Urethritis

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Female urinary tract

Urethritis

Treatment:

The goal of therapy is to improve symptoms, prevent spread of infection to other genitourinary tract organs, and eliminate the cause of infection. Antibiotic therapy should be tailored to specific organism causing the infection -- the patient may or may not need intravenous antibiotics.

text continues below

Abstinence from intercourse or use of condoms should be recommended throughout the course of treatment. If an infectious organism is the cause of the inflammation, sex partners of the affected person must also be treated.

Urethritis caused by trauma or chemical irritants is treated by avoiding the source of injury or irritation.

Analgesics (pain relievers) and urinary tract-specific analgesics (such as pyridium) may be used along with antibiotics.

Expectations (prognosis):

With appropriate diagnosis and treatment, urethritis usually clears up without any complications. However, urethritis can lead to permanent damage to the urethra and other genitourinary organs in both men and women.

Complications:

Urethritis may lead to cystitis (bladder infection), pyelonephritis (kidney infection), epididymitis (epididymis infection), orchitis (testes infection), or prostatitis (prostate infection) in men.

In women, urethritis may cause PID (pelvic inflammatory disease), cervicitis (infection of the cervix), salpingitis (infection of the ovaries), and fertility problems, as well as ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, and other complications of pregnancy.

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if symptoms suggesting urethritis occur, particularly if you have recently engaged in high-risk sexual behavior.