bad bugs - coliform

details as to what coliform is and how it affects people.

Interstitial cystitis (IC), one of the chronic pelvic pain disorders, is a condition resulting in recurring discomfort or pain in the bladder and the surrounding pelvic region. The symptoms of IC vary from case to case and even in the same individual. People may experience mild discomfort, pressure, tenderness, or intense pain in the bladder and surrounding pelvic area. Symptoms usually include an urgent or frequent need to urinate. Pain may change in intensity as the bladder fills with urine or as it empties. Women’s symptoms often get worse during menstruation.

The presence of nitrites in urine indicate the presence of coliform bacteria. This may be a sign of infection, however, the other parameters such as leukocyte esterase, urine white blood cell count, and symptoms such as dysuria, urgency, fevers and chills must be correlated to diagnose an infection.

A positive nitrite test indicates that bacteria may be present in significant numbers in urine.

The detection of nitrite in the urine provides evidence for bacteriuria, in addition to the presence of leukocytes. Women are much more often affected by urinary tract infections than men. 20 percent of women develop at least one urinary tract infection during their lifetime, many suffer from recurrent infections.

Usually the bacteria found in the urine originate from the digestive tract. Therefore the most common organism responsible for urinary tract infections is E. coli. Other uropathogenic bacteria are, for example, Klebsiella, Salmonella, Enterococcus sp., Staphylococcus sp., and Pseudomonas.