The dreaded Urinary Tract Infection. Some people may know right away when they get that awful burning sensation when urinating combined with the constant urge to urinate. They’ll make an appointment with their Primary Care Physician and walk out with a prescription for an antibiotic and be back to normal quickly. Others may live for months with a UTI and not even know they have one! The ‘Silent UTI’ is a sneaky bugger. More likely to strike women than men left untreated they can quickly turn into something more serious if this is the case you can seek treatment at Urocare London.
This is why it’s important to learn the symptoms and see your Family Physician as soon as possible before complications arise. The following are signs of these silent UTI’s and the reason that so many go undiagnosed for so long is that often, they are not accompanied by that burning, constant need to urinate.
- Fatigue
- Shakiness
- Fever
- Lower back pain
- Achey’s muscles
- The pressure in your abdomen
- Forgetfulness
Urinary Tract Infection
Some of these symptoms are mild enough that you may just decide to wait things out and see if they disappear on their own. Sometimes extreme tiredness is the first symptom and who among us would suspect we have a UTI when we’re just feeling tired? We’re going to blame being overworked or overstressed or not getting enough sleep! Women are especially vulnerable to UTIs because of their shorter urethras and also as estrogen levels plummet, their natural defense mechanisms do as well.
Estrogen can help antimicrobial proteins in the bladder that help fight infection. When the infection takes hold, inflammation in the body increases and this is what causes body aches, fatigue, nausea, and weakness. As many as 1 in 5 UTI’s go undetected and undiagnosed because these symptoms are often not accompanied by that familiar burning when urinating and the constant urge to urinate. Your Best General Practice Doctor can discuss with you how to diagnose, treat, and prevent Urinary Tract Infections: There are at-home urine tests.
Treatment Advice
You can take this at home and then see your Family Physician confirm and get treatment. You can help prevent UTIs by taking Probiotics. Drinking kefir (fermented milk) can cut the risk of UTI’s by almost 80%. There are also supplements you can take, so ask your Primary Care Physician for their recommendation on a brand. Taking Vitamin C helps to acidify your bladder which makes it less hospitable to the unhealthy bacteria that cause infections.
Drinking unsweetened grapefruit juice or unsweetened cranberry juice is good, but to make sure you get enough you might want to consider taking supplements. Never, never, never wear synthetic underwear if you are prone to UTI’s. Cotton underwears are a must because they allow the area to breathe. Synthetic fabrics will aggravate the skin and allow bacteria to grow.
Last but not least: Water. Pure, simple, and drug-free water. Drinking water is the best thing you can do to help prevent AND treat your UTI. Urinary tract infections occur when bacteria get into the bladder via the urethra. Water helps flush the bacteria out, it keeps you hydrated and healthy.