Urinary tract infection is generally known as a condition wherein parts of the urinary tract are being infected by bacteria. Different bacteria can cause urinary tract infection.

But the most usual cause is the infamous bacterium Escherichia coli or more commonly known as “e. coli,” which is always present at the digestive system of every human being. Urinary tract infection has different kinds. There is the mild cystitis, or bladder infection, where the bacteria enter the bladder, therefore causing damages.

This is not a minor infection and can be prevented or treated easily, particularly during its early stages but it still should be taken seriously. However, if the bacteria travels into the kidney, it can cause major problems because once the kidney is infected, pyelonephritis (a type of UTI infecting the kidney) will occur.

This is the more serious phase of UTI because it can cause breakdown of the kidneys. If pyelonephritis is left untreated, it can result to vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), where the usual movement of urine in the body is abnormal.

The movement is going on a reverse direction, which could be bad since all the waste would return to the kidney, causing it to malfunction or worse, totally fail and shut down. This condition occurs only to 2 or 3 persons out of 100.

How do you know when you are infected with any of these types of urinary tract infections? The symptoms of cystitis include irregular urination even though there is little urine to be released, nocturia (urinating at night), pain in the middle suprapubic area, pyuria, hematuria (blood in the urine) at some occasions, mild fever and smelly and cloudy urine.

All these symptoms can also be experienced when you have pyelonephritis along with abdominal pain, extreme fatigue being felt, chills and uncommonly high fever, pain in the groin, emesis and vomiting.

The most important part in the problem of UTI is the prevention. There are lots of things you can do to prevent it from happening to you. When you are cured for UTI, you get to drink antibiotics, go through some medical treatments or worse, undergo surgery.

Those things are a lot harder to do, not to mention costly, than by just preventing it with the use of very simple measures done daily. Basically, it boils down to proper diet and a good lifestyle. The food you eat is very important.

Salty and junk foods are far from ideal, in fact, they are the main cause. In terms of liquids, too much soda and coffee can be bad in the long run. It is always best to drink these beverages with water. You may also drink liquids that enhance and promote the excretory system like coconut milk and cranberry juice.

Some preventive measures that many people may think are trivial actually help a lot in the prevention of UTI. UTI can actually be prevented if you know the clothes to wear. Some good examples of what clothes to wear are white cotton panties that allows the in and out flow of air.

It can cause the avoidance of moisture to develop in the lower area that usually turns into bacteria. It is also important to make necessary change of panties now and then and do not wear the same undergarments over a long period of time, and 24 hours is already quite a long period when it comes to underwear.

Proper hygiene is vital in having a healthy and happy lifestyle.