Urinary tract helps get rid of all the harmful chemicals and unwanted water from the body. It includes kidneys, ureters, bladder and the urethra.
The urine is formed in the kidneys, passed on to the bladder through the ureters where it is kept for some time and then excreted out through the urethra. Infection can occur in any part of the tract.
Urinary tract infection is common among the women because female urethra is shorter as compared to men. The major cause of the infection is the bacteria that enter the tract through urethra. These infections are mostly common in the bladder and urethra but if not treated in time, they might spread to kidneys and cause serious problems.
According to a general research, more than 50% of all the women get urinary tract infections once in their lifetime and some of them get it again and again.
When you are having a urinary tract infection, you might experience conditions like pain and burning while urinating. You might want to urinate more often than you normally do. It can cause pains or cramps in lower back and stomach. You would feel like urinating but you won’t urinate.
There also might be a strong smell in the urine and you might experience blood or pus in it too. Children and infants might get fever which is the only symptom for infection in them.
If you experience any of these symptoms that prevail, you should immediately contact your doctor and get yourself checked because once it gets to the kidneys, it might get quite serious.
Most common cause is the bacteria from the rectum that move towards the urethra after the bowel movements. These bacteria enter the urethra and cause infection in urinary bladder. If they move further upwards towards the kidneys they might cause an infection there too. These bacteria can cause infection in any part of the urinary tract.
If you do not urinate when you feel the need to, or in other words if you hold the urine too long in the bladder, it might cause an infection too. This is because when you wait too long, keep the urine inside the bladder, it causes the bladder to stretch beyond its normal size this result in weakening the bladder muscles and in turn causes the infection.
Here are few home remedies that might help you get rid of the infection.
Baking soda helps maintain the acid base balance of the urine. Half teaspoon of the baking soda in 8 ounce water taken regularly helps reduce the infection.
Cranberry juice is also very helpful due to its antibiotic properties. Taking in a lot of pure cranberry juice also helps you get rid of the infection. However, if you are on any kind of medication for the infection, you might want to consult your doctor about taking cranberry juice.
Drinking lots of water helps regulate the normal flow of urine and keeps urinary tract working. So that it can clear off the body from harmful bacteria.
A healthy diet without processed food also helps a big deal.
