WHAT IS URETHRITIS?

Urethritis is a condition in which the urethra, or the tube that carries urine from the bladder to outside the body, becomes inflamed and irritated. Semen also passes through the male urethra. Urethritis typically causes pain while urinating and an increased urge to urinate. The primary cause of urethritis is usually infection by bacteria.

Urethritis affects people of all ages. Both males and females can develop the condition. However, females have a greater chance of developing the condition than males.

SYMPTOMS OF URETHRITIS?

Men:

Males with urethritis may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

* a burning sensation while urinating
* itching or burning near the opening of the penis
* the presence of blood in the semen or urine
* discharge from the penis

Women:

Some symptoms of urethritis in women include:

* a more frequent urge to urinate
* discomfort during urination
* pain in the abdominal area
* a high body temperature
* chills
* a more urgent need to urinate
* an abnormal discharge from the vagina

People who have urethritis may also not have any noticeable symptoms. This is especially true for women. In men, symptoms may be silent if the urethritis developed as a result of chlamydia or occasionally trichomoniasis infection.

For this reason, it’s important to undergo testing if you may have been infected with an STI.

WHAT CAUSES URETHRITIS?

Generally, most cases of urethritis are the result of a bacteria or virus. The same bacteria that can cause bladder and kidney infections can also infect the lining of the urethra. Bacteria found naturally in the genital area may also cause urethritis if they enter the urinary tract. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), bacteria associated with urethritis include:

Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Chlamydia trachomatis
Mycoplasma genitalium

Pathogens are the biological agents that cause illness. The same pathogens that cause sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can also cause urethritis. These include the bacteria that cause gonorrhea and chlamydia and the parasite that causes trichomoniasis.

There are also viruses that can lead to the development of urethritis. These include the human papillomavirus (HPV), the herpes simplex virus, and the cytomegalovirus.

DIAGNOSIS

Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms. They’ll likely also examine the genital area to make a diagnosis.

They may order tests to analyze a urine sample or a swab taken from the urethra or vaginal area. If the doctor suspects a specific STI, there will likely be a test.

TREATMENT

Treatment for urethritis typically includes a course of either antibiotics or antiviral medication. Some common treatments for urethritis include:

tetracycline
doxycycline
erythromycin
ofloxacin
If an STI caused the infection, it’s vital that all sexual partners undergo testing and treatment if necessary. This prevents the spread of the STI and reinfection.

COMPLICATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH URETHRITIS?

Medication can often treat urethritis quickly. If the infection goes untreated, however, the effects can be lasting and quite serious. For example, the infection may spread to other parts of the urinary tract, including the ureters, kidneys, and bladder.

In addition, the STIs that frequently cause the condition can damage the reproductive system over time. They can even lead to infertility. For these reasons, you should speak with a doctor as soon as possible if you notice any symptoms of urethritis.

PREVENTION

Many of the bacteria that cause urethritis can pass to another person through sexual contact. Because of this, practicing safe sex is an important preventive measure. The tips below can help reduce your risk:

* Avoid having intercourse with multiple partners.
* Use condoms every time you have sex.
* Get tested regularly.
* Protect others. If you find out you have an STI, inform others who are also at risk of an infection.
* Aside from safer sex practices, there are other ways to promote good urinary tract health. This can lower your risk of urethritis and some other conditions that affect this part of the body. Drink plenty of fluids and make sure to urinate shortly after intercourse.
* Avoid acidic foods. Also, avoid exposure to spermicides, particularly if you already know they irritate your urethra.

GOOD NUTRITION: A KEY ROLE TO HIV/AIDS MANAGEMENT

 Good nutrition plays a key role in the health and wellness of all individuals. It is an essential building block for development and improving global welfare. Eating the right type and amount of food in the right proportion can help prevent, care and slow down the progression of HIV among individuals affected.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HIV/AIDS AND NUTRITION

Nutrition and HIV/AIDS are greatly linked. HIV/AIDS can contribute to malnutrition as a result of immune impairment and this worsens the effect of the infection leading to a more rapid progression of the disease. Thus, malnutrition contributes to HIV disease progression. A victim who is malnourished is more at risk as the disease will progress faster to AIDS because of body weakness and the body being unable to fight opportunistic infections.

On the other hand, a well nourished victim, has a stronger immune system for coping with the infection and fighting illness. Improved nutritional status of affected victims helps strengthen the immune system, thereby reducing the incidence of infections, preventing weight loss/lean body mass and delaying the progression of the disease.

HIV/AIDS is one of the crises that have affected human health and threatened social and economic development. As the infection rate increases around the world especially in countries with large rural populations, the pandemic creates a deadly cycle by having a negative impact on food/nutrition security. HIV/AIDS has rural/urban dimensions, affects both poor and rich, though the poor are most severely exposed. It is not gender- neutral, as it affects both sexes leaving women at more risk by affecting them physiologically, economically and culturally.

NUTRITION BENEFITS TO A HIV/AIDS VICTIM

·  Nutrition is an entry point for assisting affected communities to cope with the epidemic particularly as part of an integrated approach to household food insecurity, health and care.

· Nutrition care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS is an important way to reduce human suffering and regenerate societies damaged by the epidemic
Nutrition helps to ease burden of the disease and alleviate the overall negative impact of malnutrition among victims.

· Adequate dietary intake enhances the therapeutic effect of medicines, boosts the immune system (by helping to fight diseases, opportunistic infections and maintain body weight), delays the progression of HIV infection to AIDS and increases longevity.

· Good nutrition makes HIV treatment with the  ARV more effective.

EFFECT OF NUTRITION ON HIV/AIDS

· Good nutrition delays the progression of the disease

· It improves the antiretroviral treatment and makes it works faster

· Reduces viral load: a malnourished victim also suffers micronutrient deficiency which increases the viral load by enabling HIV to replicate faster and this also increases the transmission mode.

EFFECT OF HIV/AIDS ON NUTRITION

HIV on the other hand has its own effect on nutrition. it does this by affecting the nutritional status and by causing

· Reductions in dietary intake

· Increased energy requirements

· Increased nutrient mal-absorption and loss

· Complex metabolic alteration that leads to weight loss and wasting

NUTRITIONAL ASSISTANCE

Considering the strong link between HIV/AIDS and nutrition, nutritional assistance is seen as an important part to the response of people living with this disease. The assistance takes form of

Nutritional assessment: it helps HIV positive victims receive appropriate treatment, care and support even in the poorest settings

Nutritional counselling: victims should be counselled on
Healthy eating

· Achieving a healthy body weight
Managing lipid abnormalities

· Managing dietary complications related to ARV treatment

· Managing symptoms that may affect food intake

· Appropriate use of herbal and/ nutritional supplements

Food security: HIV/AIDS precipitate and exacerbate food and nutrition insecurity especially with individuals with worsening poverty. HIV/AIDS strikes the household’s most productive members first which leads to immediate strain on the family’s ability to work, feed and provide care. Family members without food or income may migrate in search of work, thereby increasing their chances of contracting HIV and bringing it back home. Importance of food security becomes more fundamental as the causes and consequences of HIV/AIDS epidemics become clearer.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Screening and nutritional status assessment of dietary intake should be included routinely in HIV treatment and care for adults and children.

Government organizations should integrate quality working nutrition assessment and counseling into the health care services for all individuals and this should include provision for therapeutic and supplementary feeding when appropriate along with other type of support.

Government should develop national nutrition strategies to guide the scale-up of nutrition services with the national HIV/AIDS broader health programmes

Facilities equipped to address the household economic and food security issues that are relevant to the well-being and resilience of individuals and families should be provided

By Ihuoma Pearl. 

Bsc, Mph