What Causes Abdominal Pain and Cloudy Urine?

In a healthy person, urine is light yellow and clear. When urine looks discolored or doesn’t appear clear it is referred to as cloudy, foamy or turbid urine. Urine may become cloudy due to presence of pus, blood or mucus. Sediments of urates and phosphates can also make the appearance of urine cloudy. Cloudy urine may be accompanied by other symptoms such as abdominal pain, foul odor, pain or burning when passing urine.

What Are the Causes of Cloudy Urine and Abdominal Pain?

  1. Urinary Tract Infections

A UTI (urinary tract infection) is infection of any organ of the urinary tract that includes the kidneys, bladder, ureters and urethra. The majority of the infections affect the lower part of the urinary tract (bladder and urethra). UTIs are usually caused by bacteria. Females are more prone to develop UTI in comparison to males.

Symptoms of a UTI (lower tract) are:

UTIs affecting the upper urinary tract infect the kidneys and can become life-threatening if the bacteria are transmitted from the kidney to the blood.

Symptoms of a UTI (upper tract) are:

Treatment

Antibiotics are given for bacterial UTIs-oral for UTI of the lower tract and intravenous for the UTI of the upper tract.

How to prevent UTI:

  1. Acute Bacterial Prostatitis

Another cause of cloudy urine and abdominal pain is acute bacterial Prostatitis. It is characterized by sudden inflammation of the prostate gland. The infection is caused by the same bacteria which cause UTIs (such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species and Proteus species) or STDs (sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea and chlamydia). Bacteria may reach the prostate through the bloodstream. It may also enter the prostate gland during a medical procedure, for instance a biopsy.

Symptoms of acute Prostatitis:

Treatment

Your physician will prescribe antibiotics to treat your symptoms for a period of 4-6 weeks. They may also give you alpha-blockers such as doxazosin, tamsulosin and terazosin to ease your symptoms of urinary discomfort as these medicines relax muscles of the bladder. You may also be given OTC pain killers such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen.

Your physician may advice you to do the following:

Acute Prostatitis generally gets better with lifestyle changes and antibiotics. However, in some people it recurs and gets converted into chronic Prostatitis. Discuss with your physician about taking certain steps to reduce your risks of recurring infection.

  1. Gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is another cause of cloudy urine and abdominal pain. Gonorrhea is a type of sexually transmitted infection caused by bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. It can cause infection in both females and males and is transmitted through sexual contact during anal, vaginal or oral intercourse.

Risk factors

The risk factors of gonorrhea are:

Symptoms

Symptoms of gonorrhea when it affects the genital tract:

In males

In females

Symptoms of gonorrhea when it affects other organs of your body:

Treatment

Adults who develop gonorrhea are given antibiotics to treat the infection. According to the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uncomplicated gonorrhea is treated by giving an injection of antibiotic ceftriaxone in combination with either doxycycline (Vibramycin and Monodox) or azithromycin (Zmax and Zithromax)-antibiotics that can be taken orally.

Your partner, even if they have no symptoms or signs of the disease should undergo treatment and testing for gonorrhea. They get the same treatment as you do.

Babies who are born to females who have gonorrhea get a medicine in their eyes immediately after birth to prevent the spread of infection.

  1. Kidney Stones

Kidney stones also cause symptoms of cloudy urine and abdominal pain. Kidney stones are hard deposits of salts and minerals that are formed inside the kidneys.

There is no single, definite cause of kidney stones, though there are several factors that may increase the risk of formation of kidney stones. They form when more substances that form crystals such as oxalate, uric acid and calcium are present in your urine than can be diluted by the fluid in the urine. Additionally, your urine may be lacking substances, which prevent the sticking together of crystals.

The risk factors of kidney stones are:

Treatment

Treatment varies and depends on the cause and kind of stone. Small stones don’t need invasive treatment and are usually passed by:

Large stones that can’t pass on their own or that cause symptoms may need extensive treatment. These procedures are:

A stone may be removed using uretroscope that is passed via the urethra and bladder into the ureters and kidney.

You can prevent kidney stones by drinking enough water every day, eating fewer foods rich in oxalate, eating a diet low in animal protein and salt and avoiding calcium supplements. 

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