When is it advisable to see a doctor for a bladder infection?

Bladder infection, also known as cystitis, loosely termed as a UTI, is an indication for a trip to the doctor.

Common symptoms of bladder infection would be frequency and urgency associated with painful urination (also known as dysuria). In some cases, blood can be seen in the urine.

Having said that, these symptoms can also be caused by other conditions such as urinary tract stones and even growths (be it cancerous or non-cancerous) in the urinary tract.

If you have the symptoms mentioned above, you should seek medical attention.

Hi. Actually you have to see a doctor for a bladder infection for a urine test and antibiotics. Do not treat the infection on your own by just drinking water. You may feel better after a while but the bacteria may still be active and cause another bout of infection in the future. If the infection is not treated properly, it can spread to the kidneys.

If you have a bladder infection frequently, you will need to see a specialist. We need to make sure you have no underlying causes of the frequent infection such as stones.

When to See a Doctor For Bladder Infection?

Women

For women, it is not uncommon to have occasional bladder infections/ urinary tract infections (UTI). These are usually easily treated with a short course of antibiotics from their GPs.

However, if a woman has recurrent UTIs— meaning more than 2 UTIs in 6 months or more than 3 UTIs in a year— she should be seen by a urologist to be assessed for an underlying condition such as:

• Urinary tract stones
• Tumours

Bladder cancer can present with symptoms of:

1. Visible blood in the urine
2. Frequent and/or painful urination.

If these symptoms do not respond to antibiotics or they keep happening, assessment by a urologist is strongly recommended.

Men

For men, it is unusual to have a UTI. Therefore, any man with a single episode of UTI should be seen by a urologist to exclude any underlying problems such as:

• Obstructed urination
• Urinary stones
• Tumours.