Q: Hello Dr Ketch. Please could you furnish me with the cure for a UTI? And what it does to a man if left untreated? Thanks.

A: There are bacteria that live within the intestines of human beings. They do not necessarily cause problems there. When one, defaecates (poops), the bacteria may be found at the anal opening. If these bacteria are then mistakenly carried from the anal opening to the opening of the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder outside) through improper clean up after defaecating (cleaning from back to front) or after sexual intercourse, a urinary tract infection can result.

From the description of how this can occur, it’s fairly obvious why this is very common in women (women’s anal openings are closer to the urethra and their urethrae are also shorter). In men, UTIs are not so common and would happen more in people who have an enlarged prostate, people who have a poor immune system and people who have kidney and bladder infections.

Symptoms include frequent urination, difficulty with urination, pain during urination, fever etc. Involvement if the kidney leads to loin pain in addition to worsening of feelings if illness.
The doctor will usually send a urine sample to the laboratory to check for bacteria present in the urine and what antibiotic(s) are effective against them. Be sure to take the antibiotics for the prescribed period of time, even if you feel better before you finish the course to prevent backtracking of infection into the kidneys. Drink a lot of water and take analgesics for pain, if needed.

In summary, your specific treatment depends on the organism that is found in your urine at the laboratory. Be sure not to prescribe antibiotics for yourself! 😀

For more on urinary tract infections, please click on the link below:

Daily Health Tips: Urinary Tract Infections.

Have a great night, y’all 😀