1. Urinary Tract Infection (UTI

UTI refers to the contamination by microorganisms, mainly bacteria, of the organs that are part of the urinary system. It usually involves only the lower urinary tract, the urethra and the bladder. It is more common in women than in men due to the female urethra’s length. The male urethra is farther from the bladder, so the bacteria that can infect it usually do not ascend very far and are swept away when the person urinates. In women, the urethra is short, so bacteria can easily access the bladder.

Urinary tract infections are painful, and their symptoms progress in a short time. In less than 12 hours, you can go from feeling mild discomfort when urinating to having bloody urine. The first sign is discomfort during urination that does not hurt. A few hours later, the pain begins before urination and a burning sensation after. This symptom is called dysuria, and it’s typical of urinary tract infections. Bloody urine is a common sign. It is important to differentiate between blood that is diluted in the urine and blood with clots. With the first, we think of an infectious problem; with the second, there are other, more complex diagnostic possibilities, like bladder cancer for example. Finally, urinary urgency and vesical tenesmus are also frequent symptoms. Urinary urgency is the sensation of having an uncontrollable urge to urinate, and vesical tenesmus is the sensation of not being able to completely empty the bladder. Few of the men who read this will be familiar with these symptoms; however, most women have had urinary tract infections and know how to recognize them fairly easily.

BruceBlaus, Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 BruceBlaus, Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0