What is it?
A Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is an infection of your urinary system. They are caused by bad bacteria going up the urinary tract, sometimes all the way up to the bladder. UTI’s are serious, though, and should be treated asap, because the bacteria can travel up to your bladder which can cause more severe issues. Don’t worry though; they are extremely common and easy to treat.
Causes:
They are most commonly caused by:
- Improper wiping (wiping back to front bringing bacteria)
- Not peeing after sex
- Holding your pee in
- Wearing clothing that doesn’t allow the vagina to breathe
- Diabetes
- Using spermicide
Symptoms:
- Urge to urinate
- Burning when urinating
- Difficulty urinating
- Persistent feeling of having to pee (even if you can’t)
- Blood in urine
- Strong smelling urine
Getting a UTI Diagnosis:
If you are going to take medicine for a UTI, then it is important to get a correct diagnosis. UTIs are diagnosed by a urine test and treated by your doctor with antibiotics. If you are sexually active, I think it’s important to get a gynecologist. If you don’t want to tell your parents that you’re sexually active, you can get the same tests done at Planned Parenthood. Or if you live in Seattle, you could visit your public high school’s nurse.
Treatment:
If you catch a UTI early enough, you may not even need to see a doctor. You can usually just drink loads of water (to flush out the bad bacteria) and drink unsweetened cranberry juice. If you try this for a few days and you’re still having symptoms, then I would say it’s time to go to the doctor.
Your doctor will prescribe antibiotics if it continues. You will begin to feel relief usually the day of taking the antibiotic, but things will subside a few days after treatment begins. In order to not get a yeast infection from the antibiotics, take probiotics.