October 09, 2024
Your urinary tract is an important part of your body. It acts like a drainage system by filtering waste and extra fluids from your blood and removing them when you urinate.
The urinary tract includes your kidneys, ureters (the tubes connecting the kidneys to the bladder), the bladder, and the urethra (the tube that carries urine out of your body). All these parts need to work together for the urinary tract to function properly. When something goes wrong, it can make urination difficult or painful.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the most common urological issues.
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common urological conditions. If you have a UTI, you might experience:
• A strong, persistent urge to urinate
• A burning sensation while urinating
• Having to urinate often but only passing small amounts
• Cloudy, pink, or red urine
• Urine that has a strong odor
• Pelvic pain
While UTIs can be painful, they usually aren’t serious. A urine culture test can confirm whether you have a UTI and help determine the best antibiotic to treat it. Over-the-counter pain medications may be used to help relieve symptoms. Drinking plenty of water and drinks with electrolytes can also help with recovery because it flushes bacteria out of the urinary tract.
If your urine doesn’t contain enough water, the minerals that are normally dissolved in it can form little crystals that can grow into kidney stones.
Kidney stones are usually small enough to pass through your urinary tract without you noticing. But if a stone gets stuck, it can cause severe pain, bloody urine, and even blocked urine flow. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and an urgent need to urinate.
To diagnose kidney stones, doctors generally order a CT scan or ultrasound. Treatment options include letting the stones pass naturally, using sound waves to break them up, or removing them with medical procedures.
Overactive bladder (OAB) is a term used to describe a combination of symptoms that can stem from many urological conditions. OAB symptoms include a sudden, strong urge to urinate, often leading to urine leakage. You may also find yourself needing to urinate frequently throughout the day and night.
To identify the cause of your OAB, your doctor may ask you to keep a diary of your fluid intake and bathroom habits. They may also test your urine for blood and use a bladder scan to see how much urine remains in your bladder after you urinate.
Treatment for OAB can include medication, Botox injections for the bladder, nerve stimulation, or surgery.
Urinary incontinence is when you can’t control your bladder. It affects one fourth to one third of all Americans, most of them women.
There are several different types of incontinence:
• Stress incontinence involves leaking urine when you cough, sneeze, laugh, or exercise.
• Urge incontinence involves a sudden, intense urge to urinate without enough time to get to the bathroom.
• Overflow incontinence is the inability to fully empty your bladder, causing it to overflow and leak.
• Functional incontinence occurs when a physical or mental condition prevents you from being able to reach the bathroom in time.
• Mixed incontinence means you have more than one type of incontinence, usually a combination of stress and urge incontinence.
Depending on which type of incontinence you have, treatment options can include exercises to strengthen bladder muscles, adjusting fluid intake, taking medications, or, in some cases, surgery.
For those assigned male at birth, the following prostate issues can cause urinary problems, especially in people in their 50s and older:
• Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate that can make it difficult to start urinating, cause a weak urine stream, and result in dribbling as you finish. Treatments include medications and minimally invasive procedures that can help relieve symptoms.
• Prostate cancer occurs when cells in your prostate grow out of control. Getting diagnosed involves a physical exam, imaging, blood tests, and biopsies. Treatment for prostate cancer can include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and surgery to remove the prostate.
Men over the age of 55 should consider talking to their doctor about whether annual prostate testing is recommended. Doctors base this recommendation on a person’s personal health risks and family history.
There are many kinds of urological problems, each with its own symptoms, causes, and treatments. Being aware of these conditions and their signs can help you seek treatment early and understand what your treatment may involve.
Your primary care doctor can help diagnose a urological issue and guide you on the next steps. They might refer you to a urologist if specialized care is required. However, if you think you have a urinary tract infection, going to an urgent care center may be more appropriate. If you’re experiencing severe pain that suggests a kidney stone may be the issue, it's best to head straight to the emergency room for treatment.
