UTI, or urinary tract infection, is a condition in a person's body which affects any area of the urinary tract. The kind of urinary tract infection somebody has is called relative to the location of the urinary tract that is affected. The areas that are affected by a urinary tract infection include the bladder (where it is called bladder infection or cystitis); kidneys (commonly known as kidney infection or pyelonephritis); ureters (which are hardly ever affected); and urethra (where one gets urethritis).

Antibiotics are normally what is prescribed for an UTI. It's hard to say which medication you will be prescribed for your UTI, it will depend on your general state of health and the bacterium that is present in your urine.

For simple infections, the following are the usual uti medication prescribed: Levofloxacin or Levaquin; Ciprofloxacin or Cipro; Ampicillin; Nitrofurantoin, such as Macrodantin and Furadantin; Amoxicillin, like Moxatag and Larotid; and Sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, including Septra and Bactrim. Typically, the medications mentioned should clear up symptoms within just a few days of treatment, although you will have to keep taking your UTI medication for up to a week or more, depending on what you were instructed by your doctor to ensure that the infection has been completely addressed.

When you are healthy and infected with a simple urinary tract infection, a medication period of up to three days may be prescribed to you. Managing a urinary tract infection may include pain medications if you experience pain in your bladder. Don't be surprised if your urine comes out red or orange though as this is a normal side effect of using analgesics for urinary tract infections.

For frequent infections, you may have to undergo a longer course of treatment or a set of short over the counter urinary tract infection medicine courses in order to address your urinary tract infection symptoms. You may also be recommended to do home urine tests so you can frequently check the progress of your condition.

If your infection has to do with your sexual activities, you may be prescribed to take an antibiotic after you engage in sexual intercourse. For post-menopausal women, being prescribed the use of vaginal estrogen therapy may lessen occurrences of urinary infections. For conditions more severe than what UTI medication can handle, intravenous antibiotic treatment and hospitalization may be the only ways to address the condition.

Keep in mind that the best medications and doctors can't do anything about your condition if you don't help yourself. For starters, make sure that you stick to the treatment program prescribed for you so that the infection in your urinary tract can be properly and thoroughly eliminated.

It can be dangerous for a patient to stop taking their UTI medication before finishing the prescribed amount, because doing so can cause the infection to rebound and flare up with more strength than it had previously. In that case, you will be prescribed stronger than usual antibiotics. It is better to do it right the first time, in order to avert this.