Bladder Infection Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Understanding
Bladder infection, or medically called cystitis, is an inflammatory condition in the bladder organ due to germs. This disease is experienced more by women than men. Generally, bladder infections do not cause severe symptoms, but treatment must be carried out by a doctor.
Symptoms
Symptoms of a bladder infection include:
- Urine is cloudy or mixed with blood
- Smelly urine
- Lower abdominal pain
- Pain or a burning sensation when urinating
- wishful thinking
- Urinating more often than usual
In the elderly and children, symptoms of bladder infection are often non-specific. Elderly people who have bladder infections usually only show symptoms of fever with no clear cause, accompanied by a decrease in consciousness. Meanwhile, in children, the symptoms may only be a lack of appetite, nausea, and no increase in body weight.
Reason
The most common cause of bladder infections is infection with the bacteria Escherichia coli or E. coli. Under normal circumstances, these bacteria are in the intestinal cavity and excreted along with the feces. If the bacteria are around the urethra, they can enter the urinary tract and cause an infection.
People who are more prone to bladder infections are:
- Women
- People who use urinary catheters for a long time
- Has a habit of holding back urination
- Frequent sexual intercourse
- Presence of stones in the kidney or in the bladder
- Menopause
- Undergoing radiation in the lower abdominal area
Diagnosis
If the symptoms experienced point to a bladder infection, a urine test (urinalysis) is needed in the laboratory. From the results of a urine examination, the doctor will see if bacteria, blood, leukocytes, and leukocyte esterase are found, which are signs of an infection in the bladder.
In some cases, to find out the type of germ that causes a kidney infection and what treatment is right to give, a urine culture (culture) is needed.
If a bladder infection is suspected to have occurred due to other diseases in the urinary tract (eg kidney stones, enlarged prostate), then sometimes an ultrasound examination, CT scan, or MRI is needed to confirm it.
Treatment
If the symptoms of a bladder infection only occur for 1-2 days, then no treatment is needed because basically the body will try to clean the urinary tract of germs. However, if the symptoms continue or are severe, the doctor will give antibiotics to eliminate germs in the urinary tract. Antibiotics should only be taken according to a doctor’s prescription. Generally, antibiotics are given for 3–7 days.
In addition, to relieve symptoms, you can also do the following:
- Take painkillers, such as paracetamol
- Drink plenty of water (at least 1.5–2 liters) to flush the urinary tract free of bacteria
- Consume cranberries (this fruit has been shown to be effective in preventing bacteria from ‘sticking’ to the bladder so that the infection can be overcome)
Prevention
Some things that can be done to prevent bladder infections are:
- Make it a habit to urinate after sexual intercourse
- Use soap with a neutral pH on the pubic area
- Do not hold back the urge to urinate
- After urinating or defecating, clean the pubic area from front to back (from the urethra to the anus), not the other way around.
- Drink enough water (1.5–2 liters/day)