Woman’s warning after common health issue turns life-threatening

A young woman has shared a health warning after a common infection turned deadly.

Maisie Lewiss, who posts on TikTok with the handle @maisielewiss, revealed on the video sharing app that she had developed complications from a urinary tract infection (UTI) after leaving it untreated.

It’s an infection most common in women, but Lewiss made the mistake of not going to the doctor because she felt it “wasn’t that bad”.

Just a week later, she was rushed to hospital for treatment after going into septic shock – a life-threatening condition triggered by a severe infection requiring instant medical attention.

UTIs are common, but without treatment can lead to sepsis, or even kidney failure.

Lewiss revealed that she “had no idea how dangerous a UTI can be”, and urged her followers, “No matter if it doesn’t seem that bad please get checked.”

The infection is more commonly experienced by women because they have shorter urethras – the tube that carries urine out of your body – which are located closer to the anus, thus increasing the risk of infection.

Australian doctor Sarah McNamee told Yahoo News Australia that most women will experience a UTI to some level during their life.

“Kidney infections are less common but are still one of the more common [ones] that we get,” she explained.

McNamee said that if you are suffering from a UTI, it’s important to get a urine sample quickly.

“It’s frustrates me when I see people that are just given antibiotics or told that there’s something else going on but they haven’t had a urine culture [test]. It’s super important that we’re making sure we’re on top of infections and checking to see what kind of bacteria is there – making sure there’s no antibiotic resistance.”

According to the Ministry of Health in New Zealand, symptoms of a urinary tract infection can include pain, stinging or burning when passing urine, a constant need to go to the toilet or more frequently, abdominal or lower back pain, and cloudy urine.

It’s recommended to see a doctor or nurse if you’re experiencing these symptoms, and the usual treatment is a course of antibiotics.