Signs and treatment of urinary tract infections in men

The article was professionally consulted by Doctor Nguyen Ba Hung - Reproductive Support Center - Vinmec Times City International General Hospital.

Urinary tract infections in men cause burning, inconvenience, discomfort, affecting daily activities and the risk of leaving many dangerous complications. So what are the signs of UTI and how should men handle it?

Urinary tract infection (or urinary tract infection) is an inflammatory disease that occurs in the urinary tract, caused by bacteria. This inflammation usually doesn't seriously affect the patient's life in the early stages, but can cause pain and discomfort in daily activities. Especially for cases of bacteria that are resistant to conventional treatments, the symptoms are often more severe and difficult to treat.
The disease is more common in women. However, if not detected and treated early, men are also at risk of many very dangerous complications, even infertility.

When suffering from urinary tract infections in men, not everyone presents with complete and obvious clinical symptoms. However, most male patients notice some symptoms of UTI:
Always feeling the need to urinate and urinating frequently Urinary urgency: Each time urinating indicates a little Painful urination: Burning sensation or Burning when urinating Blood in urine : The urine is red with blood, especially when urinating most or all of the urine output (terminal or total hematuria) The urine is cloudy and has a bad smell.

In addition, urinary tract infections in men have some other specific symptoms, depending on which part of the urinary tract is infected.
If it is acute pyelonephritis : The patient often has pain in the hips, back or ribs, possibly high fever, accompanied by tremors, feeling nauseous and vomiting. If it is cystitis: The patient will feel heavy pressure in the lower abdomen, may feel pain and discomfort in the lower abdomen. When urinating, there is a burning, burning sensation and a bad smell. If it is urethritis: Men may notice a pus discharge from the penis, and a burning sensation when urinating.

Urinary tract infections in men not only bring inconvenience to daily activities, but also have the risk of leaving many dangerous complications:
Urinary tract infections, if not detected and treated promptly , which can lead to retrograde inflammation of the ureters and pyelonephritis in men. Causing inflammation of the vas deferens, seminal vesicles, testicles... affects the fertility of men. Decreased sex quality: Men with urinary tract infections are always in a state of shyness, apprehension, and loss of confidence. When having sex with your partner, you will feel pain, adversely affecting the quality of sexual activity. Urinary tract infections are also a warning sign for sexually transmitted diseases, such as genital warts, gonorrhea...

Principles of treatment of UTIs in men include eradicating pathogenic bacteria and eliminating or limiting predisposing factors, if any. Usually, the symptoms of a urinary tract infection will gradually disappear after a few days of treatment. In some cases, patients have to take antibiotics for a longer period of time.

For recurrent urinary tract infections, the treatment time is usually longer or the combination of additional treatment with many short courses of antibiotics even when the symptoms are gone. In the case of men with UTIs that are related to sex, prophylactic treatment with a dose of antibiotics can be performed after each sexual activity.
In case the disease becomes serious, the patient needs to go to the hospital for treatment and use intravenous antibiotics. If a man has a chronic urinary tract infection, it is necessary to visit a nephrologist for monitoring, accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment for abnormalities of the urinary tract. In addition, patients need to follow a treatment program and manage possible long-term complications, such as kidney failure.
To prevent urinary tract infections in men and other urological diseases, Vinmec International General Hospital has a urological examination and screening package for male customers aged 50 years and over. The package of urological examination and screening helps to detect the possibility of urinary diseases early. Especially prostate diseases (benign prostatic hypertrophy, prostate cancer), urolithiasis .... thereby helping customers to take preventive measures.