{"id":21,"date":"2020-02-12T19:37:49","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T19:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthissues24.co.za\/?p=21"},"modified":"2020-02-12T19:37:49","modified_gmt":"2020-02-12T19:37:49","slug":"chronic-urinary-tract-infection-uti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/chronic-urinary-tract-infection-uti\/","title":{"rendered":"Chronic Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2><a>What is a chronic urinary tract infection?<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) are infections of the urinary tract that either don\u2019t respond to treatment or keep recurring. They may either continue to affect your urinary tract despite getting the right treatment, or they may recur after treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your urinary tract is the pathway that makes up your urinary system. It includes the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Your\u00a0kidneys\u00a0filter your blood and generate body waste in the form of urine.<\/li><li>Your\u00a0ureters\u00a0are tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder.<\/li><li>Your\u00a0bladder\u00a0collects and stores urine.<\/li><li>Your\u00a0urethra\u00a0is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of your body.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A\u00a0UTI\u00a0can affect any part of your urinary system. When an infection only affects your bladder, it\u2019s usually a minor illness that can be easily treated. However, if it spreads to your kidneys, you may suffer from serious health consequences, and may even need to be hospitalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although UTIs can happen to anyone at any age, they\u2019re more prevalent in women. In fact, the\u00a0National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)\u00a0estimates that 1 in 5 young adult women have recurring UTIs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>What are the symptoms of a chronic urinary tract infection?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The symptoms of a chronic UTI affecting your bladder include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>frequent urination<\/li><li>bloody\u00a0or\u00a0dark urine<\/li><li>a\u00a0burning sensation\u00a0while urinating<\/li><li>pain in your kidneys, which means in your lower back or below your ribs<\/li><li>pain in your bladder region<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If the UTI spreads to your kidneys, it might cause:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>nausea<\/li><li>vomiting<\/li><li>chills<\/li><li>a high fever, over 101\u00b0F (38\u00b0C)<\/li><li>fatigue<\/li><li>mental\u00a0disorientation<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>What are the causes of chronic urinary tract infections?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A UTI is the result of a bacterial infection. In most cases, the bacteria enter the urinary system through the urethra, and then they multiply in the bladder. It\u2019s helpful to break down UTIs into bladder and urethral infections to better understand how they develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Bladder infections<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The bacteria\u00a0<em>E. coli<\/em>is a common cause of infections of the bladder, or\u00a0cystitis.\u00a0<em>E. coli<\/em>\u00a0normally live in the intestines of healthy people and animals. In its normal state, it doesn\u2019t cause any problems. However, if it finds its way out of the intestines and into the urinary tract, it can lead to infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This usually happens when tiny or even microscopic bits of feces get into the urinary tract. This might happen during sex. For example, this can happen if you switch between anal and vaginal sex without cleaning in between. Anal sex increases your UTI risk significantly.\u00a0Bladder infections\u00a0can also develop from toilet water backsplash or by improper wiping.\u00a0Foamy urine can also signal an issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Urethral infections<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Also known as\u00a0urethritis, infections of the urethra could be due to bacteria such as\u00a0<em>E. coli<\/em>. Urethritis can also be the result of a\u00a0sexually transmitted infection\u00a0(STI), however, this is rare. STIs include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>herpes<\/li><li>gonorrhea<\/li><li>chlamydia<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is a chronic urinary tract infection? Chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) are infections of the urinary tract that either don\u2019t respond to treatment or keep recurring. They may either continue to affect your urinary tract despite getting the right treatment, or they may recur after treatment. Your urinary tract is the pathway that makes\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/chronic-urinary-tract-infection-uti\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}