Urinary Bladder Infection

The urinary bladder infection is also known as interstitial cystitis (painful bladder syndrome). It has been found that urinary bladder infection is more common in women than bladder infection in men. As we all know, kidneys filter out the waste from the body and drain the urine into the bladder. From the bladder the urine passes through the urethra to be flushed out of the body. If you get your urine tested, you will find under normal circumstances, the urine is sterile. This means no bacteria are present in the urine. However, it the bacteria gain entry into the urethra, it leads to infection of the bladder. This is called lower urinary tract infection (UTI), if only the bladder is affected. Let us have a look at some of the symptoms of urinary bladder infection.

Urinary Bladder Infection Causes

Urinary bladder infection causes mainly include bacterial infection. Bacteria from the skin around the urethra travel towards the bladder causing inflammation and infection. The common bacterial agents that cause urinary bladder infection include Escherichia coli (E. coli). Women are more susceptible to urinary bladder infection, as they have their urethral opening near the anus. The bacteria from the bowel get easy passage into the urethra from the surrounding skin. Also, the length of urethra in women is shorter than the urethra in men, making the traveling distance for the bacteria even shorter. Thus, leading to bladder infections in women. Urinary bladder infection causes includes:

• Sexually active women or men
• Use of spermicide coated condoms or diaphragm
• People with urinary catheter
• People with diabetes
• Women undergoing menopause
• Kidney stones
• Pregnant women
• Irritants like soaps, deodorants and sprays that irritate and cause inflammation of the urethra and bladder

Urinary Bladder Infection Symptoms

There are different symptoms of urinary bladder infection. Some of the commonly observed urinary bladder symptoms include the following:

• Frequent passing of urine, more than one normally does
• Feeling of passing urine urgently even if one passes very little or no urine at all
• Feeling pressure in the lower pelvis region
• Nocturia (urination at night)
• Dysuria (painful urination)
• Burning sensation while passing urine
• Hematuria (blood in urine)
• Cloudy urine
• Foul-smelling or abnormal odor of urine
• Low-grade fever

The symptoms of urinary bladder infection in children include enuresis, that is, accidental wetting or passing of urine during the day as well as night. In some cases, the child suffers from accidental wetting only during the day or at least wets himself once a week. Symptoms of urinary bladder infection in men are also similar to symptoms of bladder infection in women. Urinary bladder infection symptoms in men are commonly observed due to an underlying condition like enlarged prostate, prostatitis and urethritis. Sexually active men are more prone to cystitis.

Urinary Bladder Infection Treatment

The urinary bladder infection treatment generally includes use of antibiotics. One may use over the counter medications like ibuprofen or paracetamol. The doctor may advice oral medications or antibiotics to alleviate the symptoms. Some of the urinary bladder infection home remedies include drinking a lot of water throughout the day. This helps in passing urine frequently, thus flushing out the causative bacteria. You can mix ½ teaspoon of baking soda to 8 ounce glass of water. Drinking this will help make the urine less acidic. Cranberry juice is one of the useful urinary bladder infection home remedies. Drinking fresh cranberry juice mixed with some apple juice will help get rid of urinary bladder infection. You can also consume acidophilus bifidus capsules to reduce the symptoms of urinary tract infection. You can even soak in a bath added with apple cider vinegar to lower the burning sensation due to bladder infection. You should speak to a doctor when trying out any of the bladder infection home treatments.

This was some information related to urinary bladder infection. You can prevent occurrence of cystitis by drinking 8 glasses of water everyday. Women should take care of their personal hygiene to prevent any infection. Both men and women should wear clean underwear made of cotton. Also, one should wash themselves up after intercourse. Hope the above information on urinary bladder infection symptoms helps you spot and prevent a bacterial infection.