Is
Life Just a Case of Honeymoon Cystitis?
0h no, she’s
calling me again:
“D
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“I |
was
scared to death; I didn’t think it was my period ... I never want to go
through that discomfort again. No, I haven’t been doing anything else...with
anyone else. I sit all day in this hot office, and yes, we have to wear panty
hose. Oh, I get them about three or four times a year.
No, I haven’t had any trouble since my last pregnancy.
Recurrent infection... you mean I’ll have to stop that?
Doctor, I feel bloated all the time; I’m dizzy, just don’t feel the
same. Doc, I’ve had a backache.
Could it have anything to do with my period or with sex?”
The proverbial bladder infection, heralded by a feeling of urgency to
urinate; not a lot, but frequently, and I mean now, and pain.
Occasionally the urine will become cloudy or foul-smelling or even
bloody.
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ost of us, men don’t suffer the same
symptoms with the prevalence of our counterparts. We’re protected by the
length of the urethra, the long canal from the bladder to the opening of the
penis, where the urine comes out. We
also don’t “suffer” from the monthly
use of tampons or pads, the close
proximity to the anus
(and potential infections), multiple
births with subsequent falling of the bladder, vaginal discharges, or infections
and the “trauma” of intercourse. We
do get our share, though - burning with shampoo, discharge with venereal
disease, and dribbling from an enlarged prostate with its effect of blocking the
flow of urine. Our curse, however,
is nothing compared to our mates.
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en to 20% of women will have at least one urinary
tract infection during their lives, so it is said; I suspect more. Most
will be caused by four or five of the most common bacterial organisms which
usually come from the rectal flora, (bugs in the bowel) or chlamydia (VD).
Usually the infection will strike when shampoo, spermacides, douches, spray
deodorants, or wiping the wrong way (back to front), swimming in a chlorinated
pool or at a sandy beach. Fortunately,
most urinary tract infections (UTI’s, as they are called in the business) are
“cured” by a few of the common
antibiotics - ampicillin, sulfa, macrodantin, keflex, or bactrim,
accompanied by an increased amount of
fluids, especially cranberry juice.
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ecause of the potential for a urinary tract infection
not clearing up completely, a repeat
analysis is often done after treatment. From time to time, however, the infection may be resistant to the antibiotics. For this reason a urine
culture should be done either immediately or within two to three days if no
relief is derived from the medication.
A urine culture is a process of growing the bacteria and determining the
most effective antibiotic. The
medications, in conjunction with an awareness of the causative factor or
factors, will eliminate the tendency toward recurrence.
But
remember:
three or more environmental changes usually will provide a ready recipe for
bladder infections.
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ith this global awareness of the causes of bladder
infections, I hope you will not have to spend an endless honeymoon with
cystitis.
Ehhh….What’s Up Doc?
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