Bacteria in urine, called bacteriuria, can mean three different things: a urinary tract infection (UTI), harmless bacteria living in the bladder, or a sample that picked up bacteria from the skin. Your symptoms decide which one it is. If you feel fine, you usually don’t need antibiotics. The main exceptions are pregnancy and some urology…
The fastest way to get rid of a UTI is to start an antibiotic the same day, through telehealth, urgent care or your own doctor. While you wait, phenazopyridine (AZO), a warm heating pad, ibuprofen and water can ease the burning within hours. Most people feel much better 24 to 48 hours after the first…
Yes, men get UTIs, though far less often than women, and mostly after age 50. Symptoms include burning when you pee, urgency, peeing often and at night, and cloudy or bloody urine. An enlarged prostate, kidney stones and catheters are common causes; in younger men, an STI is often behind the burning. A bladder infection…
The best antibiotics for a simple bladder infection are nitrofurantoin (Macrobid) for 5 days, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim DS) for 3 days, a single dose of fosfomycin (Monurol), or pivmecillinam (Pivya). Kidney infections need different drugs, often ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin. In the US, every UTI antibiotic needs a prescription. Most people feel better within 1 to 3…
Blood in urine, called hematuria, means red blood cells are getting into your pee from somewhere between the kidneys and the tip of the urethra. The most common causes are urinary tract infections, kidney or bladder stones, an enlarged prostate and hard exercise. Most cases aren’t cancer, but blood you can see always needs a…
Yes. A urinary tract infection (UTI) can cause urgency, peeing often, pressure low in the belly, or cloudy, smelly or bloody urine without any burning. That’s still a UTI, and it usually needs treatment. Bacteria found in a urine test when you have no symptoms at all is something different, called asymptomatic bacteriuria, and most…
A urinary tract infection (UTI) isn’t a sexually transmitted disease (STD). A UTI happens when bacteria from your own body, usually E. coli from the bowel, get into the bladder. An STD, also called a sexually transmitted infection (STI), passes from one partner to another. The catch is that chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis can burn…
A urinary tract infection (UTI) doesn’t directly affect your period. It’s an infection of the bladder or urethra, and it doesn’t reach the ovaries or uterus that control your cycle. But being sick, in pain and stressed can delay ovulation, and a later ovulation means a later period, usually by a few days. If your…
It burns when you pee because urine is passing over tissue that’s inflamed or irritated. Doctors call this dysuria. In women, the most common cause is a urinary tract infection (UTI). In men, infections of the urethra, often from an STI, and prostate problems lead the list. Vaginal infections, irritating soaps, kidney stones and bladder…