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How Long Does Urinary Tract Infection Take To Get Cured?
Question: Good Afternoon Dr.
I have now been taking sulfameth/trimthoprim 800/160 mg for 7 days and still have another 7 days to go. However i am still having a clear urethral discharge and i am not sure if this medication is working. Can you pleas answer my questions below.
1. How long will it take to clear up a urinary tract infection in a male?
2. If this medication doesnt work is there any other "stronger" medications that can be perscribed? If so which one?
3. I am curious to know how accurate a 3 month igg antibody test for hsv1 and 2 is as my uroligist states that i ahave nothing to worry about as it qould have showed up in my results at the 3 month blood test.
Please let me know. I appreciate all your answers.
Thank You
I have now been taking sulfameth/trimthoprim 800/160 mg for 7 days and still have another 7 days to go. However i am still having a clear urethral discharge and i am not sure if this medication is working. Can you pleas answer my questions below.
1. How long will it take to clear up a urinary tract infection in a male?
2. If this medication doesnt work is there any other "stronger" medications that can be perscribed? If so which one?
3. I am curious to know how accurate a 3 month igg antibody test for hsv1 and 2 is as my uroligist states that i ahave nothing to worry about as it qould have showed up in my results at the 3 month blood test.
Please let me know. I appreciate all your answers.
Thank You
Brief Answer:
it may take up to 2 weeks for an UTI to clear up.
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome to Healthcare Magic.
I read carefully your query and understand your concern.
1 ) Usually it take up to 2 weeks for an urinary infection in males to clear up.It is recommended a course of antibiotics for 10-14 days.
If after finishing the course of antibiotics you will continue to have symptoms ,then you should consult your doctor again.This may happen for 2 reasons :
-The diagnosis was incorrect (what means that it was not a simple urinary tract infection).
-The diagnosis was right but the treatment was inappropriate (the microorganism might be resistant to sulfameth/trimthoprim and in this case you need to take another antibiotic.
So you should finish first the 2 weeks course of antibiotic and then see if your symptoms persist.If they persist then an urine culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing should be performed .
2) If this antibiotic (Trimethoprim -sulphamethoxazole ) doesn't work then other stronger antibiotics are available to treat UTI including Fluoroquinolones, Cephalosporin second generation , Nitrofurantoin etc.
3)Blood tests for Herpes take 3-6 months to turn positive after exposure.This happen because it takes 3-6 months for the body to produce antibodies in response to infection.
So the fact that your antibody test after 3 month is pretty accurate and you are clear.If you still have doubts you can repeat the test 6 months after exposure but is not necessary.
Hope it helps.Let me know if you have any other question or doubt to clarify.I will be happy to assist you further.
Kind regards,
Dr.Rovena Murati
it may take up to 2 weeks for an UTI to clear up.
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome to Healthcare Magic.
I read carefully your query and understand your concern.
1 ) Usually it take up to 2 weeks for an urinary infection in males to clear up.It is recommended a course of antibiotics for 10-14 days.
If after finishing the course of antibiotics you will continue to have symptoms ,then you should consult your doctor again.This may happen for 2 reasons :
-The diagnosis was incorrect (what means that it was not a simple urinary tract infection).
-The diagnosis was right but the treatment was inappropriate (the microorganism might be resistant to sulfameth/trimthoprim and in this case you need to take another antibiotic.
So you should finish first the 2 weeks course of antibiotic and then see if your symptoms persist.If they persist then an urine culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing should be performed .
2) If this antibiotic (Trimethoprim -sulphamethoxazole ) doesn't work then other stronger antibiotics are available to treat UTI including Fluoroquinolones, Cephalosporin second generation , Nitrofurantoin etc.
3)Blood tests for Herpes take 3-6 months to turn positive after exposure.This happen because it takes 3-6 months for the body to produce antibodies in response to infection.
So the fact that your antibody test after 3 month is pretty accurate and you are clear.If you still have doubts you can repeat the test 6 months after exposure but is not necessary.
Hope it helps.Let me know if you have any other question or doubt to clarify.I will be happy to assist you further.
Kind regards,
Dr.Rovena Murati
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you for your quick response.
I noticed that you said the culture could have been misread.
What other infection could it be if there is no UTI?
If it is another infection are there anti biotics to cure the other infections?
Also I would like to know you're professional opinion on how accurate an igg HSV1&2 test is at 3 months?
I already have a scheduled appointment for Dec 10 to do another swab to verify if the infection is gone. Should I advise the Dr. of anything in regards to sending the new swab on Dec 10 for certain lab testing? Again I appreciate your time and your quick response.
I noticed that you said the culture could have been misread.
What other infection could it be if there is no UTI?
If it is another infection are there anti biotics to cure the other infections?
Also I would like to know you're professional opinion on how accurate an igg HSV1&2 test is at 3 months?
I already have a scheduled appointment for Dec 10 to do another swab to verify if the infection is gone. Should I advise the Dr. of anything in regards to sending the new swab on Dec 10 for certain lab testing? Again I appreciate your time and your quick response.
Brief Answer:
detailed below.
Detailed Answer:
Hello again!
Well STD can be easily confused with urinary tract infections.
In your case if you have been tested for STD (chlamydia, gonorrhea ,trichomonas ,etc) and they were negative you don't need to worry.
It is an urinary tract infection.You should finish the complete course of antibiotics
and then conclude if this infection is cured or not.Now is too early to say that the treatment hasn't worked.
If the symptoms persist after finishing the antibiotics ,your doctor may repeat the urine culture and antimicrobial susceptibility to determine which microorganism caused the infection and which antibiotic is most appropriate to fight this microorganism.
An IgG antibodies test 3 months after exposure is pretty accurate.Usually it is recommended between 3-4 months after exposure so you are O.K .Don't need to worry about that.
If your symptom persist after finishing the course of antibiotic ,your doctor will repeat you the tests again (urine culture, antimicrobial susceptibility ).There is no other specific test that you can ask.
If all STD that can cause such symptoms have been ruled out from previous tests then the only option left ,for persistent infection is that the bacteria responsible for the infection is resistant to Trimethoprim -sulphamethoxazole.
Another antibiotic (Fluoroquinolones, Cephalosporin second generation , Nitrofurantoin) will clear the infection.
Don't need to worry right now,finish the antibiotics and see what happen.
Hope it is clear.Please feel free to ask me if you need further help.
Take care,
Dr.Rovena
detailed below.
Detailed Answer:
Hello again!
Well STD can be easily confused with urinary tract infections.
In your case if you have been tested for STD (chlamydia, gonorrhea ,trichomonas ,etc) and they were negative you don't need to worry.
It is an urinary tract infection.You should finish the complete course of antibiotics
and then conclude if this infection is cured or not.Now is too early to say that the treatment hasn't worked.
If the symptoms persist after finishing the antibiotics ,your doctor may repeat the urine culture and antimicrobial susceptibility to determine which microorganism caused the infection and which antibiotic is most appropriate to fight this microorganism.
An IgG antibodies test 3 months after exposure is pretty accurate.Usually it is recommended between 3-4 months after exposure so you are O.K .Don't need to worry about that.
If your symptom persist after finishing the course of antibiotic ,your doctor will repeat you the tests again (urine culture, antimicrobial susceptibility ).There is no other specific test that you can ask.
If all STD that can cause such symptoms have been ruled out from previous tests then the only option left ,for persistent infection is that the bacteria responsible for the infection is resistant to Trimethoprim -sulphamethoxazole.
Another antibiotic (Fluoroquinolones, Cephalosporin second generation , Nitrofurantoin) will clear the infection.
Don't need to worry right now,finish the antibiotics and see what happen.
Hope it is clear.Please feel free to ask me if you need further help.
Take care,
Dr.Rovena
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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