How to Prevent a UTI?

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are relatively common among women compared to men. Because of the shorter distance between the urethral opening and the bladder, they are more prone to get UTIs. Their urethra and the anus are also in close proximity, raising the risk of UTI further.

Certain lifestyle modifications help prevent urinary tract infections in both men and women, while some prevent UTIs, especially in females.

UTI: Treatments

Doctors usually offer antibiotics to manage urinary tract infections (UTIs). The type of the antibiotic and the duration of the treatment depend on the type of bacteria found in the urine and your health condition.

Single isolated urinary tract infection

A single isolated UTI can be treated with an antibiotic. However, it is important to collect a urine sample for culture before antibiotic therapy.

Doctors offer an antibiotic for three to five days for a simple urinary tract infection. Symptoms of an uncomplicated urinary tract infection usually disappear in a few days of therapy. Amoxicillin, Nitrofurantoin, Trimethoprim, or a type of antibiotics called cephalosporin can be used for the initial therapy. Sometimes, the treatment regimen is modified according to the urine culture and sensitivity test, and/or the clinical response.

UTI: Complications and Diagnosis

If a urinary tract infection (UTI) is managed properly, it usually resolves without any complications. However, untreated UTIs, especially upper urinary tract infections, can lead to serious consequences. Therefore, prompt and proper diagnosis and management are important factors for a good outcome.

Complications

Untreated urinary tract infections can cause following complications.

• An untreated UTI can lead to an acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term) upper urinary tract infection (pyelonephritis), and consequently, results in permanent kidney damage.

• Recurrent urinary tract infections (it is a common problem, especially among women, who got three or more episodes of UTIs.)

• Untreated UTIs can increase the risk of delivering premature or low birth-weight infants.

Who Is at Risk of UTI?

Certain factors can increase the risk of developing a urinary tract infection (UTI). Some risk factors can be modified while others cannot be changed. However, certain lifestyle modifications and measures help lower the risk for UTI.

Being female

Urinary tract infections are common among females compared to males. The distance between the urethral opening and the bladder is shorter in women than in men. Therefore, their urethra increases the ability of bacteria to enter the bladder. The anus and the urethra are also situated within close proximity in females than males. It also raises the risk of UTI among women.

Urinary Tract Infection: Causes

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) usually occur due to bacteria, which enter the urinary tract via the urethra. Certain bacteria from the own bowel flora, live on the skin around the perineum. They can ascend and multiply in the urethra and the bladder. Sometimes, the bacteria can spread from the blood stream or the lymphatics to the urinary tract.

The urinary tract is designed to avoid the invading bacteria. Sometimes, these defence mechanisms can fail. Therefore, bacteria grow in the urinary tract, causing a UTI. There are several defence mechanisms to avoid urinary tract infections. They are:

How to Recognise a Urinary Tract Infection?

An infection, which occurs in any part of the urinary tract, is known as a urinary tract infection (UTI). It can take place in the urethra, bladder, ureters, and kidneys. The majority of urinary tract infections involve the lower part of the urinary tract (the bladder and the urethra). UTI is common in women compared to men. It usually occurs in an anatomically normal urinary tract in females. It is uncommon in children and men. Their infections are often associated with an abnormal urinary tract. Therefore, they need further investigation.

How to Manage Pre-diabetes in Children?

Pre-diabetes is a well-known risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Pre-diabetes and diabetes are also strongly linked with obesity. Therefore, prevention of this condition includes maintenance of a healthy body weight to avoid obesity. If an adult with pre-diabetes follows lifestyle modifications and takes medications to avoid diabetes mellitus, reduction in the risk has been noted(1). However, none of the studies has demonstrated how to avoid the progression of pre-diabetes to diabetes in adolescents and children so far.

If your child has pre-diabetes, certain lifestyle modifications will help bring the blood-sugar level to normal. They will at least prevent the progression to diabetes mellitus.

Is Your Child at Risk of Pre-diabetes?

Pre-diabetes is one of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. Some health-care experts consider pre-diabetes as a disease. Certain adults (five to ten per cent) with this condition normally advance to type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, adolescents and children with pre-diabetes have an ability to return to normal than adults.

Certain factors increase the risk of pre-diabetes in children. They include both modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors.

How Do You Know You Have Pre-diabetes?

Pre-diabetes

Pre-diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance is described by blood-glucose levels, which are raised above the upper normal value, but below the limit (threshold) for diabetes mellitus. It is important to diagnose pre-diabetes early, because it helps assess the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus and stop the progression to diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life.

Angina and Workout

Angina is a symptom of ischaemic heart disease. It is a central chest pain, which is usually described as ‘gripping’, ‘heavy’, or ‘tight’. Anginal pain may go to the arms and/or jaw. It can range from a mild ache to a very severe pain, which provokes fear and increased sweating. Sometimes, it may be associated with shortness of breath.

Usually, angina develops during physical or mental exertion. It disappears by stopping physical exertion or using glyceryl trinitrate (GTN). The main cause of angina is a narrowing of a coronary artery or its branch by fat deposits in the arterial wall (atherosclerosis or plaque build-up). Two coronary arteries and their branches supply blood to the heart muscle (myocardium). Atherosclerosis can partially occlude a coronary artery, causing insufficient blood flow to a particular part of the heart muscle. During an exercise, the heart works hard to pump more blood, oxygen, and nutrients to the working tissues. Therefore, the myocardium needs more oxygen, which is not sufficient in angina.

How to Recognise Ischaemic Heart Disease?

The heart muscle (myocardium) receives its blood supply with oxygen and nutrients through two main arteries (coronary arteries) and their branches. Partial or total occlusion of a main coronary artery or a branch can lead to an impaired blood supply to a part of the myocardium. An incomplete occlusion of the blood supply usually causes myocardial ischaemia. However, a total occlusion can lead to death of the particular part of the myocardium (infarction). These processes are known as ischaemic heart disease.

Ischaemic heart disease can weaken the ability of the heart to pump blood throughout your body. It mainly occurs due to narrowing of the coronary arteries by fat (cholesterol) deposits in their walls. This process is known as atherosclerosis or atheroma formation.

Osteoporosis and Young Women

Osteoporosis can be described as a disease characterised by low bone mass or density. A deterioration of the bone structure and thinning of the bones can be seen in osteoporosis. Therefore, it leads to enhanced bone fragility and a rise in the risk of fracture. Osteoporosis is most common among older women compared to men and young women. However, some young women as well as men can also get osteoporosis. Fortunately, some osteoporosis cases can be prevented.

Initially, we should know the causes and risk factors of osteoporosis in young women. If you are a young woman with a risk of developing osteoporosis, you can prevent osteoporosis by eliminating or modifying the particular risk factor.

Hirsutism: An Embarrassing Condition

The extent of normal hair growth differs between people, families, and races. It is somewhat extensive in the Mediterranean and some Asian subcontinent populations. Too much facial or body hair growth in a woman is known as hirsutism. There is no absolute margin between the normal hair growth and hirsutism.

Usually, sex hormones affect the hair growth in the moustache, beard, breast, chest, armpit, the midline of the abdomen, genital area, and the thighs. A type of soft hair (vellus hair), which is normally present all over the body, is not affected by the sex hormones. If a woman has excess hair growth over the regions, which contain the sex-hormone dependent hair, it shows increased male hormone (androgen) production in the ovaries and adrenal glands. This process commonly occurs due to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) but occasionally other rarer conditions. Other conditions include an abnormal growth of adrenal glands (congenital adrenal hyperplasia), Cushing’s syndrome, and tumours of the ovary and the adrenal gland.

4 Facts for a Long Life

Everyone needs and expects a long healthy life. However, most modern people have some kind of health-related problems, some of which may lower the life expectancy as well as the quality of life. Certain lifestyle modifications and simple measures can improve your health significantly hence the quality of life.

Physical activities

Inactivity is one of the critical problems in the modern society. Most people are unable to participate in adequate physical activities or exercise due to their busy lives. Physical inactivity can lead to various diseases and health-related problems. It reduces the muscle mass and triggers your aging process. Reduced muscle mass lowers the metabolism in your body hence increases the risk of developing diabetes mellitus, obesity, hypertension, high blood cholesterol, stroke, and heart attack. It can also reduce the efficiency of your activities.

Herpes Simplex Skin Infection

Herpes simplex is a virus, which causes a skin infection. It spreads from person to person by direct skin, sexual, or mouth contacts. There are two types of herpes simplex viruses (HSV). They are HSV type 1 and HSV type 2.

HSV type 1 is spread by direct contact and contaminated droplets. Most people achieve HSV type 1 in early childhood. However, the infection usually occurs without symptoms. Occasionally, it leads to fever with either clusters of painful blisters on the face or an inflammation and aching blisters in the mouth, including the gums (Gingivostomatitis). The fever is usually self-limiting.

HSV type 2 infections take place generally following puberty and normally affect the genital region. These infections are usually with no symptoms and transmitted sexually. However, HSV type 1 infection occurs in the genital area due to oral sex.

Exercise and Arthritis in Your Knees

Arthritis is characterised by the joint inflammation, resulting in pain, swelling, and decreased movements of the affected joint. It is among the leading causes of disability in people over 55 years of age. In arthritis, the affected joint and the muscles, which move the particular joint, become painful, weak, and stiff.

Arthritis in the knee results in painful, weak, stiff knee joint, and the quadriceps femoris muscle. This quadriceps muscle, which has four parts or heads and runs from the hip to the knee, is the main protector of your knee joint. It is at the front part of the thigh and helps straighten the leg. Arthritis in your knee joint causes difficulty in bending, walking, and participating in exercise, sports, and daily physical activities. However, certain stretching and strengthening exercises help offer some relief.

Can You Really Prevent the Common Cold?

The common cold is highly infectious and is one of the prevalent infections in humans. It occurs because of more than 200 types of viruses. The common viruses are rhinoviruses. Others include coronaviruses and adenoviruses. Over 100 varieties of rhinoviruses are known to cause the common cold. Therefore, it is not easy for the immune system of your body to defend you from the infection. Usually, an average person experiences two to three episodes of the common cold annually. A normal child suffers from about six common cold infections yearly.

The spread of the common cold occurs mainly due to inhalation of tiny droplets, which enter the air when a person with the common cold coughs, talks, or sneezes. Otherwise, you can catch the infection by touching the contaminated objects or surfaces with nasal secretions from a patient and then touching the eyes, nose, or mouth. The spread of cold viruses also occurs through the personal contact, like handshakes.

There is no specific vaccine or other medication to prevent the infection. However, some simple precautions and lifestyle changes help reduce the risk of getting the common cold.

How to Manage Common Cold?

There's no exact treatment for the common cold. However, some simple measures help relieve symptoms and eliminate viruses, which cause the common cold.

You should keep up the hydration of your body by drinking an adequate amount of fluids. Avoid drinks containing caffeine and alcohol. Sufficient hydration of your body will help relieve congestion and flow mucous (nasal secretions) easily. Although you have a loss of appetite, it is better you have a balanced healthy diet. Some studies show that chicken soup helps reduce the symptoms. Eating hot and spicy meals may relieve the illness because, they help flow nasal secretions. Dietary nutrients will assist the immune system to eliminate viruses from your body and shorten the duration of the common cold. Your diet should contain adequate amounts of vitamins A, B1, B2, B5, B6, folic acid, C, and the minerals copper and zinc. Zinc and vitamin C help produce a type of white blood cells known as neutrophils, which fight against infections. Zinc may reduce the duration of the illness, if the patient takes zinc in the first day of the common cold. Vitamin C may prevent the cold. However, it has no effect during the illness.

Complications of the Common Cold

The most prevalent infection in humans is the common cold. Usually, it resolves without any complications in about one to two weeks. However, some people get certain complications, which can be serious and long lasting. Therefore, it is important to know the features of the complications because, these patients need antibiotics and other medications to recover.

What Is the Common Cold?

The common cold (acute coryza) is the most widespread disease in humans. It is a highly infectious condition. The common cold causes prominent upper respiratory tract symptoms, specially in the nasal cavities, and mild symptoms in other parts of the body. It occurs due to a wide range of viruses, of which the rhinoviruses are the most prevalent. Other viruses include adenoviruses and coronaviruses. More than 100 types of rhinoviruses are responsible for the common cold. Therefore, it is difficult for your immune system to protect you from this infection. Most people suffer two to three common colds a year. However, the incidence gradually declines with age. It may be due to acquiring immunity to various types of viruses. Additionally, it is one of the well-known causes of school and work absenteeism.