Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Symptoms

In contrast to young children and infants, who may have general or nonspecific symptoms, most adults experience symptoms typical for a UTI when infection is present. Most people are familiar with the classic symptoms of UTI in both women and men, which include pain or burning on urination, difficulty urinating, feeling the constant or frequent urge to urinate (urinary urgency), urinating frequently, and the presence of blood in the urine (although this is not always present). The urine may be foul smelling or cloudy if pus is present. Other symptoms sometimes occur, including tenderness over the area of the bladder, pain in the low abdomen, and flank pain. Fever and chills can be present, but this is most typical of an infection that has spread higher in the urinary tract to the kidneys.

In adults younger than 50, men are less likely to develop a UTI than are women, so UTI in younger adult males is uncommon. However, over age 60, both men and women are equally likely to get UTIs. While the symptoms in men and women are similar, women may develop pelvic pain from a UTI, while rectal pain is not uncommon in men with UTI. In older adults, symptoms of UTI may sometimes be mistaken for another condition.