Sexual Weakness And Weight Management

What is a urinary tract infection (UTI)?The urinary tract is comprised of the kidneys,ureters, bladder, and urethra (see Figure 1).A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infectioncaused by pathogenic organisms (forexample, bacteria, fungi, or parasites) in anyof the structures that comprise the urinarytract.

However, this is the broad definition ofurinary tract infections; many authors preferto use more specific terms that localize theurinary tract infection to the major structuralsegment involved such as urethritis (urethralinfection), cystitis (bladder infection), ureterinfection, and pyelonephritis (kidneyinfection).

Other structures that eventuallyconnect to or share close anatomic proximityto the urinary tract (for example, prostate,epididymis, and vagina) are sometimesincluded in the discussion of UTIs becausethey may either cause or be caused by UTIs.Technically, they are not UTIs and will beonly be briefly mentioned in this article.UTIs are common, leading to between sevenand 10 million doctor visits per year.Although some infections go unnoticed,

UTIscan cause problems that range from dysuria(pain and/or burning when urinating) to organdamage and even death. The kidneys are theactive organs that produce about 1.5 quartsof urine per day. They help keep electrolytesand fluids (for example, potassium, sodiumand water) in balance, assist in the removalof waste products (urea), and produce ahormone that aids in the formation of redblood cells.

If kidneys are injured ordestroyed by infection, these vital functionscan be damaged or lost.While most investigators state that UTIs arenot transmitted from person to person,other investigators dispute this and say UTIsmay be contagious and recommend that sexpartners avoid relations until the UTI hascleared. There is general agreement thatsexual intercourse can cause a UTI.

This ismostly thought to be a mechanical processwhereby bacteria are introduced into theurinary tracts during the sexual act.

There isno dispute about the transmission of UTIscaused by sexually transmitted disease (STD)organisms; these infections (for example,gonorrhea and chlamydia) are easilytransmitted between sex partners and arevery contagious. Some of the symptoms ofUTIs and sexually transmitted diseases canbe similar (pain and foul smell).