Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections, particularly in women. Nearly half will experience one in their lifetime. Symptoms like burning during urination, abdominal pain, and fever can significantly impact daily life. Due to their frequency and risk of recurrence, UTIs are a notable health concern for women of all ages. Understanding how UTIs develop, recognizing the symptoms, and knowing the treatment options are key to effective prevention and management. Women are more susceptible due to anatomical and hormonal factors. If untreated, UTIs can lead to complications like recurrent infections or kidney damage, making early diagnosis and proper care essential. This article covers what UTIs are, why women are at higher risk, types of UTIs, symptoms, causes, and treatment, and prevention strategies. We’ll also outline when to seek medical attention to avoid complications and ensure proper treatment.

Hemorrhoids are common, and many refer to them as piles. They are enlarged blood vessels just inside or outside the anus and look like small red or purple lumps. You might find blood after you go for a poop (this will be bright red blood, seen on wiping or on the stool), or you can get pain and itching around the anus. For the majority of people, they cause no symptoms at all. Sometimes hemorrhoids can become thrombosed, which means they have no blood flow due to a blood clot. These are very painful and tender to touch. Hemorrhoids are not contagious and cannot be passed on.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are often thought of as a problem for women, but men can get them too—especially as they get older. A UTI happens when bacteria get into any part of the urinary system, like the urethra, bladder, ureters, or kidneys. UTIs in men can be different from those in women because of the way men’s bodies are built and because men can have other problems, like prostate issues, that make UTIs more complicated. This article will explore the causes, symptoms, and diagnosis of UTIs in men. We'll delve into why men are affected differently, the specific symptoms they may experience, and the diagnostic tests typically used to identify these infections. Additionally, we'll discuss effective treatment options and strategies for preventing UTIs to help men manage and reduce their risk of these infections.

Constipation can happen to anyone from time to time. It's when you have to strain to open your bowels or have a bowel movement less often. This is usually less than three times a week, and stool can become hard and difficult to pass. Other symptoms include: bloating tummy pain nausea loss of appetite It's a very common problem and doesn't usually point to a serious cause, although certain health conditions make you more prone. You can take action yourself to address diet and activity levels or try some gentle medications to soften the stool and move it along. Constipation can feel uncomfortable and may cause complications such as: hemorrhoids anal fissures, which are small tears in the anus fecal impaction, where hard, dry stool collects in the rectum overflow diarrhea and possibly leakage It's important to address it early on before problems build up. We'll talk you through likely triggers, how to address them, and medications and remedies you can try to get things moving along.

Acid reflux occurs when stomach acid rises up from the stomach, burning the sensitive lining of the esophagus (food pipe). It may reach the throat, giving an unpleasant bitter taste in the mouth and possibly causing halitosis (bad breath). Burping, bloating, nausea, a long-standing dry cough and pain on swallowing hot drinks can all be additional signs of acid reflux. Most report symptoms are worse on lying down for 20 to 30 minutes after a meal. It can feel quite uncomfortable – it’s known as heartburn for good reason, and pain can be so severe that some people think they are having a heart attack. When you swallow, food passes from the mouth and throat to the esophagus and on to the stomach, which produces acid to digest the food. Movement shouldn't occur the opposite way, and a one-way valve (the esophageal sphincter) protects the esophagus from this. The esophagus becomes irritated if it's exposed to acid. The sphincter may not function properly for a number of reasons, which can be as simple as bending over causing increased pressure in the stomach and forcing movement through the sphincter the wrong way, or your stomach may be producing too much acid. Acid reflux – also known as dyspepsia, indigestion, heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux – is very common and most people experience it in their lifetime. In most cases it's mild and it resolves on its own or can be treated at home. Here at Healthwords, we like to help ease your symptoms, and we can talk you through treatment options, but we believe that prevention is always better than cure, so by understanding some of the triggers, hopefully, this will help you avoid suffering severe symptoms. One of the complications of acid reflux in the long term is damage to the esophagus in a condition known as GERD, and you may be at risk of ulcers. It can also cause permanent changes to the esophagus lining, called Barrett’s esophagus – this puts you at slightly higher risk of esophageal cancer.

Cancer occurs when cells in our body multiply out of control, producing lots of abnormal cells. These abnormal cells don't function like normal cells should and can invade tissues or organs and can sometimes spread to other parts of the body. Anal cancer is cancer that is in the anus, which is the last few centimeters of the bowel and connects the bowel to the outside of the body (the last area your stool passes through when you go for a poop). It is not a common cancer; however, human papillomavirus (HPV) infection increases your risk of developing anal cancer. HPV is a virus passed on through sexual intercourse. Most people will be infected with HPV infection in their lifetime and the majority will not develop anal cancer. Both HPV infection and anal cancer are more common in people who have anal sex with a lot of different partners, those who smoke, those with a lowered immune system, or those who have had cervical, vulval, or vaginal cancer. The most common symptoms of anal cancer are bleeding, pain, itching, discharge and fecal incontinence (losing the ability to control when you poop). There are many more common causes of bleeding, pain and itching symptoms that are not anal cancer, so please don’t be worried if you have symptoms. We should be clear that anal cancer is rare. More subtle signs of cancer can be unexplained tiredness or loss of weight, night sweats or pain in your bones.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) affect about 10% of pregnant women. These infections happen when bacteria from the digestive system enter the urinary system, causing discomfort. If not treated, UTIs can lead to problems for both the mother and baby. Pregnant women get UTIs more easily because of body changes during pregnancy. Finding symptoms early and getting treatment quickly can prevent problems like kidney infections and early labor. This article explains UTIs during pregnancy, including causes, symptoms, why pregnant women are at higher risk, treatment options, and prevention tips. It also helps you know when to see a doctor.

A urinary tract infection (UTI) is characterized by burning on passing urine, the urge to pass urine frequently and pain. Such infections occur when the normally sterile urine becomes infected with bacteria or other microorganisms. The most common bacteria causing a UTI is called E. coli, though other conditions such as Staphylococcus and Chlamydia can also cause infection. Such bacteria or organisms enter the urethra – the tiny tube that links from the vulva to the bladder – and cause irritation (urethritis). The infection can then spread back to the bladder causing cystitis (inflammation of the bladder). If a UTI is left untreated the infection can track even further back to the kidneys, via two small tubes called the ureters (one connects between each kidney and the bladder). This kidney infection is called pyelonephritis and can be a serious health problem. With appropriate treatment, a urinary tract infection can be cleared quickly – in just one or two days. Even if symptoms are quickly alleviated, always finish any antibiotic course ordered by the doctor to ensure bacteria do not recur in a stronger or different form. UTIs are much more common in women than men because their urethra is very close to the vagina and anus so bacteria can spread easily. Women also have a shorter urethra than men which means bacteria can travel to the bladder more quickly. Sexual intercourse can also irritate the urethra in a woman and increase the incidence of a UTI, and after menopause UTIs can also become more common in women because of changes in the urethra, bladder and vagina due to hormonal fluctuations. In men, UTIs can be indicative of prostate problems, kidney stones or a sexually transmitted disease, and in the elderly UTIs can cause confusion and falls.

Crohn’s disease is a chronic condition that causes inflammation of the digestive system. It can affect any part of the gut, from the mouth to the anus, but most commonly affects the lower part of the small intestine (ileum) and the large intestine (colon). Crohn’s disease is one of the two main types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), along with ulcerative colitis.

Cystitis means inflammation of the bladder and is usually caused by a bacterial infection. Cystitis is often used interchangeably with the term urinary tract infection (UTI), although technically, cystitis is a subtype of the umbrella term UTI, which also includes infections in other parts of the kidney-bladder-urethra system. Common complaints are pain or burning on passing urine, needing to go more often, and yet little may be passed and racing to the bathroom with great urgency to pass urine. Less common symptoms include stomach pain, blood in the urine or smelly urine. Cystitis is usually caused by certain bacteria, many of which occur naturally on your skin and in your gut. Owing to the close proximity of your waterworks to the bowel system, bacteria that are usually harmless in the feces or on your skin can contaminate the urinary system and cause a bladder infection.

Diverticulitis is a condition where parts of the bowel become inflamed or infected. The bowel is a muscular tube with a smooth wall that stool (poop) can pass along easily, helped by contractions of the gut muscles. As we age, our bowel can develop small outpouchings which are known as diverticula, and we think this is likely to be due to not eating enough fiber in our diet. Diverticula are very common and become more common with increasing age. This means that in the US about half of all people have at least one large bowel diverticula by the age of 50, and by the age of 80 about 7 in 10 of people have them. In around three quarters of people with diverticula, there are no symptoms and they cause no harm. However, if these pockets get inflamed or infected – typically because of poop becoming trapped in them - this is known as diverticulitis and about 1 in 5 people with diverticula will experience this at some time. People with a sudden flare of diverticulitis will suffer from constant abdominal pain, usually in the left lower side, that comes and goes but is usually worse after eating, and gets better after passing gas or stool. Other symptoms include constipation or diarrhea, mucus or blood in the stool, and a fever. You can become quite ill. Diverticulitis is diagnosed by your doctor after examining you, or from what is seen on either a CT scan or a colonoscopy (a camera placed inside the rectum). Occasionally, if you have no relevant symptoms or only mild tummy pain and occasional bleeding from the rectum, diverticula may be seen as an incidental finding if you have a scan for another reason, and this is of little significance.

The esophagus is another name for the food pipe, the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach. Esophageal cancer can arise anywhere along the food pipe. In the US, it is rather uncommon. There are two types of esophageal cancer: adenocarcinoma is the most common, arising from within the mucous glands towards the bottom of the tube, and squamous cell carcinoma, which arises from the lining of the esophagus in the top and middle part of the tube. The sooner the cancer is found, the better the chance of curing the disease. It’s tough to treat, and survival depends on whether the cancer has spread to other body parts.