Sponsored by: URISTAT®
It is a common myth that only women in their 20s are susceptible to urinary tract infections (UTIs). Did you know UTIs are actually very common among perimenopausal and menopausal women as well?
Most women are familiar with common symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, such as mood swings, hot flashes and night sweats. But many are surprised when they start getting UTIs again, often recurring, at this stage of life. A UTI is a bacterial infection in your bladder, kidneys, ureters (tubes connecting kidneys to your bladder) or urethra (tube that lets your bladder empty).
During perimenopause, estrogen levels can decline and be the reason for some of the known menopausal symptoms like vaginal dryness, hot flashes and night sweats. A lack of estrogen and good bacteria also allows “bad bacteria” to grow more easily in the vagina or urethra, resulting in a UTI. In addition, less estrogen in the body causes changes in the urinary tract that make it more vulnerable to infection.
If you feel like you have to urinate more often than normal, or go to the bathroom but find there really isn’t much in your bladder, then you might have a UTI.
Other common symptoms of a UTI include pain or burning when you urinate, cloudy or bloody urine (pink or brown colored), and a strong odor to your urine. You may have fever, chills, pain or cramping in your lower abdomen or back.
If you think you have a UTI, you must schedule an appointment with your health care provider to be tested and receive a prescription for an antibiotic. Leaving a UTI untreated, for menopausal women as well as women at other ages, can lead to a more serious infection in your kidneys that may cause permanent damage.
While waiting to see your heath care provider, you can alleviate the UTI pain with an over-the-counter urinary pain reliever like URISTAT® Pain Relief Tablets, which provide fast temporary relief of pain, burning, urgency and frequency of urination. URISTAT® Pain Relief Tablets contain phenazopyridine HCI, which is the #1 doctor recommended OTC ingredient for fast, temporary relief of UTI pain. These tablets can also be taken while on antibiotics to help relieve pain while you wait for the infection to clear completely.
Also while you wait to see a health care provider, you can perform a self-test at home to see if you have a UTI using the URISTAT® UTI Test Strip, which is included in the URISTAT® Relief PAK™. The URISTAT® Relief PAK™ also includes 12 URISTAT® Pain Relief Tablets.
If your self-test shows that you have a UTI, make sure your health care provider knows the result of the test. He or she may need to perform an in-office test in order to prescribe the most effective antibiotic to kill the bacteria causing your infection. Even if your test reads negative, it is still a good idea to reach out to your health care provider for his or her opinion and diagnosis. It’s important to also let your health care provider know that you have taken URISTAT® Pain Relief Tablets.
While URISTAT® can help identify UTIs and relieve UTI pain, it is important to know that it does not cure the infection.
Visit www.uristat.com to learn more about UTIs and URISTAT® products, and to download a $1 off coupon.
Sources:
National Kidney Foundation. Urinary Tract Infections. Web. March 26, 2015.
https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/utihttps://www.kidney.org/atoz/conte...
https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/uti
Uristat. Web. March 26, 2015.
http://www.uristat.com/home
http://www.uristat.com/home
Uristat. Drugs.com.
http://www.drugs.com/mtm/uristat.htmlhttp://www.drugs.com/mtm/uristat.html
http://www.drugs.com/mtm/uristat.html
Reviewed April 27, 2015
By Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith