In the event of a urinary infection in men, it is important to consult to avoid the serious risk of complications. What are the symptoms and causes? What are the treatments to treat it?
A urinary infection is an infection of one or more parts of the urinary tract. We distinguish urethritis (urethral infection), cystitis (bladder inflammation), pyelonephritis (kidney infections). In men, urinary infection is most often prostatitis (prostate infection). It causes many symptoms and cause of risk of complications if she is not well cared for. What are the causes ? Is there a risk of transmission ? What are the treatments? Is that bad ?
Definition: what is a urinary infection in men?
In humans, urinary infections are preferentially located in the lower urinary tract (urethra, prostate, epididymis). “When we talk about urinary tract infections in men, we are generally talking about prostatitis which is by far the most common urinary infection in men“, explains Dr. Maxime Vallée, urological surgeon.
What are the symptoms of urinary tract infection in men?
“The term male urinary tract infection has recently appeared and covers different forms of urinary infections.informs the urological surgeon. Clinical prostatitis associates fever, urinary burning, frequent urge to urinate, difficulty urinating… All of these symptoms occurring relatively suddenly“There are also forms of prostatitis without fever which we call “cystitis-like” and which are characterized by the preceding urinary symptoms but without associated fever. “What characterizes urinary tract infection in men is often a relatively sudden onset and the presence of fever with a feeling of malaise in a context of symptoms of the lower urinary tract causing abnormal or incomplete urination.“, indicates Dr Maxime Vallée.
What causes urinary tract infection in men?
Urinary infections in men pose a risk of serious complications
The rare prostatitis that we encounter in young men is sometimes due to sexually transmitted infections. “There is an increase in sexually transmitted diseases in particular to Chlamydia and Gonococcus in recent years linked to an increase in risky behavior” recalls Dr. Maxime Vallée. Sometimes, these prostatitis are due to bacteria Escherichia Coli. It is then necessary to look for anatomical or functional causes that could explain poor bladder emptying, such as urethral stenosis. Prostatitis in men over 50 is most often linked to increase in prostate volume with age, which leads to disorders of the lower urinary tract: incomplete emptying of the bladder, urine residue in the bladder, which leads to a risk of urinary infection, most frequently due to Escherichia Coli. “In men with a urinary tract infection, there is always a etiological assessment to look for a functional abnormality (abnormality of bladder emptying linked to a neurological disease for example) or anatomical (increase in the volume of the prostate, stenosis of the urethra) of the urinary system” informs Dr. Maxime Vallée.
Urinary infections in men are treated with antibioticssometimes a bladder drainage when there is acute retention of urine. “Following antibiotic treatment, the cause must be sought and above all treated. The most common case is an enlarged prostate, which prevents the bladder from emptying physiologically.” indicates Dr Maxime Vallée. In the event of benign prostatic hyperplasia responsible for these symptomsmedical treatment (oral treatment) can be implemented. In case of severe or complicated form, surgical treatment can be performed to remove the part of the prostate that blocks the urethral canal (trans-urethral resection of the prostate).
What are the complications of urinary tract infection in men?
Prostatitis is serious and even poses a life-threatening risk. One of its complications is the acute retention of urine which aggravates the infection with a risk of bacteremia (passage of bacteria into the blood). Signs of urinary infection occurring suddenly in men should therefore prompt consultation.
Is urinary infection in men transmissible?
Urinary infections in men, apart from cases of sexually transmitted infections, are not contagious. “The sexually transmitted infection can be located in the prostate, the urethra (acute anterior urethritis or “piss hot”), the epididymis or the testicle (epididymitis or orchi-epididymitis).” specifies the urological surgeon.
When a man begins to have lower urinary tract disorders (frequent urge to urinate, need to urinate several times at night, feeling of having to push to properly empty the bladder, etc.) it is advisable to see a doctor. “These are warning signs which should firstly lead to the search for a subvesical obstacle which will have to be taken care of to prevent these symptoms from getting worse and avoid the risk of urinary tract infection“, warns Dr Maxime Vallée.
Thanks to Dr Maxime Vallée, urological surgeon at Poitiers University Hospital and member of the Infectiology Committee of the French Urology Association (CIAFU).