Jorge Gutierrez

Paul Roberts

Health 1020

Urinary Tract Infections

Working in healthcare, I have been exposed to many amazing experiences and

have been taught many things about health. At Intermountain Medical Center, we

dedicate ourselves in preventing more infections and illnesses while in the hospital. One

of the most hospital related infections are urinary tract infections. This infection is

caused by poor hygiene in the genital area or after a placement of a foley catheter.

There are more than 3 million cases of this infection in the United States, and is very

common.

Urinary infections is something that should be taken very seriously, the infection

starts in the urethra or bladder, but if the infection is not taken seriously it can spread to

the kidneys. Most of the time the patients have other health issues, and a foley catheter

is placed in if the patient is not releasing any urine or is retaining urine, and or are

immobile at the moment. Once placed, the urine automatically drains in the collection

bag in which we record the output and the color of the urine. Urine is sterile, the bacteria

that causes the infection is called E.coli once introduced in the urine. This infection

usually affects to the elderly due to weakness and age, but can affect younger people

as well. After asking many of my close friends and relatives, I realized most don't know

what a urinary infection is, and that is why I chose to do my research paper on it.
 The symptoms to this infection can be burning sensation while urination, frequent

urination, cloudy urine, a feeling or sensation of urinating even though the bladder is

empty, or blood in the urine. These symptoms should be taken very seriously, even

though it may not be a urinary tract infection, it could be something else that needs to

be treated. The people in particular that need to be alert of the symptoms are pregnant

women, people with diabetes, or a person who has kidney problems.

What can happen if a urinary tract infection is left untreated? If the infection is left

untreated and worsens, there can be many health problems that can occur after,

including death. If complications begin, it may spread to the bladder or the kidneys. If

this happens, bacteria can attack the kidneys and cause them to begin to fail. Kidneys

as all may know are very important for cleaning and filtering our blood, they also help

waste the excess fluid that is in our system. The kidneys help produce hormones that

affect the function of other organs in our body. Kidneys are a very powerful organ that

benefit us in many ways and help produce and regulate many things. Damaging an

essential powerhouse can really take a toll on our health.

What can increase the risk of receiving an infection? Sexually active people are

in risk of the infection, not drinking enough water, holding in urine in the bladder, or

taking frequent baths. Avoiding and using good hygiene can help and improve our

chances of receiving a urinary infection.

How do we find out if we have this infection? The symptoms should be a given

and a professional consult should be seeked, but also if further attention is needed, a

urinalysis is recommended in order to treat the infection the right way. Once the urinary

infection is detected, antibiotics will help in reducing and curing the infection. If
diagnosed with diabetes, you are more susceptible and vulnerable to getting a urinary

tract infection, the body is already weak because of the unregulated blood sugar. High

blood sugar amounts in body can cause the bacteria to grow in the urine and actually

begin to infect.

If pregnant, what risks do you have in getting an infection? Due to the pressure of

the baby on the bladder, it can make it difficult for urine to come out of the bladder. If

more complications arise, untreated infections can lead to preterm labor. This also

includes the kidney as well, urine passes through the kidney to the bladder, which

makes this even more important. During pregnancy there should be more precautions

that need to be taken, as seen urinary infections are very common for women and can

lead and cause many more complications.

A lot of people think that it is rare for one to acquire another infection while in the

hospital because first, they should be healing and not infecting, but that is not true. As

stated in the beginning of the essay, hospitals can put anyone in risk if the placement of

a foley catheter is in. The reason for this being that there is a tube that collects and

transports the urine to the collection bag, this tube is placed through the urethra and of

course stops at the bladder. Saline is inserted into a tube to secure the tubing in the

bladder. When no proper foley care is done while the insertion of the catheter is in, it

increases the chances of them getting an infection. This infection is something that

needs to be monitored and usually prolongs the stay of the patient. The longer that the

foley catheter is in, the higher the chances of infection.

If a person has a foley catheter in for 5 days, they have a 25% chance of

infection, 10 days is 50% chance of infection, and 20 days or higher is a 100% chance
of infection. As you can see according to the data gathered from Intermountain

Healthcare, the chances increase especially if a person is in the hospital for something

severe and if the foley placement is in for a long period of time. Most of the time, the

hospital tries to avoid long extended days with the foley in, they try their best to get it out

as soon as possible.

In conclusion, urinary tract infections are very common in the united states. All of

the problems that come with this infection can be prevented with good hygiene. It is

important to be aware of the symptoms, and if we are having any of the symptoms, a

consult is recommended to treat any of the further problems that may arise. Elderly are

at the highest risk for this infection, it causes them to have an altered mental status. The

infection can sometimes take a heavy toll on their body. Women are more susceptible

for it as well, due to the urethra bring a lot of smaller in the female body than the male.

This infection can happen to anyone, no one is immune to it. An infection can occur

even if we do not have a placement of a foley catheter. There are ways for bacteria to

grow and infect our urethra and bladder, that is why it is highly recommended to always

take precautions. Drink lots of water and urinate, this helps flush the bacteria out.

I find all of this information to be valuable to me because I work in the healthcare

industry. People need to be educated about this infection, I see the effects that it causes

because it is something that is very common for a person to come in with. Get

educated, and be smart, be aware and take all the helpful precautions.
 Works Cited

A Visual Guide to Urinary Tract Infections. WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

Diseases and Conditions of a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). Mayo Clinic. 30 Nov. 2016

Why Are Kidneys So Important? National Kidney Foundation, Inc., 30 East 33rd

Street, New York, NY.

What is A Bladder Infection? National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney

Diseases (NIDDK). Mar. 2017