Symptoms of urethritis in women

Urethritis is a disease of the genitourinary system that is diagnosed in both men and women. The disease is more often found in males due to the greater severity of symptoms. But the incidence rate is equally high among both sexes.

What is urethritis?
Causes of urethritis in women
Symptoms
Urogenital tuberculosis
Diagnostics
Complications
Treatment of acute urethritis
Diet for urethritis in women
General recommendations for recovery
Treatment of chronic urethritis

What is urethritis?

Symptoms of urethritis in women can be very mild, and a woman may not pay attention to them. Also, the disease often occurs in a latent form: when there is an infection in the body, but there are no signs of illness. Then the person does not even suspect about the pathology and does not seek medical help. In such cases, the prognosis is unfavorable, because lack of treatment leads to the process becoming chronic. And, it is logical that it carries certain complications and difficult therapy in the future.

Urethritis is a disease in which the walls of the urethra (urethra) become inflamed. The reasons may vary. Urethritis is widespread and is mainly associated with an inflammatory or infectious disease of the human genitourinary organs.

The female urethra is only 1-2 centimeters long, and the width is quite large. Pathogenic microbes easily enter this channel, and their ease of penetration into the bladder is noted. The outflow of urine is disrupted, even if the urethra is slightly swollen due to the pathological process taking place in it. Urethritis does not pose a threat to the patient’s life. But its symptoms worsen a person’s quality of life and negatively affect the state of the sexual sphere and reproductive function.

Doctors often discover urethritis in a woman, which develops along with cystitis. Moreover, the last named disease is a complication of the first, which happens in many cases. Therefore, it is important to treat inflammation of the urethra in a timely manner; it will not go away on its own. In cases of lack of treatment, an ascending process may begin, and this is already more difficult and expensive to cure.

Epididymitis (inflammation of the epididymis)

It is observed quite often and occurs due to the penetration of gonococci into the appendage from the prostatic part of the urethra through the vas deferens. The disease begins suddenly with the appearance of pain in the epididymis and groin area. With gonorrhea, men may experience an increase in body temperature to 39 - 40 ° C, chills, headache, and weakness. On palpation, the appendage is enlarged, dense and painful. The skin of the scrotum is tense and hyperemic. Gonococcal lesions of the epididymis lead to the formation of scars in the ducts of the epididymis. As a result, azoospermia and infertility occur.

Causes of urethritis in women

The cause is infection. But sometimes the urethra is damaged by non-infectious agents. Therefore, the disease is divided into two types:

infectious
non-infectious (can be non-specific and specific)

Specific urethritis is a common inflammation with the discharge of pus. Symptoms depend on the causative agent of the pathology. Mainly:

staphylococci
streptococci
coli

This type of urethritis occurs when a woman contracts sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) through unprotected sex.

Causative agents of infectious specific inflammation of the urethra:

Trichomonas
gonococci
mycoplasma
chlamydia
Candida mushrooms

An infectious type of urethritis in women can be triggered by viruses, in most cases these are genital warts (causing HPV) or the herpes virus.

Causes of non-infectious inflammation of the urethra:

first sexual intercourse
venous congestion in the pelvic vessels
diseases of the female sphere
allergic diseases
entry into the urethra of foreign objects that irritate the walls of the canal
trauma to the canal when independently inserting various objects into it, during catheterization or during cystoscopy
urethral cancer, which also causes inflammation
urolithiasis (small stones enter the urethra and its layer is damaged)

A woman can become infected with infectious urethritis:

during sexual intercourse
through blood

If barrier contraception was not used during sexual intercourse, there is a very high risk of contracting urethritis. Through the blood (hematogenous route), pathogens enter the urethra through dishes, or from the zone of chronic inflammation. Such zones can be:

tuberculosis
tonsillitis
chronic sinusitis
teeth with caries

A high risk of urethritis occurs in those women who have one or more of the following factors:

pregnancy (immunity is reduced, so the infection takes over the body faster and easier, and the balance of hormones changes, which also contributes to the development of the disease)
significant psycho-emotional stress, constant stress
constant consumption of alcoholic beverages
excessive cooling of the body
genital injury
diseases of the genitourinary system of various types
chronic inflammation in the body
violation of personal hygiene rules
reduced immunity as a result of a deficiency of vitamins in the body, strict diets, poor nutrition, serious illnesses in the past, etc.

Symptoms

Only in rare cases does the disease make itself known with clear symptoms. In women, they are mainly manifested dimly, as noted above. The incubation period can last from minutes to 1-2 months. After this, there may be no noticeable symptoms, which occurs in 50% of cases of urethritis in women. Although the disease is latent, at this time a woman can infect her sexual partners.

Symptoms of specific and nonspecific types are different. But all types of urethritis have a common clinical picture:

feeling that the duct is stuck together when you go to the toilet in the morning
presence of blood in urine
discharge from the urethra, including purulent ones
occasional aching pain in the pubic area
itching and other unpleasant sensations when urinating (squeezing or pulling, etc.)

These symptoms may not be fully noticeable. Only 1-2 of them may be present, or they will alternate. With urethritis there is no typical infectious clinical picture. The person does not feel weak, his body temperature can remain within normal limits.

Symptoms of urethritis in women, which occurs in a chronic form, are most often absent. But from time to time, under the influence of various factors, the disease can worsen, and then disturbing symptoms are likely to occur. The specific infectious type of disease manifests itself in different ways, which depends on the pathogen (to a certain extent helps the doctor in diagnosing the agent).

Gonorrheal urethritis

In the acute phase, a woman experiences pain and pain when she goes to the toilet “little by little.” The incubation period for this type of urethritis is 2-4 weeks. If you do not empty your bladder for a long time, then discomfort and pain appear in the urethra. This indicates specifically gonorrheal urethritis.

If you find these symptoms in yourself, immediately go to the doctor. It is at this stage that it is easiest to diagnose the disease and find the causative agent. After all, in the chronic phase it will seem to you that everything has passed, and there is no reason to see a doctor. And the process will actually progress.

Trichomonas urethritis

The incubation period is approximately the same as that of the type of urethritis described above. In 1/3 of cases there is no specific clinical picture. A typical symptom is burning and pain in the urethra and external genitalia. In the chronic form, symptoms disappear.

Candidal urethritis

Here the incubation period is shorter, ranging from only 10 to 20 days in different cases. Then a burning sensation, pain and other unpleasant sensations appear when going to the toilet to empty the bladder. There is also discharge from the urethra, which is white-pink in color. They are viscous in consistency, sometimes thick. Symptoms of candidal urethritis in women are moderate.

Mycoplasma urethritis

The onset of the disease is subacute, there are no severely disturbing symptoms. The disease begins with slight discomfort and mild itching when going “little by little” to the toilet. Today, this type of urethritis is found very rarely. If mycoplasmas are found in the urethra, in many cases this is normal and treatment is not required.

Chlamydia urethritis

The incubation period is two or three weeks. The symptoms are very mild. There may be slight pain or itching when urinating. Discharge from the urethra is also typical, it can be different. In some cases, the discharge is purulent.

Urogenital tuberculosis

A similar clinical picture occurs in women with tuberculosis. This disease affects not only the lungs. There are many types of tuberculosis, the process can even affect the urethra, kidneys or genitals. Typical symptoms are:

increased sweating
weakness
low-grade fever that does not go away for a long time

Tuberculous urethritis often develops only when there is tuberculous kidney damage. In such cases, the process also affects the human bladder. In some cases, tuberculosis of the genital organs is also found.

The incidence of tuberculosis today is growing, and extrapulmonary forms are often recorded. With them, x-rays do not show the lesion, but in fact, the causative agent of the disease is actively operating in the human body.

Do not delay going to the doctor if you notice any disturbing symptoms, even mild or periodically disappearing. There are many diseases that you cannot distinguish, judging only by how you feel and the symptoms that arise. Only an experienced doctor can make the correct differential diagnosis and prescribe adequate treatment.

Parenchymal prostatitis

Occurs when the muscular-elastic stroma of the prostate gland is involved in the process. Individual inflammatory infiltrates, destroying the parenchyma of the gland, merge with each other and initially form limited purulent cavities. By merging with each other, abscesses can form one large abscess, which engulfs an entire lobe and even the entire gland.

Subjective and objective symptoms of parenchymal prostatitis correspond to the symptoms of posterior urethritis. There may be difficulty urinating and even complete urinary retention. Patients experience feelings of pressure and fullness in the anus, pain during bowel movements. The pain often radiates to the penis, sacrum, and pelvis. Upon palpation, an enlargement of the prostate gland is detected due to the affected lobe or the entire gland.

Diagnostics

Examination reveals hyperemia (increased temperature) of the external opening of the urethra and nearby tissues. During palpation (an examination method by probing certain areas), painful sensations occur. The patient may complain of discharge from the urethra. It is important to send the woman to donate blood and urine - general examinations are carried out. Urine is also given for analysis according to Nechiporenko.

A bacteriological examination of urine is needed to identify the pathogen and the medications that can be used to destroy it (antibioticogram). A scraping is made from the urethra to examine it using the PCR method. The patient's urine is also analyzed for Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Instrumental diagnostic methods:

urethroscopy (possibly with biopsy sampling)
urethrocystoscopy
ultrasound diagnostics

Prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate gland)

It occurs acutely or chronically. Prostatitis is classified according to the nature and degree of damage: catarrhal, follicular, parenchymal. With catarrhal prostatitis, the ducts of the adjacent glandular lobules of the prostate gland are inflamed, infiltrated, in their lumen there is a significant amount of leukocytes, mucus, epithelium, and gonococci. Patients with gonorrhea complain of an increased urge to urinate. There is a slight burning or tickling in the perineal area, a slight sensation of pressure in the anus. Urine is transparent with an admixture of single threads and flakes. Palpation does not reveal any changes in the prostate gland. Prostatitis can be recognized only by microscopic examination of the secretion, which reveals increased leukocytosis, as well as sometimes gonococci.

Complications

As already noted, complications are very likely if urethritis is left untreated for a long time. Basically, the first thing that happens to women with untreated inflammation of the urethra is cystitis. Also, in many cases, complications include vaginitis and vulvovaginitis.

With an ascending infection, the following (more health-threatening) complications arise in women:

endometritis
adnexitis
colpitis
infertility

Treatment of acute urethritis

Therapy is carried out at home if there are no dangerous complications. It is important to adhere to the treatment regimen prescribed by the doctor, as well as exercise control (the doctor will also tell you about this). As for medications, antibiotics are prescribed, unless, of course, it is a fungal or viral infection. In such cases, the treatment will be slightly different.

It is important to choose the right antibiotic based on the patient’s test results. All pathogens have high and low sensitivity to certain antibacterial drugs.

If a nonspecific type of disease is detected, then broad-spectrum antibiotics are used (affecting most pathogens):

sulfonamides
cephalosporins
fluoroquinolones
macrolides

If urethritis is caused by the causative agent of gonorrhea, the following medications are used:

cefacor
rifampicin
cefuroxime
ceftriaxone
oletethrine
spectinomycin
erythromycin

Treatment will be different in each case. That is why self-medication is strictly prohibited. If you don’t get tested, you won’t know what pathogen you have and how exactly you can “kill” it.

If the disease is caused by Trichomonas, then use any of the following drugs:

metronidazole (trichopolum)
iodovidone suppositories
chlorhexidine
ornidazole
imorazole
benzydamine

If symptoms of urethritis in women are caused by Candida, the doctor will prescribe medications that can kill the fungus. This:

amphoglucamine
clotrimazole
natamycin
nystatin
levorin

Mycoplasma urethritis requires the prescription of antibacterial drugs, mainly tetracyclines. The drugs of choice are tetracycline itself and doxycycline. Urethritis caused by chlamydia in female patients is treated with tetracycline antibiotics, as well as the type described above. Other drugs that are suitable include clinafloxacin, azithromycin, clarithromycin and erythromycin.

Viral urethritis is treated with appropriate medications:

penciclovir
famciclovir
ribavirin
acyclovir
ganciclovir

If a doctor finds urethritis in a woman, he first prescribes her antibiotics, which can destroy most of the known causative agents of the disease. They are called broad-spectrum drugs. This is important so that the process does not become chronic while the doctor and patient wait for test results, which will indicate the pathogen and its sensitivity to individual antibiotics.

Forms in which antibiotics are available to treat inflammation of the urethra:

tablets (swallow)
IV or IM solutions
installations for infusing medication directly into the canal
suppositories that are inserted into the vagina

In approximately 40 cases out of 100, treatment with one antibiotic is recommended, which in the language of doctors is called monotherapy. Also, in 40 cases out of 100, a combination of two antibacterial drugs is required. And only in a minority of cases are three or even 4 medications treated simultaneously.

Treatment of chronic urethritis

Treatment should be comprehensive:

taking vitamins and minerals
washing the urinary canal with antiseptics
taking antibiotics

An antibiotic is installed into the patient's urethra. If granulations are present, collargol and silver solution are installed in the urethra, as well as bougienage and cauterization of the urethra with a 10% - 20% silver nitrate solution (if there is significant narrowing).

If a chronic disease is caused by trichomonas, then it is necessary to install a 1% solution of trichomonacid into the urinary canal. The disease caused by chlamydia requires not only the use of antibiotics, but also probiotics, interferon preparations, immunomodulators, hepatoprotectors, vitamin complexes, antioxidants, and enzyme therapy.

Over the course of their lives, more than 50% of women suffer from urethritis one or more times. Therefore, you should be attentive to your health and do not postpone visits to the doctor if you notice disturbing symptoms of the genitourinary system.

Preparing for analysis

It is important not only to visit a urology office and get a referral for tests, but also to properly prepare for them.

This guarantees obtaining the most reliable results and eliminates the need for repeated examinations.

Basic rules of preparation:

Do not have sex 3 days before the test
Avoid taking antibiotics and get tested 2 weeks after completing the course
Do not douche with antiseptic and antibacterial solutions
Wash with warm water without cosmetics
2-3 hours before collecting biomaterial, avoid urination

On the eve of the analysis, it is not recommended to consume alcohol, spicy, fatty and smoked foods.

Blood is donated on an empty stomach, morning urine is collected in a sterile container.

Urethritis in men. Author of the article: urologist Iskandarov Aidar Raushanovich.