. Its called the costovertebral angle, which is at the base of the ribs.

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About The Urinary Tract

The urinary tract is where our bodies make and get rid of urine. It’s made up of:

• the kidneys two bean-shaped organs, about the size of your fists, that make urine out of waste materials from the blood
• the ureters tubes that run from the kidney to the bladder
• the bladder where urine is stored until we go to the toilet
• the urethra the tube from the bladder through which urine leaves the body

Can Prostatitis Cause Flu

Yes. The acute bacterial form of prostatitis can trigger chills, fever, and flu-like symptoms, mainly vomiting and nausea. In comparison, chronic bacterial prostatitis could cause a recurrent urinary tract infection. Acute bacterial prostatitis is often the result of some strains of bacteria.

So, its not uncommon to have prostatitis flu like symptoms. Chills, for example, are an unpleasant sensation of goosebumps and shivers. This means that your body is trying to tackle the infection and, as a result, feels too cold. How well it does to fight it off will vary based on your current immune state.

Even if you have a fever, you can still feel chilled. Keeping the body warm with adequate clothing and enough heat should be a top priority. Dont leave the pelvic floor exposed to the cold air for an extended period, or the discomfort can take hold.

Although fever with prostatitis can be temporary, the ailment can still lead to a sudden spike in body temperature. Your first concern is to keep the fever down. Drinking fluids, getting enough rest, and adequate medication can help.

If you have bouts of nausea or vomiting that last over two days, then contact a prostatitis specialist. When these prostatitis symptoms become too draining, patients may need adequate medical treatment.

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