UTI Causes
By Tess Thompson
Although urine is normally sterile and does not contain bacteria, viruses, and fungi, it does contain fluids, salts, and wastes. Despite effectual body mechanisms for warding off bacteria entering the urinary tract, UTI does occur due to various reasons.
Most infections are caused by one type of bacteria, called Escherichia coli (E. coli), found mostly in the colon. An infection can occur when certain organisms from the digestive tract cling to the opening of the urethra after first having traveled all through the digestive tract. Bacteria, then, begins to multiply.
When bacteria multiply, they enter the urethra, causing urethritis. When bacteria move up to the bladder, they cause cystitis. If bladder infection treatment for cystitis is not prompt enough, the bacteria may multiply further and travel up from the ureter to the kidneys, causing pyelonephritis.
Microorganisms such as, Chlamydia and Mycoplasma also cause UTI in both men and women. Such infections usually remain restricted to the urethra and the reproductive system. Chlamydia and Mycoplasma, unlike E. coli, can be transmitted through sexual contact, requiring urinary tract infection cure for both partners.
During infancy, the kidney filters are immature and if there are many bacteria in the bloodstream, some are likely to pass through the kidneys to urine, causing UTI. In older children and adults, infections usually occur through the down to upward route, which is, traveling from the urethra, up to the kidneys.
In the case of children still using diapers, bacteria from stool can remain for long periods at the meatus, the opening of the urethra at the end of the penis. The longer the period stool stays there results in bacteria entering the urinary tract through the urethra. Baby girls are more prone to this than baby boys.
The urethra in women is shorter whereas the head of the penis is less likely to touch stool. In older girls, wiping during toilet training, which is usually back-to-front, results in pushing bacteria towards the vaginal/meatal area.
Sexual intercourse causes friction at the meatus that tends to thrust bacteria into the urethra. This applies to both men and women, teenage or adult. Again, incidences of UTI due to sexual activity are more in women than in men.
Urination within fifteen minutes of sexual intercourse, however, helps in avoiding UTI. Although it is very rare, some women get UTI every time they have sex. Moreover, women who have polygamous sexual relationships are more prone to UTI than those who are monogamous.
Most urinary tract infections are not serious. It is, however, highly advisable that on seeing the first signs of UTI, one should consult a competent physician. Any negligence or delay in bladder infection treatment and/or urinary tract infection cure may lead to complex problems later on that may cause further harm to the urinary tract and body as a whole.
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