BLADDER INFECTIONS: HOW TO FIND RELIEF
Remedies trickle and flow throughout this column, including basic prevention, other factors, first aid, professional care, problems with doctors, anatomy.
Medical Self-Care
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Although the subject matter of this column (which was
guest-written, for Dr. Tom. Ferguson, by two Medical
Self-Care staffers) is outside the areas usually
covered in MOTHER, the disease discussed is so widespread
that we welcome the chance to pass on information
concerning its treatment and prevention.
Sandra Ritz and Anne Simons
The disease goes by different names—bladder
infection, cystitis, urinary tract infection, or
UTI—but the symptoms are always the same . . . and
they're agonizing. Suddenly you feel an urgent need to
urinate. When you try to do so, however, you can produce
very little, and a dreadful burning sensation rewards your
efforts. The urge returns every few minutes,too . . .
sometimes accompanied by lower abdominal pain, a low-grade
fever, chills, or blood in the urine.
Although it's certainly not fatal, cystitis is a very
uncomfortable condition, and it strikes an amazingly large
segment of the population. In fact, many authorities agree
that it's women's most common bacterial infection . . .
and their second most common illness overall,
occurring more frequently than any disease except colds!
The bacteria usually responsible for UTI are
Escherichiacoli (commonly known as
E.coli ) . . . organisms necessary to
proper digestion which live in the intestines and bowel. In
order to cause UTI, though, the bacteria must find their
way into the urethra and then up to the bladder . . . where
they feed on urine, multiply, and cause infection. As you'd
imagine, then, bladder aliments are of primary concern to
women, because of some basic anatomical differences between
the sexes . . . that is, women's urethral and anal openings
are closer together than are men's, and their urethras are
also considerably shorter.
BASIC PREVENTION
Because most UTI is caused by E. coli
micro-organisms that have crept from the anal area into the
vagina and urethra, proper hygiene is the best way to
prevent flare-ups. Here are four basic rules a woman should
follow if she wishes to avoid a painful bout of cystitis.
[1] After eliminating, be careful to wipe from front to
back (away from the urethra), to prevent the passage of
bacteria into the bladder.
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