8 Facts About UTIs That Will Make You More Careful

Summer is peak season for UTIs, as dehydration is one of the major causes. Insufficient fluid to flush out the bladder increases the irritation in the urethra. Due to less fluid, the bacteria from the gut gets into the bladder and concentrated urine for hours allows it to proliferate.

Several million people suffer from UTIs each year, but only a small fraction of severe cases require hospitalisation.

Over the years twice the number of women, as compared to men, were hospitalised with UTIs, which could be due to the increasing bacterial resistance to commonly used antibiotics.

With increasing age, the ratio of women to men with bacteriuria progressively decreases. At least 20% of women and 10% of men older than 65 years have bacteriuria and symptomatic UTI.

The most common UTI is cystitis or inflammation of the lining of the bladder. This causes frequent urination, burning and pain while voiding, dull pain in the lower abdomen, and cloudy, bloody or odd-smelling urine. 

The most common bacteria linked to UTIs are Escherichia coli (E. coli), responsible for up to 90% of infections. The bacteria are found naturally in the gut, but the problem occurs if they enter the urethra. Many others, including klebsiella and enterococcus faecalis are becoming increasingly antibiotic-resistant. 

The prevalence of bacteriuria in young women is 30 times more than in men. Thus, less than 1% of males younger than 50, suffer from UTI.

Half of all women experience UTI at some point, with many having repeated bouts – 53% of those over 55 years and 36% of younger women report a recurrence within one year, according to a review in the British Journal of Family Medicine.