Burning Feeling of Bladder Infection Treatable With Antibiotics
By: Southwestern Medical Center
Dr. Philippe Zimmern, professor of urology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, hears the same troubling symptoms nearly every day -
“It burns when I go to the bathroom, and I go all the time … Do you think I have a bladder infection?”
Bladder infection is a common diagnosis in women. Symptoms range from frequent urination with burning, to sudden onset of bloody urine, new onset or worsening incontinence, pain or pressure over the pubic area or lower abdomen, all the way to fever, chills and flank pain.
“An important step is to obtain a urine culture before any treatment is initiated,” Dr. Zimmern says. “A urinalysis is a good screening test for infection but urine culture is key to determining the organism and its sensitivity. This information is essential to guide the selection of antibiotics and is more likely to eradicate the infection than an empirical treatment based on symptoms alone.”
The treatment can be started as soon as the urine has been collected and sent to the laboratory, as it may take 24 to 48 hours for the results of the culture.
Once the symptoms have disappeared, Dr. Zimmern says the urologist needs to address two issues: First, is the infection gone? And second, where did the infection come from, so that a recurrence can be prevented?
A follow-up urine culture a couple of weeks after completion of the treatment should return negative if treatment has been successful. Many infections, however, recur shortly after the end of the initial treatment and it is never clear without a follow-up culture if it is a persistent condition or a new infection. A one-time infection is rarely studied extensively but recurrent infections warrant a more complete assessment of the kidneys and bladder, both in terms of anatomy and function.