Symptoms of bladder infections

In the early stages, the bladder gets irritable and spasms at random times creating the urge to urinate. This happens frequently even shortly after voiding. Often there is little to no urine to void. When there is enough urine to void, the stream can feel like it’s burning all the way down. There can be a different odor and color to the urine. In later stages there can be blood in the urine and a burning discomfort in the low abdominal just above the pubic bone in the midline. Bladder infections, otherwise known as UTI’s, are caused by bacterial infections.

Where Does the Bacteria Come From

Did you know that the very bacterial species that cause bladder infections come from bacteria present at the opening of the vagina? Those “bad” bacteria are normal flora in the area. You don’t get bladder infections from other people. BUT… for years, it has been speculated that the bacteria come from the bowels… meaning from the anus and get displaced into the vaginal opening. The urethra, the tube from the bladder to the outside, opens into the front wall of the vagina just below the clitoris. With the close proximity of the urethral opening to the anus, this would appear to make sense that this is where the bacteria come from; although this has never been definitively proven. Consider this: The vagina is a whole lot closer to the urethral opening than the anus. In fact vaginal mucosa totally surrounds it! AND THE SAME BACTERIA THAT CAUSE UTI’S ARE ALSO FOUND IN THE VAGINA!! The experts in vaginalhealthCare at FGI believe that on occasion the bacteria may originate from the anal area, BUT the majority of bladder infections in women are caused by the bacteria naturally present in the vagina!

Think about the implication for you in this context: It follows that the likelihood for UTI’s increases when there is an altered flora pattern in the vagina; meaning there has been a bacterial shift where more “bad” bacteria strains present relative to the “good” bacteria. More on this in a moment.

The vaginal secretions continually bathe the vaginal opening known as the vestibule. That’s why so many women get bladder infections after intercourse. You have heard the term “honeymoon cystitis”? The mechanical action of intercourse pumps bacteria into the urethral opening and up into the bladder. Located at the upper entrance to the vagina, the urethral opening is the first tissue to get impacted and compressed by penile insertion. Bacteria naturally present at the urethral opening gets pushed into the urethra and towards the bladder. The urethra runs parallel with the vagina and just under the upper vaginal mucosa along the midline. The urethral tissues significantly indent the upper wall of the vagina. You can easily feel the urethral ridge if you insert a finger into the vagina and sweep it across the upper vaginal wall. Some people refer to this area as the G-spot.  With sequential thrusts during intercourse, the urethra is compressed and pushes bacteria towards and into the bladder. If the bacteria adhere to the bladder cells, the result is a UTI.

However, women don’t have to be sexually active to get UTI’s or even recurrent UTI’s. All women are at risk because of the short urethral length, the urethral opening is always being bathed in vaginal secretions and again perhaps the proximity to the anus plays a role as well. Women are more prone to UTI’s than men on account that the female urethra is only about 4 cm in length compared to 15-29 cm for men.

The Vaginal Micro-flora

The vagina has a normal micro-flora ecosystem consisting of 30+ co-existing strains of bacteria at any one time. Normally, the good bacteria known as “lactobacillus” dominate and are numerous enough where they coat the entire vaginal mucosal surfaces forming a protective barrier. Problems arise when a shift in bacteria milieu occurs and the “bad” strain proliferate and dominate the “good” strains.

Altered Vaginal Micro-flora Patterns

When the lactobacilli do not thrive, the 30 plus other “bad” bacteria strains proliferate and dominate the micro-flora.  This results in one of several “altered vaginal micro-flora patterns.” In 2007, Dr. Fowler published a landmark study which expanded the known spectrum of altered vaginal flora patterns. Up until then, the medical literature commonly referred to ‘Vaginitis” as consisting of four etiologic types. Dr. Fowler proposed a new Vaginitis Classification System that expands the types of vaginitis to ten types. Reference: Fowler, R.S. Expansion of altered vaginal flora states in vaginitis. J Reprod Med. 2007 Feb;52(2):93-99.  

Symptoms Associated with Altered Vaginal Micro-flora Patterns

The “bad” bacteria that predominate in these patterns consist of a host of aerobic and anaerobic microbes. The resulting vaginal secretions from this shift of bacterial milieu bathe the tissues surrounding the vaginal opening and external genitalia causing variable symptoms including itching, irritation, and sensitivity as well as discharge, odor, burning, urinary urgency/frequency depending on the innate sensitivity of a particular woman’s external genitalia tissues. It follows that the higher the concentration of these bad bacteria, the higher propensity of getting symptoms.

Determining if an Altered Vaginal Micro-Flora Pattern is Present

If an altered vaginal micro-flora pattern is found, an FGI treatment protocol could prove to be of great benefit for you! The only way to determine whether you have an altered vaginal micro-flora pattern is to perform the Vaginal Fluid Analysis Test (VFT Test). You can have the VFA Test done by the FGI Lab regardless of where you reside in the US.In October of 2012, Dr. Fowler published a breakthrough in the understanding of the vaginal micro-flora analysis preformed under phase-contrast microscopy titled, “Quantification of normal vaginal constituents using a new wet prep technique.” He had been using this technique for years for women with vaginal symptoms but for the first time, the relative concentrations and constituents of what constitutes “normal” on wet preparations from women without symptoms became known. This knowledge is essential because these patterns become the therapeutic goal of vaginal therapy. Prior to the findings of this study, it was only inferred by clinical deduction as to what constituted healthy vaginal constituents.  Reference: R.S. Fowler. Quantification of normal vaginal constituents using a new wet prep technique.  J Low Genit Tract Dis. 2012 Oct; 16(4):437-441.