Monday, December 26, 2011

Medicine For UTI

By Elwood Birchfield


A urinary tract infection, better called UTI, is an illness associated with someone's urinary tract. Depending on where in a person's urinary tract the illness is, the type of UTI is named properly. The parts which might be affected by a urinary tract infection include the bladder (where it is known as bladder infection or cystitis); kidneys (better known as kidney infection or pyelonephritis); ureters (which are rarely infected); and urethra (where one gets urethritis).

The kinds of UTI medication that will be prescribed to you typically belong to the antibiotics family. However the exact UTI medication that you will be provided with is also affected by the type of bacterium present in your urine and your general state of health.

When someone has a basic infection, doctors usually prescribe medicines like Ciprofloxacin (also known as Cipro), Nitrofurantoin (under brand names like Macrodantin or Furadantin), Sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (with brand names like Bactrim and Septra), Levofloxacin (also known as Levaquin), Ampicillin, or Amoxicillin (using brand names like Larotid or Moxatag). Typically, the medications mentioned should clear up symptoms within just a few days of treatment, although you will have to keep taking your UTI medication for up to a week or more, depending on what you were instructed by your doctor to ensure that the infection has been completely addressed.

In instances wherein you have a urinary tract infection that is not complicated, occurring in a time wherein you are otherwise healthy, a shorter medication period may be prescribed to you instead, lasting just up to three days. Pain in your bladder may be present when you have a urinary tract infection so pain medications may also be part of what you will have to take in managing the condition. Please keep in mind the analgesics used to treat urinary tract infections may turn your urine red or orange. This is a normal consequence of the medication and should not be a cause for concern.

A longer treatment or a set of short antibiotics may be necessary for frequent urinary tract infections. You may also be recommended to do home urine tests so you can frequently check the progress of your condition.

If your infection was caused by your having sexual relations, antibiotics taken after intercourse will usually be prescribed to treat it. Vaginal Estrogen therapy may help lower the chance of getting urinary infections in post-menopausal ladies. In instances where the conditions are more severe, a UTI medication may not be effective. In this case, an intravenous antibiotic and hospital stay is recommended.

Even the best doctors and the most effective medication won't help you if you don't do the right things to get better. For starters, make sure that you stick to the treatment program prescribed for you so that the infection in your urinary tract can be properly and thoroughly eliminated.

There is danger in stopping UTI medication midway because this gives the infection in your system to bounce back and come out even stronger than before. In that case, you will be prescribed stronger than usual antibiotics. It is better to do it right the first time, in order to avert this.




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