00:00I'll be right back. I gotta pee.
00:03I have to pee again.
00:05I have to pee again. I'm gonna go pee.
00:08Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You peed like three times in the last 10 minutes.
00:12I have had to pee for the past 30 minutes and every single time I go pee, nothing comes out.
00:17Are you experiencing some like burning?
00:19Itching, burning. It's really horrible. I can't even sit still.
00:23I think you have a UTI. A urinary tract infection.
00:27You need to call Dr. Wendy over here to the Think Tank so you can figure this out.
00:32It is time for the Think Tank.
00:35And Dr. Wendy. Hi everybody.
00:38Thanks for coming back to the Think Tank.
00:40Thank you for having me.
00:41Today we're talking about urinary tract infections, UTIs.
00:46I've been hearing a lot about this recently. What is it?
00:48A urinary tract infection is when bacteria makes it into the urinary system.
00:53Down in the genital area, if you will, there are three holes.
00:56Three? Three. The urethra, where you urinate, where you actually pee.
01:01The vagina, we all know what that does.
01:03And the anus. The bacteria in the anus and around the vagina should not make it to where you urinate
01:10out of.
01:10It shouldn't make it into the bacteria-free zone of the urinary tract.
01:14But if bacteria make it in there and into the urethra, into the bladder, that causes an infection.
01:20So just to be clear, urethra, vagina, anus.
01:24That's right.
01:24That's the line-up.
01:25And that's what it looks like from front to back.
01:28From front to back.
01:30And the anus and the vagina have some bacteria around them that we don't want to get to that front
01:35spot in the urethra.
01:36That's right.
01:37And how can we prevent that?
01:39Because doesn't that bacteria just crawl on its own legs and get there by itself?
01:43Usually it doesn't.
01:44It's kind of a far distance.
01:45If you can imagine, bacteria are really, really little compared to the genital area.
01:50So they shouldn't be able to just make leaps and bounds all the way to your urethra.
01:54That'd be like a snail trying to cross the Brooklyn Bridge.
01:57That's exactly right.
01:58Got it.
01:58But if you put that snail in an Uber and ride it up to where the urethra is, it can
02:03get on out and climb on up.
02:05So talk about what you mean in real terms when you talk about putting the snail in the Uber.
02:09If you wipe from your anus or the vagina area up to where you urinate, to the urethra, you are
02:15carrying bacteria to that area.
02:17And the bacteria can then latch onto the walls of the urethra and climb up into the bladder and cause
02:23an infection.
02:23So I just peed.
02:25All right.
02:26Then we get the toilet paper.
02:29Oh my gosh.
02:31I wipe up.
02:33I wipe up.
02:34Bring it from front to the back.
02:36So push it down.
02:37There you go.
02:38Or go around the back.
02:39Or go around.
02:40Oh, this is a pose.
02:42I always wiped the wrong way.
02:45Here I am carrying fecal matter and vaginal matter into my urethra orifice.
02:52So it's no wonder that I would get a UTI.
02:55What are the symptoms?
02:56How can somebody know that they have a UTI?
02:59So if you feel like you have to go to the bathroom super urgently, I have to go right now,
03:03and then you get to the toilet and only a little bit comes out.
03:06Also, if you have burning when you urinate, that's a sign.
03:09You have to go every 30 minutes or every 20 minutes, that's also a sign.
03:12So does having a UTI affect your kidneys?
03:15It can.
03:16Now we're in trouble because those kidneys have a lot of blood flow that comes through.
03:21That's how your urine is made.
03:22Your kidneys filter the blood and bring out the extra things you don't need, including extra water, and it filters
03:28down into the bladder, and that's how you urinate.
03:31However, if bacteria make it up into those kidneys, bacteria can go anywhere in your body's galaxy and cause a
03:37sepsis or a really bad body infection.
03:40So it's like the barrier to entry.
03:42That's right.
03:43Right in the kidneys.
03:44Right there.
03:44That's scary thought.
03:45Okay, I now feel like I sort of understand what you're talking about with the contamination of the bacteria in
03:52the urethra.
03:52Right.
03:53But I would love to see a visual demonstration of this so that I can really wrap my head around
03:58it.
03:58Let's do it.
03:58You got it?
03:59Yeah.
03:59Alright, let's bring on the demo.
04:03Whew!
04:04Look what we have here.
04:06Okay, so I think it's important to tell them that we are actually doing the experiment upside down.
04:11So the audience right now is going to need to look at a flipped version of this.
04:16So go ahead and flip it!
04:18Okay, now that we're flipped, you can see clearly here, this is the bottom.
04:22This is meant to be the urethra and the opening.
04:26Right.
04:26It connects inside into the bladder region.
04:29That's right.
04:30I'm going to pour some ice in here and we're just going to show this ice is representing what it
04:36looks like when you wipe the proper way.
04:38Or, you know, when you're hydrated and you clear everything out, there's no bacteria.
04:43As you can see, the ice is just a normal color.
04:45And anything that is getting up into that bladder is clear.
04:49That's right.
04:49It's safe.
04:50So this is a model of a perfect person with no UTI.
04:54Now I have here an infected person.
04:58Now it's red, but don't let this be confused with blood.
05:01We are here just demonstrating the fact that this person has somehow got some sort of bacteria into the urethra
05:08region.
05:09Right.
05:09Whether it's from feces or the vagina or something that shouldn't be there.
05:14So let me go ahead and pour that in and then tell us what's happening.
05:17So now the bacteria is making it up through the urethra into our clean bladder.
05:24And it's making the bladder infected with bacteria.
05:27You can tell the bladder is a little upset because it is just raging with bacteria right now.
05:32And it's squeezing and it's telling your body to empty, empty, get this out.
05:35Which is why you go to the bathroom really often.
05:37Which is why there's not a whole lot of urine in there when you go.
05:40Because your bladder is just overreacting to the situation.
05:42Right.
05:44Alright, now we can flip this view back forward.
05:46So now Dr. Wendy, what if a person thinks they have a UTI but they don't know what it is?
05:51What should they do?
05:52Mainly you have to really be in tune with your body.
05:54You have to know, am I itching?
05:56Do I have an odor?
05:57Or is my bladder irritated and having a discomfort?
06:00So the first thing they should do is drink their water and see if it gets any better.
06:04Sometimes people can also take cranberry pills and that can sometimes help too.
06:07So at the end of the day, it seems that the safest method for knowing if you have this is
06:11actually just go to your doctor.
06:12That's right.
06:13If these methods, if you try to hydrate and you try cranberry pills and that's not helping,
06:18or you just think you have a urinary tract infection or UTI, you probably need some antibiotics and you should
06:23just go to your doctor.
06:24Get tested.
06:25Get checked out.
06:25If you never took antibiotics, would this clear up on its own?
06:29It's not likely that it would clear up on its own, especially if it's a full blown bladder infection or
06:33urinary tract infection.
06:34Wow.
06:35I feel I've learned so much about UTIs right now.
06:38Not only did I learn about how to properly wipe and I need to now go to the bathroom and
06:43implement my new skills,
06:44but I've also learned what's actually happening inside of the bladder when that bacteria gets into the urethra and causes
06:51a whole lot of problems.
06:52Dr. Wendy to the rescue.
06:55Just remember, Dr. Wendy is usually right because she is a doctor.
06:59So follow her on Instagram.
07:00Ask her all of your questions.
07:02Send me any messages that you have on Instagram.
07:04I'll direct them over to Dr. Wendy.
07:06And we will see you next time on The Factory.
07:08Bye.
07:09Bye.
