Painful Urination: What Are the Possible Reasons?

21.08.2010 | By: S. B.

Painful urination occurs quite often and the problem is very unpleasant, especially because it can be caused by a serious disease.

Painful urination not only inconvenient but it can also be a sign of a serious disease. (PhotoXpress)

Painful urination can be a sign of a serious disease

Painful urination is usually felt as a burning sensation while urinating, but often there are other symptoms, for example the leaking of urine, pelvic pains, fever and vomiting. All the accompanying factors depend on the type of disease which caused painful urination in the first place. If there are no other symptoms, the most common reason for painful urination is the inflammation of the vagina, chronic inflammation of the prostate gland or prostatitis, or even inflammation of the urethra or bladder. The last two problems mostly occur with women and the statistics show that a staggering 20 percent of them have problems with inflammation of the urethra.

The pain which is felt only while urinating and doesn't spread to other parts of the body, can be a symptom of gonorrhea or chlamydia. If painful urination occurs together with vaginal discharge and burning vaginal pain, the cause for it is probably bacterial vaginosis, which needs to be treated with antibiotics. Stomach pain, fever and frequent urination during the night, can be a sign of kidney stones or epididymitis (inflammation of the curved structure at the back of the testicle in which sperm is stored).

Some medicines for treating cancer can cause painful urination, but it can also be a sign of prostate cancer, leukemia or even dehydration and excessive masturbation. Painful urination can be a sign of genital herpes or oversensitivity of vaginal flora to aggressive soap, allergies to latex condoms, vaginal lubricants and similar. Diabetics are often prone to suffer from painful urination, because of the changes in their immune system.

Discover the reason for painful urination

You should visit a doctor when painful urination lasts for a longer period of time and when you suspect you might have one of the diseases mentioned above. It is obligatory to visit a doctor in case you're pregnant, because chlamydia or even a common female problem - inflammation of the urethra - can trigger a complicated or even premature birth, with the possibility of the disease being transmitted to the fetus. Describe your symptoms in detail. The doctor will normally ask you:

- Do you feel stomach pain?

- Do you have fever and are feeling unwell?

- Do you feel nauseous?

- Have you noticed unusual secretion in your urine or even blood?

- Do you go to the toilet more often?

- Have you recovered from a similar disease in the past?

- Are you taking medications that might be the source of trouble?

- Have you suffered from inflammation of the urethra before and had surgical procedure because of it?

After the conversation, the doctor will test your urine and in case you suffered from kidney stones, you will have to undergo a few additional test. If you suspect a possible HIV infection, you should definitely tell your doctor.

If the doctor suspects a vaginal infection, he will take a smear and examine it. In case of a possible inflammation of the urethra, the doctor will examine the presence of bacteria in your urine. You will have to drink more water than usual to help cleanse the body and flush always the bacteria. You will also have to be careful not to hold urine for too long.