A urinary tract infection is a horrible experience, so the sooner your doctor can identify and cure it, the better. New tests are now available to pinpoint and eradicate the uropathogens that are making you miserable.
What is a UTI?
Urinary tract infections cause burning of the urogenital area, an intense urgency to pee, and cloudy or even slightly bloody urine. They are painful, debilitating, and inconvenient, and can progress from simple urethritis to a dangerous kidney infection. Anybody can get a UTI, but it’s especially dangerous for the elderly, for whom it seems to increase dementia-related confusion.
Women get them more frequently than men because the female urethra is much shorter than a man’s, and the opening is so close to the vagina and anus.
Why Do We Get Them?
People can get UTIs from sexual activity, with or without a sexually transmitted disease, but essentially they come from infection due to incomplete flushing of the urinary tract. Not drinking enough fluids, going for long periods without urinating, or failing to completely empty the bladder can allow bacteria time to grow in the urinary tract. The most common bacteria found is E.coli from the gastrointestinal tract.
UTIs become more frequent in older women for a variety of reasons, such as weaker kidneys that don’t acidify urine sufficiently, and a weaker immune system.
Urinary Tract Infection Treatment
Most simple UTIs can be cleared up with antibiotics. Unfortunately, once you have one UTI, you have a good chance of getting another. Eventually, you may run into problems with antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Recurrent Infections
Are you having recurring urinary tract infections? There’s a new test that can help pinpoint exactly which uropathogen is causing your trouble, so your doctor can prescribe a medication that will target that exact microorganism.
Molecular UTI Tests Are Faster And More Accurate
The new molecular UTI test, called a Polymerase Chain Reaction test, is much faster than the standard culture test because technicians don’t have to wait for the culture to grow. Instead, a PCR test causes organisms in your sample to replicate enormously in a very short time. This makes it much easier to test for different strains of bacteria.
Antibiotic Resistance in Uropathogens
A molecular testing UTI panel also quickly identifies antibiotic-resistant strains, so that your doctor can identify the correct medication to quickly resolve your infection. While previous culture tests could take 3 days, a PCR test can get better results overnight.
The Takeaway
If you’re reading this, you know a UTI is no joke. Left untreated it can lead to a kidney infection, which could lead to kidney failure. While cranberry juice is a good preventative, there are no effective cures available over the counter. UTI’s are not usually cured without a visit to the doctor because you need antibiotics, and often not just any antibiotics.
Fortunately, the new molecular UTI tests are much faster and more accurate, so in most cases, you can be back to feeling fine in a day or two.
References:
McDermott A. Can a UTI Cause Confusion in the Elderly? Healthline. healthline.com/health/uti-in-elderly. Published July 24, 2020.
Staff. Molecular UTI Testing Information for Patients. trugenx.com/molecular-uti-information-for-patients/. Published on October 15, 2020. Accessed October 27, 2020.
Staff. Urinary tract infection (UTI). mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/urinary-tract-infection/symptoms-causes/syc-20353447. Published October 14, 2020. Accessed October 27, 2020.