Urinary tract infections?!?

I've done a TONNE of research on UTI's, and I'm still pretty confused. With a UTI in females, does it ONLY hurt to pee, or does it burn constantly?

Also, when you go to the doctor's to diagnose and treat a UTI, what does the doctor do exactly? Do you have to take a urine test, does the doctor take a look at the vagina, etc. Also, how long does it take to get the results so you could buy the antibiotics?

One last question... how much do UTI antibiotics cost roughly?

I'd like to go to the doctor's this week, but this UTI couldn't have come at a worse time. I'm getting my period for sure this week - I'm getting cramps, breaking out, and becoming very short tempered. Can the doctor still test for a UTI if I'm on my period?

I know, as gross as it sounds, but if you've had a UTI, you know it's painful!

Diagnosis of a UTI begins with a medical history and physical exam. The exam may include a pelvic exam in women and a rectal exam in men. The healthcare professional may order the following tests:
+ urethral cultures in men to see if the prostate is infected
+ urinalysis to look for protein or blood in the urine
+ urine culture to see what type of bacteria is involved

If infections occur repeatedly, more tests may be done. An intravenous pyelogram is an X-ray of the urinary tract, taken after a contrast agent is injected into the body. A cystoscopy allows the examiner to use a scope to look into the bladder.

Once treatment has begun, the symptoms of UTI disappear within 24 hours if the organism is sensitive to the antibiotic used. Antibiotics must be taken for the full course, however. If the UTI is not successfully treated, there may be kidney damage. Bacteria can spread into the bloodstream, causing a serious blood infection called sepsis. /

Hang on, there are a lot of questions here.... With a UTI it can just hurt to pee or it can burn constantly.... Often it presents with a feeling of frequency and urgency about needing to urinate that can quickly become an almost constant feeling or it can present with painful spasm feeling in the bladder... When urinating it often burns or feels like a rough rope is being pulled through your urethra
2. Usually the doctors office will simply collect a urine sample from you and that will usually be tested the same day or while you are still there... Most often you will leave with a perscription for antibiotics.. They may or may not do a pelvic exam it depends on your history and the doctor themselves..
3. Cost of antibiotics varies... It depends on if you have any allergies to any and what they prescribe. Bactrim ( sulfa ) is an old and fairly cheap antibiotic that works quite well for UTI's and as long as you do not have an allergy it may be what you are given... It should be less than 20.00 in the US, or they might give you Cipro, or Macrodantin ( MacroBid) they can cost a little more, but again it usually won't break the bank.
In the meantime drink lots of water and get to a pharmacy and buy URISTAT or AZO STANDARD for UTI discomfort it will not cure the infection but you will have a much easier night waiting for the doctors office to open, trust me
Best of luck, feel better soon!
Be sure and pee before and after sex and wipe front to back to help prevent them in the future

Yes the doctor can still check for a UTI while on your period... I really hope you got some URISTAT

I've had one. They're not fun AT ALL. It burned both when i peed and constantly when i didnt pee. It felt like i constantly had to pee. You can actually make yours go away without even going to the doctor. I was going to go but someone told me that drinking lots of plain cranberry juice would help, also, lots of water. This helped for me. I never did go to the doctor. I drank tons and tons of water and 2 -3 glasses of cranberry juice a day and mine went away within a week.

But if you go to the doctor, they will probably make you take a urine test then put you on antibiotics and tell you to drink cranberry juice.

Either way you wanna go, hope i helped!

UTI's can have many different symptons. It does NOT always hurt or burn to pee. You could also have the urge to pee more often and/or have stomach cramping.
The dr. will check your urine and may order some antibiotics immediately after the urine test. Antibiotics cost diferent prices depending on the antibiotic ordered.If you don't have insurance tell your dr. and ask him if he has some sample antibiotics he could give you. The dr.may do a more thorough exam if you are still having problems and a UTI is not found.

A UTI can cause both pain and a burning sensation. I have had several and they always have both. The doctor usually has you do a urine test and if that proves positive then you can go with the perscription. Not many UTIs will cause you to have to go through a vaginal exam unless it does not show up on the test as an UTI. The test takes about 2 seconds after the you have collected your urine. If you are in pain now and unable to see the doctor you can go to many all night pharmacies and ask if you can not locate a home test that you can take and find out if you in fact have a UTI. You can also buy medicine at the pharmacy that will help relieve the pain until you can see your doctor. I can not remember the name of the test, but there is a medicine called Uristat and others that will help. I have had several infections and they have someimes shown up on the tests and other times didnt. If you still have questions and need some more info feel free to message me and I will help as much as I can. Something you can do now to help with the pain is quit drinking anything but water. Everything else can cause your urinary tract to become inflamed since it is already hurting.

UTI affects both men and women. It's more complicated in men since the urethra is not as near the anal opening compared to women (that's why it's more frequent in women). The symptoms vary from hypogastric (lower abdomen) pain, flank pain, urinary frequency and urgency, and dysuria (painful urination). The pain depends on the tolerance of the person but intolerable pain sometimes is due not to UTI anymore but to Acute Pyelonephritis (infection of the kidney) or to Nephrolithiasis (kidney stone). Others experience vomiting and diarrhea. Most of the time, there is associated fever. The doctor should ask for a urinalysis and people with UTI have elevated WBC/pus cells in the urine. Urinalysis should take less than hour for the result but it depends on how busy the laboratory is though it shouldn't take more than a day. There are many antibiotics for UTI and are very affordable.

If you suspect you have a urinary tract infection, go see your physician as soon as possible. Sometimes a UTI can go away on its own or they can have very serious consequences if left untreated. Common UTI symptoms include burning while urinating, frequency, foul smelling urine, or blood in urine. Sometimes there are none of these symptoms except a feeling of being over tired. Diagnosis of UTI is made by performing a urinalysis and culture. The bacteria called E. coli cause most cases of UTI and is usually easily treated with a fairly cheap antibiotic such as Bactrim. Your doctor may also check you for vaginitis and also do a check for chlamydia/gc. These are also easy to get rid of, but do go see your doc.

See your doctor and get a urinalysis test. They will prescribe you the necessary antibiotic. Also, get checked for sexually transmitted disease. Some infections present with urinary symptoms. Something that I found to be really helpful is a supplement called "Cranmax" this prevents you from getting urinary tract infections. You take one pill early in the morning and it works all day. It's the highest concentration of cranberry that you can have.