So, you have been getting UTIs (Urinary Tract Infections) quite a bit over the past while? You know the common symptoms, right?
- that awful burning feeling when you pee, with the added feeling of "peeing through a straw"
- lower abdominal pain just above your public bone, in your bladder
- an urgent feeling of having to pee frequently
- ache-y lower back
- your pee is cloudy and/or unusually stinky and/or has tinges of blood in it
- you might feel feverish or just wiped out and generally unwell, nauseated or have chills (these are very serious and could indicate something like a kidney infection-- don't delay, call your health professional)
You have gone to your doctor and been prescribed antibiotics numerous times. It seems like you just get over an infection and BAM! you start getting those crappy feelings all over again...
Your doctor has checked your urine, and now might do some other tests to see what is causing your bacterial infection, or what is blocking your urethra or other parts of your urinary tract. If you are a man, particularly, you might have a sort of loop-y thing going on where your urine backs up because of the blockage. In these cases you will likely be sent for one or more of the following:
- Blood Tests
- Various "scans" such as XRay, MRI, CT or ultrasound (all ways to see inside your urinary tract) Medical digital thermography might be used in some places, such as Britain, as a less invasive way to check the urinary tract for infection.
- You might be booked for a day surgery procedure known as "cystoscopy" where a long very thin scope is inserted into your urethra to get a picture of what your urinary tract is like.
PREGNANCY CAUTION: Always consult a health professional if you have symptoms (above) of a urinary infection.
Urinary Tract Infections that recur over time can indicate the possibility of Bladder Cancer. Bladder Cancer symptoms might include something as painless as blood in the urine to chronic recurrence of painful UTI symptoms (above). Bladder Cancer is curable. Get checked out. Listen to the options for treatment. Traditional treatment might include chemo, radiation and/or surgery. Here are some very important questions you can ask your onocologist:
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