Urethritis: its symptoms, detection, treatment and prevention

Urethritis is a disease characterized by inflammation of the urethra (urethra), it affects both men and women. There are infectious and non-infectious forms of the disease, the latter include traumatic urethritis, iatrogenic, allergic and arising from metabolic disturbances. Infectious urethritis is caused by microorganisms. It can be nonspecific inhabitants of the genitourinary tract (streptococci, intestinal sticks, fungi) and specific causative agents of sexual infections (gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, ureaplasmosis, chlamydia). In addition to the main reasons, doctors also identify the factors predisposing to the development of the disease:

• Supercooling;
• urolithiasis disease;
• Insufficient water consumption;
• Heavy physical activity;
• Operations and manipulations on the genitals;
• Promiscuous sexual intercourse.

Signs of a urethritis

So, we figured out what kind of disease a urethritis would be. Symptoms are the following: discomfort during urination or at rest (pain, pain, burning), discharge from the urethra, the need for frequent urination, but the amount of urine is small. Sometimes there is an increase in body temperature.

The doctor can not accurately determine only by complaints, this is cystitis or urethritis. Symptoms are similar, so it is necessary to conduct a more detailed examination of the patient, in order to determine more specifically which department of the genitourinary system is involved in the process.

How is this disease identified and treated?

There is the following algorithm for diagnosing urethritis: symptoms (including complaints) indicate which system of organs the patient is afflicted with, and which can be suspected of this disease. Then the doctor prescribes blood and urine tests, a smear of the separated urethra and bacteriological culture. If there are still other complaints and it is necessary to determine the prevalence of the process in the urinary tract, then other diagnostic techniques are used, including instrumental studies (for example, renal ultrasound).

In some people, only in a laboratory examination, urethritis is accidentally detected, they have little or no symptoms at all.

When a patient is diagnosed with urethritis (symptoms), the treatment is prescribed as soon as possible, not only because the disease worries a person and reduces the quality of life. Also, urethritis can be complicated by the spread of infection up the urinary tract to the kidneys and cause their inflammation. Its consequences can be vaginitis in women, inflammation of the testicles and their appendages, seminal vesicles, prostate, narrowing of the urethra in men.

Treatment includes the use of antibacterial or disinfectant agents, diuretics and immunity-enhancing drugs, the use of warm linen from natural tissues.

How to prevent disease?

Such an unpleasant disease as inflammation of the urethra can be prevented if one observes personal hygiene and a culture of sexual behavior (including the use of condoms), regularly visits a urologist and treats diseases, preventing the process from becoming chronous.