Information and Resources

Font Size

Understanding Urinary Tract Infections -- Diagnosis & Treatment

How Do I Know if I Have a Urinary Tract Infection?

Most urinary tract infections are diagnosed by a description of your symptoms, such as painful, frequent urination, and an examination of your urine for white blood cells, blood, and bacteria (urinalysis). A urine culture is an additional test which can determine the number and specific type of bacteria causing the infection, as well as help determine which antibiotic can best treat the infection.

Other tests may be ordered if your doctor suspects that there is some other problem causing the urinary tract infection, such as a kidney stone or a condition called reflux, in which the urine backs up from the bladder toward the kidneys, or if there is a history of recurrent infections.

Recommended Related to Infectious Diseases

Understanding Scarlet Fever -- Treatment

To determine if your child has scarlet fever, your pediatrician will inspect your child, looking for the characteristic rash, characteristic changes on the tongue called "strawberry tongue," and at the throat. The doctor will swab the throat and send the swab to a lab to examine it for the presence of streptococcal bacteria. A rapid test is available.

Read the Understanding Scarlet Fever -- Treatment article > >

Because urinary tract infections in men are quite rare, most men who are diagnosed with a urinary tract infection will be advised to have other tests to determine if some other abnormality is responsible.

Other Tests for Urinary Tract Infections Include:

Blood tests
Ultrasound exam of the urinary tract
X-rays of the kidneys, ureters, and bladder
CT scans
Cystoscopy, in which a long, thin telescope is inserted up the urethra to examine the inside of the bladder
Intravenous pyelogram, an X-ray test that uses dye so your doctor can better see the urinary system

What Are the Treatments for a Urinary Tract Infection?

Most cases of simple acute cystitis -- a single episode of a bladder infection -- in young women can be treated with a three-day course of an antibiotic. Recurrence of symptoms can be cause for additional tests to rule out more significant problems, such as something other than a bacterial infection.

Certain risk factors warrant a longer course of antibiotic treatment. Pregnant women, patients with diabetes, patients known to have kidney stones or other obstructions to the free flow of urine, and individuals who have had symptoms for longer than a week, should all be given a 7- to 10-day course of antibiotics. In men with prostatitis, or anyone with a kidney infection, the antibiotics should be given for at least several weeks.

The type of antibiotic used depends on the type of bacteria found in the urine culture. Effective antibiotics often include trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, or levofloxacin.

You should also drink lots of water to help wash out the bacteria from the urinary system.

To confirm that the treatment was successful, your doctor may repeat urine cultures one to two weeks after you finish the antibiotic. Pregnant women who have been treated for an infection should have monthly urine cultures performed until their baby is delivered.

If you are having significant bladder pain and pain with urination, a bladder anesthetic may be given to reduce irritation of the bladder and urethral lining. It normally tints the urine a reddish-orange color.

If the urinary tract infection is caused by persistent backflow of urine from the bladder to kidney, surgery may be needed. Surgery may also be required in cases where the infection is caused by a blockage, such as kidney stone or enlarged prostate.

WebMD Medical Reference

View Article Sources Sources