Battle Of The Bladder

Urinary tract infections are common – and terribly uncomfortable. Here’s advice on how to cope with them.

- Thulani Gqirana

YOU constantly feel an urgent need to go to the toilet , but when you do, there isn’t the strong stream like you’d expected – just a trickle. And yet it feels as if you haven’t quite emptied your bladder.

Sound familiar? If it does, you’re not alone. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common infections around, affecting an estimated 150 million people worldwide every year. Women have a 50 per­ cent chance of getting a UTI in their lifetime, experts say, and around 30 to 40 percent of patients have repeat infections.

UTIs are caused by bacteria and can affect any part of the urinary system – from the bladder to the kidneys. The majority of these infections are caused by E coli bacteria, says general practitioner Dr Belinda Ogundipe who’s based in Rosebank, Johannesburg.

The infections aren’t usual­ly serious but can be prob­lematic if left untreated. Here’s what you need to know.

IT’S NOT JUST A ‘WOMAN THING’ While it’s true that women stand a higher chance of getting a UTI, men are by no means immune.

“Men, women and children get it,” Dr Ogundipe says.