Some Causes and Features of Painful Urination
Some Causes and Features of Painful Urination
Cause | Common Features* | Tests |
|---|---|---|
Infections† | ||
Usually in women and girls A frequent and urgent need to urinate Getting up at night to urinate Sometimes blood in the urine or foul-smelling urine | A doctor's examination Usually urinalysis Urinalysis and Urine Culture Urinalysis, the testing of urine, may be necessary in the evaluation of kidney and urinary tract disorders and can also help evaluate bodywide disorders such as diabetes or liver problems. A... read more | |
Epididymo-orchitis Epididymitis and Epididymo-orchitis Epididymitis is inflammation of the epididymis (the coiled tube on top of the testis that provides the space and environment for sperm to mature), and epididymo-orchitis is inflammation of the... read more (infection of an epididymis and a testis) | Tenderness and swelling in a testis Possibly frequent urination or a discharge from the urethra Sometimes fever or nausea | A doctor's examination Sometimes urinalysis |
A tender prostate detected during a digital rectal examination Often fever, difficulty starting urination, frequent urination, the need to urinate during the night, and burning or pain during urination Sometimes blood in the urine Often symptoms of a long-standing blockage in the urinary tract (including a weak urine stream, difficulty passing urine, or dribbling at the end of urination) | Urinalysis and urine culture | |
Usually a visible discharge from the urethra in men Sometimes a discharge from the vagina in women In people who have recently had unprotected intercourse | STD testing | |
A discharge from the vagina Often redness in the genital area | A doctor's examination, including examination of a sample of the discharge under a microscope | |
Often a cervical discharge History of unprotected intercourse | STD testing | |
Disorders that cause inflammation | ||
Connective tissue disorders that cause inflammation (such as reactive arthritis Reactive Arthritis Reactive arthritis (previously called Reiter syndrome) is a spondyloarthritis causing inflammation of the joints and tendon attachments at the joints, often related to an infection. Joint pain... read more | General or bodywide symptoms (including body pain and joint pain) that develop before urination becomes painful Sometimes sores on the skin, mouth, eyes, or genital area, including inside the vagina | STD testing Sometimes blood tests to check for these connective tissue disorders |
Contact with a substance that irritates the area or causes an allergic reaction (such as a spermicide, lubricant, or latex condom) | Sometimes redness in the genital area In people who have been exposed to a substance that could cause irritation or an allergic reaction | Only a doctor's examination |
More common among women A frequent and urgent need to urinate Long-standing symptoms | Urinalysis and urine culture Examination of the interior of the bladder using a flexible viewing tube inserted through the urethra (cystoscopy Cystoscopy A doctor can diagnose some disorders of the bladder and urethra (for example, bladder tumors, stones in the bladder, benign prostatic enlargement) by looking through a flexible viewing tube... read more ), usually including removal of a sample of tissue for examination (biopsy of the bladder Bladder biopsy Site-specific biopsies and cell sampling are also used in the evaluation of people with suspected kidney and urinary tract disorders. (See also Overview of the Urinary Tract.) A kidney biopsy... read more ) | |
Other disorders | ||
Atrophic vaginitis or urethritis (thinning of tissues in the vagina or urethra) | In postmenopausal women Vaginal dryness Often pain during intercourse A discharge from the vagina Changes in the interior of the vagina (it becomes smooth and pale) | Only a doctor's examination |
Tumors (usually bladder Bladder Cancer Bladder cancer most often causes blood in the urine. To make the diagnosis, a thin, flexible viewing tube (cystoscope) is inserted through the urethra into the bladder. Many cancers are treated... read more , prostate Prostate Cancer The risk of prostate cancer increases as men age. Symptoms, such as difficulty urinating, a need to urinate frequently and urgently, and blood in the urine, usually occur only after the cancer... read more | Long-standing symptoms, such as a weak urine stream or difficulty starting urination | If bladder cancer is suspected, cystoscopy Cystoscopy A doctor can diagnose some disorders of the bladder and urethra (for example, bladder tumors, stones in the bladder, benign prostatic enlargement) by looking through a flexible viewing tube... read more If prostate cancer is suspected, a blood test to measure PSA levels |
* Features include symptoms and the results of the doctor's examination. Features mentioned are typical but not always present. | ||
† Infectious organisms that commonly cause painful urination include sexually transmitted organisms Overview of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) Sexually transmitted (venereal) diseases are infections that are typically, but not exclusively, passed from person to person through sexual contact. Sexually transmitted diseases may be caused... read more | ||
‡ This cause is rare. | ||
PSA = prostate-specific antigen; STD = sexually transmitted disease. | ||
