Urinary symptoms are often due to problems with your bladder or your pelvic floor. Sometimes, other more 'mysterious' causes may be responsible. For example, passing urine frequently will often be an early sign of diabetes or indicate an issue with the heart.
Issues with the organs that produce and store your urine - particularly the bladder - may cause a number of symptoms that can make your life a misery. Fortunately, many effective remedies are available.
Discomfort and pain while passing urine are very common and in the great majority of cases result from an infection of the bladder, called cystitis. Cystitis is much more common in women than in men since the urethra in women is much shorter, meaning that infections can more easily go into the bladder. You may also be at an increased risk of developing bladder infections if the following situations affect you:
Some common telltale signs of cystitis are as follows:
If your symptoms are mild, see your pharmacist for advice and consider trying over-the-counter medicines first.
If your troubles are severe, or linked with emotions . affect your standard of living, contact your doctor or practice nurse. You might need to have your urine tested and have a short span of antibiotics. Seeing your doctor is also important for lowering the risk of having recurrent bladder infections. The next, more serious, symptoms indicate that you need to see your doctor:
Urinary symptoms can have more likely causes based on whether you're male or female. If you're a woman and have pain on urinating, your problem can be as a result of number of reasons. Here are a few common ones:
Itchy and dry genitals: Inflammation and itching of the genital area (or pruritus vulvae) is typical, and often doesn't have obvious underlying cause. Due to falling hormone levels you're more prone to develop a dry vagina when you are past the menopause (or 'the change'). Using perfumed soap or experiencing sexual anxiety may also be responsible. When this happens, you are more likely to develop urinary infections or 'irritation' listed below, causing burning and stinging when you pass urine.
Thrush: Vaginal thrush (also called candidiasis) is a common fungal infection in most cases shows up having a profuse thick white vaginal discharge. You may also notice soreness round the outside of your genitals (referred to as vulva). Taking antibiotics or certain types of oral contraceptive pill, or suffering from diabetes, makes you more likely to develop thrush. You can treat thrush yourself, and over-the-counter preparations can easily be bought from your pharmacist, but when your symptoms persist or are unusual, do visit your doctor or practice nurse.
Urethral syndrome: This inflammation from the urethra - the tube that empties your bladder - may occur after intercourse and is due to mild bruising. You might experience an unpleasant burning sensation whenever you pass urine, or end up going to the toilet more frequently. If your symptoms don't settle by themselves, see your doctor to get your urine tested. You might be prescribed a course of antibiotics in case you have an underlying urine infection.
If at all possible try not to scratch for any reason when you have itching or soreness 'down below'. Doing this often makes things worse. Use lukewarm water only for a gentle daily wash. Soothing creams in the pharmacy may help, but try to avoid perfumed bath salts, deodorants and talcum powder. You may also want to avoid wearing synthetic underwear - cotton is usually better. Also think about using lubricating jelly if your vagina is dry during sex. If the symptoms persist, see your doctor for more assessment.
Urinary problems in men become more common in later life, when enlargement of a chestnut-sized organ known as the prostate gland is usually responsible. The prostate sits deep inside your lower abdomen and surrounds your urethra where it leaves the bladder. As men get older and past 50 years old the prostate gland may enlarge and press on the urethra. Although an ordinary part of ageing, the symptoms can become troublesome.
Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Articleinput.com is a free articles resource thus practically any visitor can submit an article. However if you notice any copyrighted material, please contact us and we will remove the article(s) in discussion right away.
Note: This article was sent to us by: Nancy Butler at 03102011
1. Breast Cancer: how to prevent it and more detailed information
All articles are property of their respective authors. Please read our Privacy Policy!
© 2009 ArticleInput.com.
Partners: Damenmode