What are the causes of urethritis? What are the symptoms of urethritis? How is urethritis diagnosed and treated? Get the answers to these questions and more in this comprehensive guide.

Understanding Urethritis: An Overview

Urethritis is a condition characterized by the inflammation of the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. This condition can be caused by various factors, including bacterial infections, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and other underlying health issues. Proper understanding of the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of urethritis is crucial for effective management and prevention of this condition.

Causes of Urethritis

Urethritis is commonly caused by bacterial infections, often transmitted through sexual contact. The most common causative agents include:

• Gonococcus: The bacteria responsible for the sexually transmitted infection, gonorrhea.
• Chlamydia trachomatis: The bacteria that causes chlamydia, another common STD.
• Bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract: Bacteria present in and around the stool can also lead to urethritis.
• Herpes simplex virus (HSV-1 and HSV-2): These viruses can also cause urethritis.
• Trichomonas: A single-celled organism that is sexually transmitted and can lead to urethritis.

Symptoms of Urethritis

The primary symptom of urethritis is pain or discomfort during urination (dysuria). Other common symptoms include:

• Frequent or urgent need to urinate
• Difficulty starting urination
• Itching, pain, or discomfort when not urinating
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Discharge from the urethral opening or vagina
• In men, blood in the semen or urine

Diagnosis of Urethritis

To diagnose urethritis, healthcare providers typically take a medical history, ask about symptoms, and perform a physical examination, including an inspection of the genitals, abdomen, and rectum. Additional tests that may be used to confirm the diagnosis and identify the underlying cause include:

1. Urine tests for the presence of gonorrhea, chlamydia, or other bacteria
2. Examination of any discharge under a microscope
3. Blood tests, which are less commonly required but may be done in certain situations

Treatment of Urethritis

The treatment for urethritis typically involves the use of antibiotics, which can effectively cure the condition when it is caused by bacterial infections. Some of the commonly prescribed antibiotics include:

• Doxycycline (Vibramycin, Adoxa, Monodox, Oracea)
• Azithromycin (Zmax, Zithromax)
• Ceftriaxone (Rocephin)
• Metronidazole (Flagyl) for trichomoniasis
• Acyclovir (Zovirax), famciclovir (Famvir), or valacyclovir (Valtrex) for herpes simplex virus-related urethritis

It is important to note that if the exact causative organism is not identified, a healthcare provider may prescribe a combination of antibiotics to effectively treat the infection.

Prevention of Urethritis

To prevent urethritis, it is crucial to practice safe sexual behaviors, such as using condoms during sexual activity and limiting the number of sexual partners. Regular STD testing and prompt treatment of any infections can also help reduce the risk of developing urethritis. Additionally, maintaining good hygiene and avoiding the spread of bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract can help prevent urethritis.

When to Seek Medical Attention

If you experience any symptoms of urethritis, such as pain during urination, discharge, or other discomfort, it is essential to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Untreated urethritis can lead to more severe complications, including the spread of infection to other parts of the body, and in some cases, infertility. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are crucial for the effective management of urethritis.

Conclusion

Urethritis is a common condition that requires prompt diagnosis and treatment to prevent complications. Understanding the causes, symptoms, and appropriate management strategies is essential for maintaining good urinary and reproductive health. By practicing safe sexual behaviors, maintaining good hygiene, and seeking medical attention when necessary, individuals can reduce the risk of developing urethritis and its associated complications.

Urethritis: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Written by Matthew Hoffman, MD

• Urethritis Causes
• Urethritis Symptoms
• Diagnosis of Urethritis
• Urethritis Treatment

Urethritis is inflammation of the urethra. That’s the tube that carries urine from the bladder to outside the body.

Pain with urination is the main symptom of urethritis. Urethritis is commonly due to infection by bacteria, most often through sexual contact. It can typically be cured with antibiotics.

Most episodes of urethritis are caused by infection by bacteria that enter the urethra from the skin around the urethra’s opening. Bacteria that commonly cause urethritis include:

• Gonococcus, which is sexually transmitted and causes gonorrhea.
• Chlamydia trachomatis, which is sexually transmitted and causes chlamydia.
• Bacteria in and around stool.

The herpes simplex virus (HSV-1 and HSV-2) can also cause urethritis. Trichomonas is another cause of urethritis. It is a single-celled organism that is sexually transmitted.

Sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhea and chlamydia are usually confined to the urethra. But they may extend into women’s reproductive organs, causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).

In men, gonorrhea and chlamydia sometimes cause epididymitis, an infection of the epididymis, a tube on the outside of the testes. Both PID and epididymitis can lead to infertility.

The main symptom of urethra inflammation from urethritis is pain with urination (dysuria). In addition to pain, urethritis symptoms include:

• Feeling the frequent or urgent need to urinate
• Difficulty starting urination

Urethritis can also cause itching, pain, or discomfort when a person is not urinating.

Other symptoms of urethritis include:

• Pain during sex
• Discharge from the urethral opening or vagina
• In men, blood in the semen or urine

You may get a diagnosis of urethritis when your doctor takes your medical history and asks you about your symptoms.

If you are having painful urination, your doctor may assume an infection is present. They may treat it with antibiotics right away while waiting for test results.

Tests can help confirm the diagnosis of urethritis and its cause. Tests for urethritis can include:

• Physical examination, including the genitals, abdomen, and rectum
• Urine tests for gonorrhea, chlamydia, or other bacteria
• Examination of any discharge under a microscope

Blood tests are often not necessary for the diagnosis of urethritis. But blood tests may be done in certain situations.

Antibiotics can successfully cure urethritis caused by bacteria. Many different antibiotics can treat urethritis. Some of the most commonly prescribed include:

• Adoxa, doxycycline (Vibramycin), Monodox, Oracea
• Azithromycin (Zmax), Zithromax
• Ceftriaxone (Rocephin)

Urethritis due to trichomonas infection (called trichomoniasis) is usually treated with an antibiotic called metronidazole (Flagyl). Tinidazole (Tindamax) is another antibiotic that can treat trichomoniasis. Your sexual partner should also be treated to prevent reinfection. It’s important to get retested after three months to make sure the infection is completely cleared. This includes even if your partner was treated.

Urethritis due to herpes simplex virus can be treated with:

• Acyclovir (Zovirax)
• Famciclovir (Famvir)
• Valacyclovir (Valtrex)

Often, the exact organism causing urethritis cannot be identified. In these situations, a doctor may prescribe one or more antibiotics that are likely to cure infection that may be present.

Urethritis: Causes, Treatment, & Prevention

We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission Here’s our process.

Healthline only shows you brands and products that we stand behind.

Our team thoroughly researches and evaluates the recommendations we make on our site. To establish that the product manufacturers addressed safety and efficacy standards, we:

• Evaluate ingredients and composition: Do they have the potential to cause harm?
• Fact-check all health claims: Do they align with the current body of scientific evidence?
• Assess the brand: Does it operate with integrity and adhere to industry best practices?

We do the research so you can find trusted products for your health and wellness.

Read more about our vetting process.

Was this helpful?

Urethritis typically causes pain while urinating and an increased urge to urinate. It typically occurs due to a bacterial infection.

Urethritis is a condition in which the urethra, or the tube that carries urine from the bladder to outside the body, becomes inflamed and irritated. Semen also passes through the male urethra.

Urethritis is not the same as a urinary tract infection (UTI). Urethritis is an inflammation of the urethra, while a UTI is an infection of the urinary tract. They may have similar symptoms, but require different methods of treatment depending on the underlying cause of the urethritis.

Urethritis affects people of all ages. Both males and females can develop the condition. However, females have a greater chance of developing the condition than males. This is partly because men’s urethras, which are the length of the penis, are much longer than women’s. A woman’s urethra is typically one and a half inches long. That makes it easier for bacteria to enter the urethra.

According to Antimicrobe,urethritis occurs in approximately 4 million Americans each year. Nongonococcal urethritis accounts for 80 percent of the cases.

Learn more about infections of the urinary system »

Symptoms in men

Males with urethritis may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

• burning sensation while urinating
• itching or burning near the opening of the penis
• presence of blood in the semen or urine
• discharge from the penis

Symptoms in women

Some symptoms of urethritis in women include:

• more frequent urge to urinate
• discomfort during urination
• burning or irritation at the urethral opening
• abnormal discharge from the vagina may also be present along with the urinary symptoms

People who have urethritis may also not have any noticeable symptoms. This is especially true for women. In men, symptoms may not be apparent if the urethritis developed as a result of chlamydia or occasionally trichomoniasis infection.

For this reason, it’s important to undergo testing if you may have been infected with a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

Generally, most cases of urethritis are the result of an infection from either a bacteria or a virus. Bacteria are the most common causes. The same bacteria that can cause bladder and kidney infections can also infect the lining of the urethra. Bacteria found naturally in the genital area may also cause urethritis if they enter the urinary tract.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bacteria associated with urethritis include:

• Neisseria gonorrhoeae
• Chlamydia trachomatis
• Mycoplasma genitalium

Pathogens are the biological agents that cause illness. The same pathogens that cause STIs can also cause urethritis. These include the bacteria that cause gonorrhea and chlamydia and the parasite that causes trichomoniasis.

There are also viruses that can lead to the development of urethritis. These include the human papillomavirus (HPV), the herpes simplex virus (HSV), and the cytomegalovirus (CMV).

There are different types of urethritis, classified by the cause of the inflammation. They are gonococcal urethritis and nongonococcal urethritis.

Gonococcal urethritis is caused by the same bacterium that causes the STI gonorrhea. It accounts for 20 percent of cases of urethritis.

Nongonococcal urethritis is urethritis caused by other infections that are not gonorrhea. Chlamydia is a common cause of nongonococcal urethritis, with other STIs also being a probable culprit.

It is possible, however, for irritation unrelated to STIs to occur. These causes can include injury, such as from a catheter, or other kinds of genital trauma.

While plenty of patients have either one type of urethritis or the other, it’s possible to have different causes of urethritis at once. This is especially true in women.

Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms. They’ll likely also examine the genital area for discharge, tenderness, sores and any signs of an STI. This can help them to make a diagnosis.

They may order tests to analyze a urine sample or a swab taken from the urethra or vaginal area. If the doctor suspects a specific STI, there will likely be a test that can allow the doctor to confirm or rule out that potential diagnosis. Blood tests may be taken to check for other STIs, like HIV and syphilis.

Depending on your doctor and their lab, you can get test results back in as soon as a few days. This allows them to start you on treatment as soon as possible, and to let you know whether your partner needs to be tested and treated, too.

Treatment for urethritis typically includes a course of either antibiotics or antiviral medication. Some common treatments for urethritis include:

• azithromycin, an antibiotic, typically taken as a one time dose
• doxycycline, an oral antibiotic that is typically taken twice a day for seven days
• erythromycin, an antibiotic that can be administered orally, four times a day for seven days
• ofloxacin, an oral antibiotic that is typically taken twice a day for seven days
• levofloxacin, an oral antibiotic that is typically taken once a day for seven days

If an STI caused the infection, it’s vital that all sexual partners undergo testing and treatment if necessary. This prevents the spread of the STI and reinfection.

You may see improvement in your symptoms just a few days after beginning treatment. You should still finish out your prescription as recommended by your doctor, or the infection could come become worse. Those with urethritis should wait one week once they are completely finished with their prescription and their partner has finished treatment before resuming sexual activity.

Potential drug interactions for the medications used to treat urethritis include:

• blood-thinning medications
• heart medications
• seizure medications

Medication can often treat urethritis quickly. If the infection goes untreated, however, the effects can be lasting and quite serious. For example, the infection may spread to other parts of the urinary tract, including the ureters, kidneys, and bladder. These infections can be painful on their own. While they can be treated with more intensive rounds of antibiotics, they can cause damage to the organs if left untreated for too long. These untreated infections can also spread to the blood and result in sepsis, which can be deadly.

In addition, the STIs that frequently cause urethritis can damage the reproductive system. Women may develop pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which is painful and can result in infertility, ongoing pelvic pain, or pain during sex. Women with untreated STIs are also at a higher risk for ectopic pregnancies, which can be life-threatening.

Men may develop painful inflammation or infection of the prostate gland, or the narrowing of a section of the urethra due to scarring, leading to painful urination. For these reasons, you should speak with a doctor as soon as possible if you notice any symptoms of urethritis.

Many of the bacteria that cause urethritis can pass to another person through sexual contact. Because of this, practicing safe sex is an important preventive measure. The tips below can help reduce your risk:

• Avoid having intercourse with multiple partners.
• Use condoms every time you have sex.
• Get tested regularly.
• Protect others. If you find out you have an STI, inform others who are also at risk of an infection.

Aside from safer sex practices, there are other ways to promote good urinary tract health. This can lower your risk of urethritis and some other conditions that affect this part of the body. Drink plenty of fluids and make sure to urinate shortly after intercourse. Avoid acidic foods. Also, avoid exposure to spermicides, particularly if you already know they irritate your urethra.

A:

Answers represent the opinions of our medical experts. All content is strictly informational and should not be considered medical advice.

Was this helpful?

Top 5 treatments for urethritis in women: rating, reviews, advice from doctors

Urethritis is an inflammation of the urethra, that is, the urethra. Most often, the disease is manifested by burning and cutting during urination. Due to the special structure of the genitourinary system in women, urethritis usually occurs in combination with cystitis, an inflammation of the bladder.

If you see a doctor in time, urethritis is successfully treated and does not become chronic. Treatment in each case is prescribed individually after the necessary examination ¹ .

Drugs for urethritis in women

After identifying the causative agent of the disease, etiotropic (that is, aimed at eliminating the cause of the disease) drug therapy is prescribed. That is why accurate diagnosis is very important in the treatment of urethritis: due to erroneous results of laboratory tests, the doctor may prescribe the wrong treatment, which will not be of any use.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are used when urethritis is known to be caused by bacteria. The doctor prescribes drugs that act on the identified infectious agent. In addition, when choosing antibiotics, the presence of concomitant diseases is taken into account, because urethritis often occurs simultaneously with cystitis, thrush, chlamydia.

Only a specialized specialist can prescribe antibiotics, because the wrong medicines can only worsen the situation ² .

Antifungals

Antibiotics have a strong effect on the microflora of the genital tract, due to which pathogenic fungi begin to multiply actively in it. Therefore, along with antibacterial therapy, antifungal drugs, as well as drugs to maintain the function of the gastrointestinal tract and liver, can be prescribed.

Urethritis in women

Immunomodulators

Immunomodulators are drugs that restore impaired immunity. Usually they are prescribed in complex therapy when there is a high risk of inflammation becoming chronic.

Immunomodulators increase the body’s resistance to infections, reduce the likelihood of re-infection. With bacterial urethritis caused by Escherichia coli, the immunomodulator Uro-Vaxom can be used.

Herbal uroantiseptics

In combination with antibiotics and immunomodulators, the use of herbal uroseptics gives a good result – it eliminates unpleasant symptoms (itching, burning), and the main causes that cause the disease and contribute to its transition to a chronic form.

By the way
Preparations for the treatment of urethritis can be used both in the form of tablets and vaginal suppositories, ointments, therapeutic tampons, warming applications with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory substances.

Physiotherapy for urethritis in women

Physiotherapy is actively used in chronic forms of urethritis in combination with drug treatment. In the acute stage of the disease, physiotherapy is contraindicated. Due to physiotherapeutic procedures (electrophoresis, laser therapy, magnetotherapy), the process of tissue healing is significantly accelerated, inflammation and swelling are removed, and the immune system is activated.

Herbal medicine for urethritis in women

Herbal medicine is used as an adjunct to the main treatment. Infusions and decoctions of medicinal plants (celandine, horsetail, cranberries, heather, etc.) can alleviate the symptoms of the disease – pain in the lower abdomen, itching and burning in the urethra. It is important to remember that phytotherapy always comes in combination with drug treatment and can only be prescribed by a doctor.

Non-pharmacological methods of treatment

During the treatment of urethritis, it is recommended to drink plenty of fluids, adhere to a certain diet (it is necessary to exclude too spicy and salty foods). Also, with urethritis, doctors advise to give up excessive physical exertion, alcohol and smoking. You can take herbal diuretics (decoctions of lingonberry leaves, knotweed herbs), which help cleanse the urethra from infection.

Taping for urethritis in women

In rare cases, traditional methods of treatment do not cope with the disease. More often this happens with advanced forms of urethritis. In this case, there is a method of shading. This is cauterization of the urethral mucosa with a special chemical to completely renew it. After cauterization, a scab forms, and after a few days, new healthy tissue forms under it to replace the one on which there were irreversible changes.

Prevention of urethritis in women

The most important measures for the prevention of urethritis in women are an ordered sexual life, hardening, regular visits to the gynecologist and timely sanitation of foci of infection. For urethritis caused by STIs, the sexual partner should also be treated ³ .

Popular questions and answers

About the causes of urethritis and symptoms of urethritis in women, as well as other popular questions, answers urologist, andrologist Dmitry Kolosov.

Why does urethritis occur in women?

– Non-infectious urethritis (inflammation of the urethra) can occur as a result of trauma to the urethral mucosa during bladder catheterization, the appearance of a tumor in the urethra, or the passage of a calculus (stone) in urolithiasis. Non-infectious urethritis is relatively rare. Much more often the disease has an infectious nature.

The cause of infectious urethritis can be opportunistic flora (E. coli, ureaplasmas, etc.) or sexually transmitted infections (chlamydia, trichomoniasis, etc.). For the occurrence of infectious urethritis, two factors must coincide: the appearance of an infection in the lumen of the canal and a decrease in local immunity. The reasons for the decrease in immunity, as a rule, are hypothermia, drinking alcohol, concomitant gynecological diseases, asthenia (prolonged overwork).

How does urethritis manifest itself in women?

– The main symptoms of urethritis: frequent urination, pain during urination, discomfort in the urethra and swelling of its external opening. In some cases, discharge from the urethra occurs.

How is urethritis diagnosed in women?

— The diagnosis of urethritis is made on the basis of a combination of data – anamnesis (history of the development of the disease), patient complaints, clinical examination data, laboratory and instrumental tests.

The main diagnostic methods – complete blood count and complete urinalysis – allow you to determine the severity of inflammation. Bacterial urine culture helps to identify an opportunistic pathogen, and the Femoflor screen test helps to determine which pathogenic microorganisms are present in the genitourinary tract.

In cases of chronic urethritis, urethroscopy (instrumental visual examination of the urethral mucosa) is performed.

What happens if urethritis in women is not treated?

– If the disease is not treated, the process takes on a protracted, relapsing character, and the inflammation becomes chronic. A woman will constantly live with a feeling of discomfort in the urethra, which significantly worsens the quality of life. In some cases, chronic urethritis can turn into a tumor process.

Sources:

1. Urogenital diseases caused by Mycoplasma genitalium. Clinical guidelines, 2021. Approved by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. http://disuria.ru/_ld/10/1001_kr21A63p8mz.pdf
2. Modern antibacterial therapy of non-gonococcal urethritis: problems and solutions. E.V. Shikh, N.B. Lazareva, E.V. Rebrova, A.Yu. Ryazanov. M., 2019. https://umedp.ru/articles/sovremennaya_antibakterialnaya_terapiya_negonokokkovykh_uretritov_problemy_i_resheniya_.html
3. Urethritis – symptoms and treatment. Barashikov D.V., 2020. https://probolezny.ru/uretrit/

Urethritis in women – how and what to treat?

• Main
• Gynecology
• Urethritis

Urethritis in women

Urethritis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the urethra of an infectious or non-infectious nature. Inflammation of the urethra can be caused by sexually transmitted diseases, such as gonorrhea. In rare cases, the infection can get into the channel with the blood or lymph flow from permanent sources of inflammation, such as tonsils or diseased teeth. Also, this disease can develop when the stone moves along the urethra with urolithiasis.

The following factors can provoke the occurrence of this disease

• Hypothermia
• Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
• Acute and chronic gynecological diseases
• Injuries of the urethra
• Immune disorders

Symptoms

• Yellow, greenish or bloody discharge with an unpleasant odor
• Constant pain in the lower abdomen
• Itching and redness in the area of ​​the urethra
• Fever, general malaise and weakness, loss of appetite
• Burning and pain during urination (acute)

IMPORTANT!
If the listed symptoms disappeared without the help of a specialist, then the disease most likely turned into a chronic form. Remember! many inflammatory diseases of the female organs are asymptomatic or clinical symptoms may not be pronounced.
You need to regularly visit a gynecologist 1-2 times a year!

Need to know

It is believed that urethritis is more common in men, but the acute and chronic forms are also quite common in women.

25% The incidence of chronic urethritis has almost quadrupled over the past 10 years and accounts for 25% of all urologist patients.

Treatment of urethritis in women

Symptoms and treatment of urethritis in women have their own characteristics. In women, this disease usually occurs in conjunction with cystitis, that is, with inflammation of the bladder, manifested in frequent painful urination.

Ignoring and untimely treatment of symptoms can lead to chronic infection, its spread in an ascending way. In the absence of adequate treatment, consequences such as narrowing of the urethra, pyelonephritis may occur.

Antibacterial drugs such as ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, pefloxacin are used for treatment. Vaginal suppositories and tampons, baths with potassium permanganate, calendula and chamomile are applied locally. The presence of concomitant STIs suggests etiotropic antimicrobial therapy, that is, the fight against the pathogen.

So, for example, doxycycline, azithromycin, etc. are prescribed for chlamydial urethritis. Prescription of antimicrobial therapy is carried out only by a doctor! During therapy, it is necessary to follow a diet with the rejection of spicy and salty, as well as drink plenty of fluids.

Galavit with urethritis

Immunomodulating therapy plays an important role in the treatment, since the development of this disease is directly related to the state of immunity.

In the treatment of diseases of the genitourinary system, the domestic immunomodulatory drug Galavit has proven itself well, which also has a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect and promotes rapid healing and restoration of damaged mucosal tissues.

Galavit acts on damaged cells of the immune system, restoring the body’s defenses.