Urinary Tract Infections (Print Version)

Also called: Also called: UTI

The urinary system consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. Infections of the urinary tract (UTIs) are the second most common type of infection in the body. You may have a UTI if you notice

Pain or burning when you use the bathroom
Fever, tiredness or shakiness
An urge to use the bathroom often
Pressure in your lower belly
Urine that smells bad or looks cloudy or reddish
Less frequently, nausea or back pain

If you think you have a UTI, it is important to see your doctor. Your doctor can tell if you have a UTI by testing a sample of your urine. Treatment with medicines to kill the infection will make it better, often in one or two days.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Start Here

Urinary Tract Infections: A Common Problem for Some Women(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/gen-health/190.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/women/gen-health/190.printerview.html
UTI (Urinary Tract Infections)(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/uti.cfm
What I Need to Know about Urinary Tract Infections(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/uti_ez/
Also available in Spanish http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/spanish/pubs/uti_ez/

Overviews

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/faq/Easyread/uti-etr.htm
Also available in Spanish http://womenshealth.gov/espanol/preguntas/uti.htm
Urinary Tract Infections in Adults(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/utiadult/

Latest News

Study Explains How Cranberries Prevent Urinary Infections(07/31/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_67623.html

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Blood in Urine (Hematuria)(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/blood-in-urine/DS01013/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Cystoscopy and Ureteroscopy(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/cystoscopy/
Frequent Urination(DSHI Systems) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.freemd.com/urinary-frequency/visit-virtual-doctor.htm
Hematuria (Blood in the Urine)(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/hematuria/
Imaging of the Urinary Tract(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/imagingut/
Pain During Urination(DSHI Systems) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.freemd.com/pain-during-urination/visit-virtual-doctor.htm
Painful Urination(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/gen-health/284.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/women/gen-health/284.printerview.html
Urinalysis(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/urinalysis/test.html
Urine Culture(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/urine_culture/test.html

Treatment

TMP Sulfa/Bactrim(Cleveland Clinic Foundation) - http://my.clevelandclinic.org/transplant/services/lung/tmp.aspx

Prevention/Screening

Screening for Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Adults(U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, American College of Physicians) - http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/149/1/I-37

Alternative Therapy

Cranberry(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/cranberry/

Specific Conditions

Cystitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/cystitis/DS00285/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Kidney (Renal) Abscess(American Urological Association) - http://urologyhealth.org/adult/index.cfm?cat=02&topic=118
Kidney Infection(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/kidney-infection/DS00593/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Pyelonephritis (Kidney Infection) in Adults(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/pyelonephritis/

Related Issues

Your Joint Replacement: Urological Procedures & Antibiotics(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00383

Anatomy/Physiology

Kidneys and Urinary Tract(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body_basics/kidneys_urinary.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/general/kidneys_urinary_esp.html
Your Urinary System and How It Works(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/yoururinary/

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Pyelonephritis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Pyelonephritis%22
ClinicalTrials.gov: Urinary Tract Infections(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Urinary+Tract+Infections%22

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Eosinophil cationic protein, soluble egg antigen, circulating anodic antigen, and... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18784236&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Switching antibiotics to pharmacy sale will increase resistance, doctors say. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18765454&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Antibacterial susceptibility of uropathogens in 3 hospitals, Sari, Islamic Republic... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18720619&tool=MedlinePlus
Urinary Tract Infections -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=urinary+tract+infections[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Dictionaries/Glossaries

Urologic Diseases Dictionary(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/udictionary/

Directories

Directory of Kidney and Urologic Diseases Organizations(National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/resources/organizations.htm
Find a Urologist(American Urological Association) - http://urologyhealth.org/find_urologist/

Organizations

American Urological Association - http://www.auanet.org/
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/
National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/

Statistics

Kidney and Urologic Diseases Statistics for the United States(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/kustats/

Children

Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS)(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/childkidneydiseases/hemolytic_uremic_syndrome/
Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections and Related Conditions(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/kidney/recurrent_uti_infections.html
Urinary Reflux(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/toilet/370.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/children/parents/toilet/370.printerview.html
Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/sick/uti.html
Urinary Tract Infections in Children(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/common/common/272.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/children/parents/common/common/272.printerview.html
Urinary Tract Infections in Children(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/utichildren/
Urine Tests(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/labtest7.html
Vesicoureteral Reflux(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/vesicoureteralreflux/
What I Need to Know about My Child's Urinary Tract Infection(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://www.kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/utichildren_ez/

Teenagers

All about Urinary Tract Infections(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/infections/common/uti.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/infecciones/uti_esp.html

Women

Urinary Tract Infections during Pregnancy(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/pregnancy/illness/497.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/women/pregnancy/illness/497.printerview.html
Urinary Tract Infections: A Common Problem for Some Women(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/gen-health/190.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/women/gen-health/190.printerview.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Bladder Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bladderdiseases.html
Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infections.html
Kidneys and Urinary System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/kidneysandurinarysystem.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Urinary Tract Infections is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://www.niddk.nih.gov/

Urinary Tract Infections - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/urinarytractinfections.html