Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)

The symptoms of a UTI commonly include:

• Burning or stinging on passing urine (dysuria)
• Passing urine more frequently than normal (frequency)
• Feeling that you need to rush to pass urine (urgency)
• A feeling that you haven’t completely emptied your bladder
• Blood in your urine (haematuria)
• Pain in your lower tummy
• Smelly, cloudy urine

It is important to note that the above symptoms may not happen or may not be reported by some patients e.g. patients with dementia or children.

Other more subtle symptoms include:

Older people:

• Confusion
• Agitation

Babies:

• Irritability
• Not feeding properly
• High temperature and shivering

Children:

• Wetting the bed or wetting themselves
• Deliberately hold in their wee, because it stings

It is also important to note that there are other causes of the common symptoms and you should contact your GP if your symptoms are not settling after initial treatment.

Commonly:

• Overactive bladder
• Sexually transmitted infections
• Menopausal symptoms

The following symptoms are possible signs of serious infection and should be assessed urgently by your GP or 111 if:

• you are shivering, with chills and muscle pain
• you feel confused, or are very drowsy
• you have not passed urine all day
• you are vomiting
• you see blood in your urine
• your temperature is above 38˚ C or less than 36˚C
• you have kidney pain in your back just under the ribs
• your symptoms are getting worse
• your symptoms are not starting to improve within 48 hours of taking antibiotics

If you suspect you have a UTI in the usual working day, then you should contact your GP for advice. If, however, it is Out of Hours (OOH), then you should contact 111.

• There is currently no evidence to support taking cranberry products or cystitis sachets to improve your symptoms
• Most UTIs in women can be managed on the phone by your GP
• There are reasons your GP may need to see you, examine you and test your urine.
• Your GP will usually want to see children and men suspected of having a UTI

If you are asked to bring a urine sample and you are unsure how to do this, follow the links below:

• How to collect a urine sample in an adult
• How to collect a urine sample in a child

• NHS website – Urinary tract infections

They include:

• Rest
• Drinking enough fluids to stop you feeling thirsty. Aim to drink 6 to 8 glasses including water, decaffeinated and sugar-free drinks
• Take paracetamol at regular intervals for pain relief, if you have had no previous side effects. Please note that the RCGP guidance does suggest the use of ibuprofen. However, this should be avoided unless advised by your GP.
• There is currently no evidence to support taking cranberry products or cystitis sachets to improve your symptoms

Both are excellent resources and contain different information. On the RCGP site, you should click on the ‘Patient facing materials’.

Again, both of these sites have detailed advice on the things we can all do to reduce our risk of developing a UTI.

They include:

• Wipe from front (vagina) to back (bottom) after using the toilet
• Avoid waiting to pass urine
• Go for a wee after having sex to flush out any bacteria that may be near the opening to the urethra
• Wash the external vagina area with water before and after sex to wash away any bacteria that may be near the opening to the urethra
• Drink enough fluids to make sure you wee regularly throughout the day, especially during hot weather