Bladder Infection in Women

Last Updated on March 18, 2024 by chummie

If you have bladder infection, you make countless trips to the bathroom and still you feel like you have to go again and you feel burning or stinging every time you pee. When you get a bladder infection, it leads to cystitis, which is when your bladder swells and gets irritated. Women get bladder infections much more than men do. Usually, the infections are more annoying than they are serious.

Bladder infection is a bacterial infection or inflammation of the bladder. Women are more susceptible to bladder infection than men, and although doctors are not sure why women are affected more, one of the possible reasons is that women have shorter urethras. A shorter urethra makes it easier for the bacteria to travel to the bladder. Usually, women who get bladder infection experience pain or burning during urination, stinking or foul-smelling urine, or cramps in the lower abdomen or lower back.

Advancing age, immobility, pregnancy, diabetes and bowel incontinence are some of the common causes of bladder infection. In women, if treated right way bladder infections rarely lead to kidney infections or any other serious problems. Typically, a doctor will perform a urinalysis or urine culture to determine the type of bacteria in your urine.

What are the symptoms of bladder infection?

Some of the most common symptoms include:

• A strong, persistent urge to urinate
• A burning sensation when urinating
• cloudy or bloody urine
• foul-smelling urine
• Pelvic pain, in women — especially in the center of the pelvis and around the area of the pubic bone

 

What you can do to prevent bladder infections?

Making a few lifestyle changes may help reduce the chances of bladder infection.

• Take good amount of fluids. It is recommended to drink about 6 to 8-ounces glass of fluids in a day. If you have any specific medical conditions ask your doctor for recommended amount of fluids you should consume?
• Try to include cranberry juice in your diet. Cranberry juice helps to increase acid levels to kill the bacteria in your urine.
• Don’t hold back urine. Urinate whenever you feel the need.
• Develop good wiping habits by wiping front to back every time you urinate.
• Practice using showers instead of baths.
• Avoid using powders or hygiene sprays.

 

How is a bladder infection treated?

Medication

If you have been experiencing bladder infection on a reoccurring basis your doctor may recommend taking small dosage of antibiotics taken on a daily basis, to prevent or control future bladder infections. In most cases bladder infection can be treated with antibiotic in 24 to 48 hours. However, if you continue to feel the symptoms consult your doctor again for further course of action.

Home treatment

If you are a deep sleeper or having few accidents of bedwetting you can use a bedside bedwetting alarm that can prevent your bed from being wet in the night. The bedside bedwetting alarm mat senses the first drop of urine and alerts the user to wake up and go to the bathroom. For extra precaution waterproof mattress pads are good to use. They help keep your bed clean from any accidental spill or urine stains.