How is painful urination treated?

A clinician may ask about frequency, urgency, discharge, sores, blood in the urine, fever, back pain, and sexual exposure. A urine test can look for infection; other tests may be needed for Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, or Genital Herpes. Kidney Infection and Kidney Stones can cause pain with more serious or different patterns.

Bacterial urinary infections may need prescribed Antibiotic Treatment. Antibiotics do not treat irritation, dehydration, stones, or viral infections. Drinking enough fluid may help when dehydration contributes, but it is not a substitute for assessment when symptoms are strong or persistent.

Arrange a medical review, particularly if symptoms last beyond a short episode or keep returning. Drink fluids normally unless a clinician has restricted them, avoid products that irritate the area, and do not use leftover antibiotics. Avoid sex until an infection has been assessed; if a sexually transmitted infection is diagnosed, partners may need testing and treatment.

Seek urgent medical care for fever with chills, pain in the side or back, vomiting, confusion, or feeling very unwell, because these can occur with a Kidney Infection. Get prompt help for inability to pass urine, heavy blood in urine, severe colicky pain, pregnancy with urinary symptoms, or rapidly worsening pain.

Do I need a urine or sexual-health test? Which treatment fits the likely cause? When should symptoms improve, and what should I do if they do not? Should my partner be tested?