Men and women of any age may experience pain or burning when urinating, but the problem is usually more common among women. Heartburn is not a disease in itself, but a sign or symptom of a disease. The treatment of heartburn depends on its cause and can range from taking antibiotics to avoiding stimulants.
People with heartburn should inform their doctor about other symptoms. Mentioning these things helps the doctor to diagnose and treat the cause more easily. Stay with us in this article to get to know the cause and treatment of heartburn.
Causes of heartburn
Pain and burning is often felt internally in the urethra (the tube that carries urine out of your body) and sometimes around the genital area. Various conditions can cause heartburn, the most common of which are:
Urinary tract infection
The urinary tract consists of the kidneys, bladder, and urethra, and a urinary tract infection (UTI) occurs when bacteria accumulates somewhere in the urinary tract. In addition to heartburn, UTIs also have other symptoms, including frequent urination, cloudy or bloody urine, side and back pain, fever, and foul-smelling urine.
Sexually transmitted infection
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and herpes, can all affect the urinary tract and cause pain and burning during urination. Symptoms may vary depending on the type of STI. For example, herpes commonly causes blister-like lesions in the genital area.
Prostate infection
Bacterial infection can cause prostatitis or prostate infection. Chronic inflammation caused by other diseases such as STI also plays a role in the occurrence of prostatitis. Difficulty urinating, pain in the bladder, testicles and penis, painful ejaculation and frequent urination (especially at night) are other symptoms of prostate infection.
Kidney stone
Sometimes, kidney stones are located near the area where urine enters the bladder, which leads to heartburn. People with kidney stones may experience other symptoms such as side and back pain, pink or brown urine, cloudy and cloudy urine, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills.
Ovarian Cysts
Ovarian cysts put pressure on the bladder, causing pain and burning during urination. Cysts can develop on one or both ovaries on either side of the bladder.
Other symptoms that women with ovarian cysts experience include: unusual vaginal bleeding, pelvic pain, difficulty telling when the bladder is empty after urinating, painful periods, breast tenderness, and a dull ache in the lower back.
Interstitial cystitis
Interstitial cystitis or bladder pain syndrome is a condition that causes chronic bladder irritation for 6 weeks or more without an underlying infection. Other symptoms of interstitial cystitis include pressure in the bladder area, pain during sex, vaginal pain, scrotal pain, and frequent urination.
Vaginal infection or irritation
Vaginitis or vaginosis is an infection that occurs due to the overgrowth of bacteria or yeast and causes burning sensation in women’s urine. A sexually transmitted infection called trichomoniasis can also lead to vaginal infection.
Foul-smelling or unusual vaginal discharge, pain during intercourse, and light vaginal bleeding are other symptoms that may occur along with heartburn.
Medicines
Some drugs cause inflammation of the bladder tissues. For example, drugs prescribed by doctors to treat bladder cancer may irritate and inflame the bladder tissues and cause pain when urinating.
Anyone who has just started a new medication and experiences pain or burning when urinating should contact their doctor and ask if this symptom could be a side effect of the medication. In this situation, the doctor may stop or change the medication to treat heartburn. Patients should not stop taking the drug arbitrarily without consulting a doctor.
Bladder Cancer
Bladder cancer occurs when cancer cells start to grow in the bladder. Pain when urinating is usually not one of the initial symptoms of this disease; Rather, the patient may first notice the presence of blood in the urine. Other possible symptoms of bladder cancer include frequent urination, difficulty urinating, lower back pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, leg swelling, and bone pain.
Chemical sensitivity
Sometimes, chemicals that are outside the body, such as perfumes, irritate body tissues and cause pain and burning when urinating. Products that can lead to chemical sensitivity include: soap, scented toilet paper, vaginal lubricants, and contraceptive foams.
People who react to chemical products may notice other symptoms such as swelling, redness, itching, and skin irritation in the genital area.
The difference between men and women
The cause of heartburn depends on the anatomy of the body and for this reason it can be different between men and women. For example, female urethra is shorter than male. As a result, most bacteria enter the bladder of women more easily and lead to urinary tract infection.
Treatment of heartburn
According to the underlying cause, the doctor prescribes pills to treat heartburn or recommends another treatment solution. Here are some examples of these methods:
- Urinary tract infection treatment with antibiotics: If a severe urinary tract infection has involved the kidneys, the treatment of heartburn in men and women requires intravenous antibiotics.
- Treatment of prostatitis with antibiotics: If the patient has chronic bacterial prostatitis, he may use these drugs for up to 12 weeks. Other things that can help treat heartburn in men in this situation include over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen), alpha-blocker drugs that relax the muscles around the prostate, prostate massage, and warm baths.
- Avoiding stimulants: Avoiding the use of scented soaps or other chemical products near the genitals is helpful to relieve urinary irritation caused by stimulants. If chemical irritation is the cause of heartburn, a person’s symptoms often resolve quickly.
To treat heartburn at home, the doctor encourages the patient to drink more fluids; Because it dilutes the urine and causes its excretion to be associated with less pain and burning. Resting and taking medication as prescribed by your doctor can help relieve symptoms further.
Home treatment for heartburn
Often, the treatment of heartburn in traditional medicine or complementary medicine includes drinking liquids and consuming special foods and supplements. Depending on the cause of heartburn, you can use the following solutions to relieve it:
Urinary tract infection
Sometimes a doctor prescribes antibiotics to treat a urinary tract infection, but antibiotics can increase bacterial resistance, and for this reason, in some cases, the doctor may recommend that you treat a urinary tract infection at home without antibiotics.
Drink plenty of water
Drinking water helps prevent and treat urinary tract infections. This work removes bacteria by diluting the urine and increasing its volume. All patients with recurrent urinary tract infections are advised to drink 2 to 3 liters of caffeine-free fluids daily.
If you have a urinary tract infection, you should avoid liquids that can irritate your bladder and make symptoms worse (such as alcohol and caffeinated drinks).
Eat cranberries
Evidence shows that cranberry is effective in preventing urinary tract infections. Because it contains proanthocyanidins (PACs), it prevents bacteria from sticking to the wall of the urinary tract.
Cranberry is sometimes used as a home remedy for vaginal and urinary irritation. In one study, women who drank a glass of cranberry juice every day for 24 weeks had fewer UTIs than a control group. The participants in this study all had a history of urinary tract infection.
To benefit from the properties of cranberries, you can use 100% natural cranberry juice without added sugar or cranberry tablets. In some cases, the cranberry juice contains too much sugar or the cranberry supplement does not have enough proanthocyanidins. Therefore, you should make sure that the product you are using is suitable.
Get vitamin C
Vitamin C increases the acidity of urine and helps eliminate bacteria that cause urinary tract infections. However, the results of studies on its effectiveness are conflicting.
Fruits and vegetables such as oranges, grapefruit, kiwi and red bell peppers are rich in vitamin C. Taking a vitamin C supplement in the short term will not harm you, but if you are taking it for a long time, you should discuss this with your doctor.
Try probiotics
Probiotics are microorganisms that help the balance of bacteria in the body, and some types of them, such as Lactobacillus, can prevent harmful bacteria from attaching to the urinary tract and reduce the possibility of urinary tract infection. Probiotics are found in yogurt, fermented foods like kimchi, and dietary supplements.
Use herbal medicines
If you don’t want to use antibiotics to control a urinary tract infection and treat the resulting heartburn, herbal supplements are worth a try. But there is not much research on them and you should consult your doctor before taking any kind of herbal medicine:
Garlic extract: Allicin in garlic has antibacterial effects and can destroy bacteria that cause urinary tract infections.
Bearberry leaf: Some studies have shown that bearberry leaf has antimicrobial properties. However, more research is needed in this area.
D-Mannose: This natural sugar found in cranberries, apples and oranges prevents bacteria from sticking to the wall of the urinary tract.
Chamomile tea: Chamomile contains compounds that have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. In addition, it acts as a weak diuretic and helps treat heartburn by expelling bacteria.
Green tea: Some compounds in green tea have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects.
prostatitis
Paying attention to the following points can relieve the symptoms of prostate inflammation:
Sit in warm water (sitz bath) or use a heating pad.
Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and spicy or acidic foods, as they may irritate your bladder.
Drink plenty of water to urinate more and flush bacteria out of the bladder.
Kidney stone
The following solutions reduce the possibility of kidney stones and help prevent them:
Time to see a doctor
Everyone may sometimes experience pain and burning when urinating. If the pain is persistent and accompanied by the following symptoms, you should see a doctor:
- Blood in the urine, which usually looks pink, brown, or red
- Side or back pain
- Pain that lasts more than 24 hours
- Unusual discharge from the penis or vagina
- Fever
If an adult has a fever above 103 degrees Fahrenheit (4.39 degrees Celsius), they should go to the emergency room immediately. You should not ignore pain and burning during urination. Early visit to the doctor increases the speed of treatment of heartburn.
Final word
Heartburn is a common problem with a variety of causes, most of which are related to bacterial infection. People who experience this symptom should see a doctor before the infection worsens or other problems develop. Antibiotics play a big role in the treatment of heartburn, but sometimes home remedies can be used to get rid of it.
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