If you’re feeling a burning, painful sensation when you urinate, you could have a urinary tract infection (UTI). These infections occur when bacteria, usually from the skin or rectum, enters the urethra. Some people are more likely to develop these infections for genetic reasons. Young children and seniors are also more likely than adults to get UTIs.

How Do I Know if I Have a UTI?

Pain during urination is the most common symptom of a UTI. Other symptoms can include bloody urine, a frequent need to urinate or feeling like you have to urinate even though your bladder is empty. You may also experience cramping in the groin or lower abdomen, fever or pain in your lower back. In young children, a fever is the most common sign.

What May Have Caused My UTI?

While UTIs sometimes have no known cause, they are often the result of bacteria getting into the urethra due to poor hygiene—for example, when women don’t wipe from front to back after excretion. Bacterial changes caused by spermicides or after menopause can also cause UTIs.

Can I Cure a UTI Using Home Remedies?

There’s a common myth that drinking a lot of cranberry juice will help get rid of your UTI. However, that’s not necessarily true. Too much sugar from cranberry juice can actually make the infection worse and also lead to a yeast infection, too.

How Do I Get Rid of a UTI?

It’s important to get a UTI diagnosed and treated with antibiotics quickly. If left untreated, a UTI can spread to the bladder or even the kidneys. Seeing a physician or another provider for a diagnosis is critical, because the UTI could be a sign of an underlying medical condition or it could be a sexually transmitted infection presenting with similar symptoms.

Can an Urgent Care Give Me Antibiotics for a UTI?

If you’re in pain every time you urinate—or, worse, your child is—you may not have the time to wait for an appointment with your primary care provider. Luckily, the providers at River’s Edge Hospital’s Urgent Care Department can easily diagnose this issue and prescribe antibiotics to treat it.

River’s Edge Hospital’s Urgent Care Department is conveniently located at the main entrance of the hospital.

River’s Edge Hospital’s Urgent Care Department offers walk-in UTI care. Our Urgent Care is open Monday–Friday, from noon to 7:30 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.