Often, pregnant women may be bothered by cramps or pain during urination. During pregnancy, this symptom occurs much more often than in normal life. This is due to various changes occurring in the body during this period.
And, if you don’t have to worry about the physiological origin of such manifestations, then the pathological disorders hidden behind the common symptoms require a timely response. However, any action can be taken only after finding out the cause of pain when urinating.
Causes
The most common statement is that burning or cramping during urination clearly indicates a pathology of the excretory system. As a rule, this is exactly the case.
In the early stages of pregnancy, a woman may experience frequent urges, which are the result of physiological changes in the body. But to find out the cause, you should always consult a doctor. Only he will be able to choose the most likely factor among such conditions:
- Cystitis.
- Urolithiasis disease.
- Urethritis.
- Urogenital infections (candidiasis, chlamydia, gonorrhea).
Among the causes there are also quite serious diseases that can lead to dangerous consequences. And during pregnancy, this is of particular importance, since in some cases there will be a risk to the health of the unborn child.
If it is painful for a pregnant woman to pee, one cannot think only about the possibility of physiological reasons, but first of all one must exclude pathology.
Symptoms
If urinary disorders (dysuric phenomena) occur during pregnancy, all accompanying manifestations must be taken into account. Consideration of a single symptom without a comprehensive concept of pathological changes will not bring results.
It is necessary to carry out a competent differential diagnosis of possible diseases, assessing the similar and distinctive signs of each disease. Most often, pain when urinating during pregnancy is accompanied by other symptoms, which include:
- Cutting and burning sensation.
- Increased urination.
- Changes in the amount and color of urine.
A conclusion about a specific disease can be made after a thorough clinical examination using additional methods.
Cystitis
When the bladder becomes inflamed, people often complain that it hurts to pee. The disease is common among women of any age, but occurs much more often during pregnancy.
This is due to the relaxing effect of hormones on the urinary tract, which increases the risk of infection entering the bladder.
Cystitis is characterized by pain, burning or cramping that occurs in women at the end or after urination. This feature is associated with contraction of the muscular sphincter of the neck of the inflamed bladder. Therefore, there is also a frequent urge to go to the toilet.
Depending on the type of inflammation of the mucous membrane, urine may have different colors and transparency:
- With mucus flakes - for catarrhal cystitis.
- Cloudy with pus - with purulent inflammation.
- Bloody - with a hemorrhagic process.
Often during pregnancy, there is an exacerbation of chronic cystitis, especially in the later stages, when the uterus puts pressure on the bladder, which leads to disruption of its emptying and changes in local blood flow.
Cystitis is accompanied by pronounced symptoms, which, with detailed questioning, can be easily distinguished from other diseases.
Urolithiasis disease
Pain or burning during urination can also bother women with urolithiasis. This is especially often observed when stones leave the kidney and pass through the urinary tract.
During pregnancy, this develops somewhat more often, since an enlarged uterus creates an additional obstacle to normal excretion.
The disease is often accompanied by renal colic, which is an acute condition in urology.
Depending on the level of stone retention, pain occurs both throughout urination and after it. They typically spread to the lower abdomen and lumbar region. You can often notice the appearance of streaks of blood in the urine, and sometimes the attack ends with the immediate passage of the stone.
Urethritis
The inflammatory process in the urethra in women is often nonspecific. In this case, pain and burning may bother you constantly or occur periodically. If cystitis is characterized by the appearance of pain after urination, then urethritis is accompanied by unpleasant sensations during the entire process.
Acute inflammation is characterized by pronounced symptoms, while chronicity of the process may be accompanied by a decrease in symptoms. With nonspecific urethritis, the color of the urine will change, but not as pronounced as with cystitis.
The pathological process of urethritis, in the absence of the necessary treatment, can spread to the bladder.
Urogenital infections
Pain and pain when urinating can be one of the symptoms of specific infections of the genitourinary system. The most common causative agents of such diseases are bacteria (gonococcus), fungi (candida), protozoa (Trichomonas), intracellular organisms (chlamydia, ureaplasma). The main environment for them is the vaginal mucosa, but the disease can also spread to the urinary organs.
Often women are bothered by itching and burning in the vagina, which intensify after sexual intercourse. Characteristic discharges have the following features:
- White, curdled - with candidiasis.
- Foamy, yellowish in color, abundant - with trichomoniasis.
- Cloudy, white-yellow color - with gonorrhea.
Quite often, untreated infections lead to dangerous consequences: the spread of inflammation to the uterus, abdominal cavity, and infection of the fetus. Therefore, at the first symptoms, you need to come for a doctor’s examination.
Which pathogen caused the disease can be accurately determined by the results of bacteriological analysis of the discharge. Further treatment will depend on this.
Treatment
The disease can be treated only if all factors of its development are identified. Therefore, therapy should first of all be etiotropic, i.e., aimed at eliminating the cause, and only after that – pathogenetic and symptomatic.
It is necessary to try to have a comprehensive effect on the pathological process, since the effectiveness of treatment in this case will be maximum.
Drug therapy
The use of many medications during pregnancy is contraindicated, so self-administration of medications is strictly prohibited.
Necessary medications can only be prescribed by a doctor, taking into account the possible risk to the child’s health. The following medications are most often used for urinary tract diseases:
- Antibiotics (amoxicillin, ampicillin, azithromycin).
- Antispasmodics (no-spa).
- Local antiseptics (chlorhexidine, furacillin).
Topical preparations in the form of vaginal suppositories, instillations, and baths are of great importance. This will protect women from systemic side effects, since the medicine acts directly on the pathological focus.
Only a doctor can tell you which remedy is best for a pregnant woman to use. The dosage and course of administration will depend on the severity of the disease and response to treatment.
Phytotherapy
Treatment of pregnant women is not complete without the use of herbal medicines. They can be used not only in the form of various mixtures and teas, but in the form of tablets and drops.
Many such medications are included in the standards for the treatment of diseases of the urinary system (for example, Canephron, Urolesan). Complex drugs have a wide range of positive effects:
- Anti-inflammatory.
- Antimicrobial.
- Diuretic.
- Antispasmodic.
Medicines based on herbal raw materials have virtually no contraindications, so their use during pregnancy is completely safe.
Prevention
Preventing pain when urinating during pregnancy is easy. It is necessary to follow certain recommendations that will greatly reduce the risk of inflammatory phenomena in the genitourinary system. Here are some of them:
- Drink enough fluids.
- Eat properly.
- Wear comfortable cotton underwear.
- Wipe the perineum in the direction from the pubis.
- Change sanitary pads promptly.
- Take a shower daily.
- Maintain normal acidity levels in the vagina.
- Empty your bladder before and after sexual intercourse.
If it is painful for a woman to urinate during pregnancy, everything needs to be done to find out the cause of this condition. The treatment performed and its result will depend on this. Only timely consultation with a doctor can protect you from adverse consequences.
One of the distinctive features of pregnancy is, which is a completely normal and natural phenomenon. The thing is that the developing fetus is constantly increasing in size and puts pressure on all internal organs without exception, including the bladder. As long as the frequent urge to stool does not cause any pain in the pregnant woman, there is nothing to worry about. However, the first signs of pain and burning when urinating should alert the expectant mother and become a reason to consult a gynecologist.
Pain when urinating during pregnancy: the cause is stones
First aid for cystitis, if it is diagnosed in pregnant women, is to use decoctions of medicinal herbs such as bearberry and coltsfoot, which should be taken two tablespoons before meals. You should also avoid spicy, smoked, salty and sour foods. If such measures to combat cystitis, which are very effective at the initial stage, still do not lead to improvement, then you should definitely go to an appointment with a gynecologist, who will help you choose the right medications that do not harm the life and health of the child.
Pain when urinating during pregnancy: prevention of cystitis
Since cystitis is a very common disease among pregnant women, you should take precautions in advance to prevent it. First of all, it is necessary to strictly observe the rules of personal hygiene, refusing synthetic underwear, tight jeans and leggings. In addition, during pregnancy you should not take baths, since the risk of infection in the vagina in this case increases significantly.
It will be enough to limit yourself to a shower and special intimate hygiene products for pregnant women - lotions, pads, creams and deodorants. In addition, if there are no contraindications for health reasons, the expectant mother needs to drink at least two to three liters of water per day, which promotes urination and, thereby, removes germs from the body.
While carrying a child, a woman experiences many new sensations associated with pregnancy. And not all of them are pleasant; some cause discomfort to expectant mothers. In particular, many women complain of frequent urination during pregnancy or pain and burning during this process. What is the reason for this condition? And what can be done to improve the quality of life during this period?
Cause of frequent urination during pregnancy
Frequent urination can appear during any period of pregnancy, and not just in the last trimester, as most women believe. All the reasons that lead to the expectant mother running to the toilet every half hour can be divided into two types: mechanical, associated with an increase in the size of the uterus and the relative position of organs, and physiological, associated with changes occurring in metabolism.
The main physiological reason that leads to the fact that a woman often goes to the toilet in small quantities is the acceleration of metabolism, an increase in the volume of blood and fluid circulating in the body. This leads to the fact that the kidneys have to pass more fluid through themselves, increase the rate of filtration of urine, in order to timely remove waste products of the mother and child from the body, which leads to more frequent urge to go to the toilet. In the early stages of pregnancy, urination becomes frequent due to the fact that the placenta actively produces human chorionic gonadotropin, which has a diuretic effect.
The mechanical reason affecting urination is the growth of the uterus and its pressure on the bladder. In the first trimester, the uterus does not grow much, but despite this, it puts pressure on the back wall of the bladder, and this, in turn, contributes to its reflex and mechanical irritation, which manifests itself in the frequent urge to go to the toilet “little by little.” It is worth noting that in the second trimester, the mechanical effect on the bladder decreases, as the older child moves from the pelvic area to the abdominal cavity. In the third trimester, as well as during early pregnancy, urination becomes very frequent, because the baby has become large, there is not enough space for him and the uterus begins to put pressure on the upper part of the bladder. Which leads to a constant urge to go to the toilet. In addition, the child constantly moves and can put additional pressure on the bladder, which can cause a sudden urge to urinate.
Why is there a burning sensation or pain when urinating?
If a woman experiences pain or a burning sensation when urinating, then this is a clear sign that not everything is in order with the health of the expectant mother. The main reasons for this condition during pregnancy are: release of sand or stones from the kidneys, cystitis. Both of these diseases can be dangerous for the health of a pregnant woman and, accordingly, for her baby.
Kidney stone disease can worsen due to pregnancy, since the growing child and the increasing size of the uterus put pressure on nearby internal organs and can provoke the movement of sand and stones. The passage of stones through the compressed urinary canals will be difficult, which will lead not only to pain, but also to injury to the urinary organs and the detection of blood in the urine. Relieving pain when urinating is the only type of treatment in this case. If the health of the expectant mother requires more serious medical care, then the doctor makes an informed decision on the method of treatment, taking into account the duration of pregnancy and the severity of the disease.
In addition to exacerbation of urolithiasis, cystitis can cause trouble when carrying a baby. This disease is caused by genital tract infections, poor personal hygiene, hypothermia, and stagnation of urine in the bladder. Due to the fact that the bladder, which has been in a compressed state for a long time, cannot be completely emptied, a certain amount of fluid constantly remains in it. Microorganisms begin to develop in this urine, which leads to inflammation, that is, cystitis. If a woman feels a burning sensation when urinating, she should immediately consult a doctor so that he can prescribe a treatment that is safe for the child and adequate.
What to do if you have frequent and painful urination
Frequent urination causes a lot of inconvenience, since when you are on the street or in a public place, it is not always possible to find a toilet nearby. Also, constant night trips to the potty worsen the quality of night sleep and can cause poor mood and well-being in the morning. What can be done to reduce the number of urinations without harming the course of pregnancy?
It is recommended to stop or reduce the consumption of diuretic foods and drinks while pregnant, but only if the gynecologist allows it. So, for 9 months you should not drink coffee, eat large quantities of watermelons, cucumbers and pumpkin, especially before bed.
If you have the opportunity to go to the toilet before a long journey, then you should do it without waiting for the feeling of a full bladder, since prolonged holding back leads to more frequent urination during pregnancy, as well as to weakening of the sphincters after childbirth. You should also try to completely empty your bladder when visiting the toilet. To do this, you need to lean forward a little and try to tighten your bladder.
Women, more often than men, turn to doctors with the complaint that it hurts to go to the toilet. This is largely due to the characteristics of the urinary system: in women, the urethra is much shorter and wider than in the stronger sex. This anatomical feature significantly increases the risk of penetration of pathogenic agents into the genitourinary system, which can soon cause serious diseases in women. Cystitis is the most common, but other pathologies can also cause discomfort.
Causes of painful urination in women
The most common reason why women find it painful to go to the toilet is inflammatory damage to the urinary tract: cystitis and urethritis. Soreness occurs due to swelling of their tissues, which represents a serious obstacle to the outflow of urine. The following symptoms appear:
- painful urination, which usually intensifies towards the end of emptying;
- darkening of the urine, it may contain bloody impurities;
- slight increase in body temperature.
If you do not undergo treatment on time, there is a high probability of the inflammatory process spreading to the kidneys and the development of pyelonephritis.
The next reason is urolithiasis. Against this background, it becomes painful to go to the toilet for one simple reason: salt crystals appear in the urine, which irritate the urinary tract. In addition to uncomfortable urination, the disease is manifested by the following symptoms:
- pain in the lumbar area;
- renal colic during movement, shaking, heavy physical activity;
- bloody impurities in the urine (at an advanced stage of the disease).
An equally common cause is sexually transmitted infections: herpes, trichomoniasis, vaginitis, vulvovaginitis, chlamydia. With such sexually transmitted diseases, it not only becomes painful to go to the toilet, but other symptoms may also appear depending on the nature of the pathogen:
- rash on the genitals;
- uncharacteristic vaginal discharge and its pungent odor;
- the appearance of foamy discharge, etc.
If pain occurs when urinating, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible, since the causes of such a symptom can be other diseases: malignant and benign tumors of the bladder, pathologies of the uterus, etc. Treatment of any of the listed diseases can only be prescribed by a specialist after diagnosis. .
Why does it hurt to write at the end?
If pain appears at the end of urination, accompanied by a burning sensation and a feeling of insufficient emptying of the bladder, it is most likely that the woman has developed acute cystitis or urethritis. In more severe cases, combined inflammation of the urinary tract is noted. If these inflammatory diseases are not treated in time, painful urination may be accompanied by urinary incontinence.
Pain after a woman pees may be due to the presence of sand in the urine due to urolithiasis. During the process of emptying, sand irritates the urethra, which is why the woman feels pain at the end of urination.
It hurts to pee during pregnancy
During this period of life, women often notice that as pregnancy progresses, various problems with urination may appear: the urge to urinate becomes more frequent, and the process itself may become painful. Such pain is called physiological when, as a result of an increase in the size of the uterus, pressure on the bladder increases.
But it is possible that during any week of carrying a baby, a pregnant woman may experience an aggravation of existing diseases of the genitourinary system (chronic cystitis, urethritis, urolithiasis, sexually transmitted diseases) or develop new ones, which is associated with the natural vulnerability of the vaginal microflora and a decrease in general and local immunity. Therefore, if any discomfort occurs when urinating, you need to consult with specialists and establish their true cause in order to be able to undergo treatment in time and prevent dangerous complications from developing.
Prevention of pain when urinating in women
To prevent pain when urinating, you should follow the simplest rules:
- always use condoms when having sexual contact with an unreliable partner;
- wash yourself twice a day, directing the stream of water from front to back;
- prevent body hypothermia;
- promptly treat emerging inflammatory processes in the body;
- Regularly visit the gynecologist’s office and take all necessary tests twice a year.
How to treat when it hurts to go to the toilet
Treatment for painful urination can only be prescribed by a doctor. If it hurts to go to the toilet in a small way, therapy will depend on the cause that provoked this symptom:
- for inflammation (cystitis, urethritis, pyelonephritis) or sexually transmitted infections, antibiotics are first prescribed;
- urolithiasis requires taking herbal preparations that help crush and remove small stones and sand from the kidneys and urinary tract;
- Antispasmodics and painkillers may be prescribed to relieve pain;
- The doctor will also select the most suitable diet and recommend plenty of warm drinks.
In each specific case, treatment for painful urination is selected individually depending on the characteristics of the body, the course of the disease, etc.
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