UTI tips

I pee and wash up after (and whenever I can manage, before) any penetrative sex. I also try to keep hydrated and stay mindful of how clean certain things are. I'm kind of OCD about it.

Great thread, Miss Jane. My older sister constantly gets UTIs, and she's always asking why.

I got them bad when I first started having sex, as in one every single week for a few weeks. I found that the following works well:
-Drink a glass of water before sex
-Go pee directly after sex
-Drink another glass of water afterwards
-Take cranberry extract supplements with the 2nd glass of water
-Pee more

Believe me, you shall be cured!

I urinate before and after using toys--it's not that I make myself do it, it's just my body always has to go. I also drink cranberry juice daily. If I've ever had them, I really wouldn't know, because it's always seemed to sort itself out.

Also, I've heard these work as ussplements in preventing it:

--Cranberry juice (duh lol)
--Pink grapefruit juice
--Goldenseal
--Oregon grape
--Uva ursi
--Echinacea (also good to help fight off colds)

And more! Here are some links:

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But, always remember to make an appointment with your doctor as the infection can get worse! Use these as preventative measures (such as a vitamin a day) or to help treat it until you can make an appointment.

All of the advice already given in excellent, but if you get that feeling that you've got a UTI "coming on" there's something else that can head off the infection as well. Certainly, cranberry pills help, but also spend a day or two using D-mannose. It's super cheap and lasts for ages because you don't use much, so you can always have some on hand.

Wash your hands before and after you go to the bathroom. Wipe front to back, drop paper, front to back drop paper. Most UTOs are escherichia coli, which means people are wiping wrong or retracing their steps. Sometimes I find chlamydia in urine specimens and sometimes yeast. Wash gentitals before and after sex. They are crawling with staph aureus ( a natural flora, but everyone's staph is unique. Take showers instead of baths. Or if your a bather, shower first. Its not good to soak in your own filth, dead sloughing skin cells, etc.

Drink plenty of water. Cranbury juice is not as effective as cranbury tablets. Juice is full of sugar and potentiates infections.

Actually, alcohol, coffee, tea, caffein and nicotine are all irritating to the bladder.

Tampons are better than pads. Sitting on blood will cause all kinds of bacteria to grow. Thats why we have blood on our agar petri dishes, to encourage the growth of bacteria.

Men after the age of 40 are very susceptible to bladder infections caused by inflammation of the prostate. Not just begnign growth that slows down the stream or causes retention. The prostate itself can periodically get inflamed/

Also, sex definitely makes the urethra go through a bit of trauma and lets dirt and germs in. Definitely using the bathroom after sex is a good idea, not to mention it kinda feels better if you go after sex.

I actually have a condition called IC, and that mimics the symptoms of a UTI. So, if you constantly go to the doctor for a UTI check, and it comes up negative, talk to your doctor about the chance of having IC.

Pee before sex too!

I started using a diaphragm and learned the hard way about TOTALLY emptying my bladder before putting it in. I got a painful UTI. I only messed up one time and forgot to pee before I put it in. Even before I had the diaphragm I had to pee before AND after sex or else i'd be in trouble. I would also get in the bath and clean down there with antibacterial soap. I'm sure that makes my hubby feel great, lol, although he's used to it by now.

I used to get them so often a while back. When I had them I would drink cranberry juice, lots of water, and take tylenol for the pain. I always have a bottle of cranberry juice in my fridge just in case.

I had done a research paper on the effectiveness of cranberry juice with UTI's and I found some pretty interesting stuff. Its preventive more than anything but I found that it was hard to say a definitive yes on its effectiveness since so many scientific experiements were done using different modes (pills, juice, the actual fruit) of ingesting the cranberry.

I where panty liners EVERY day. I hate having female juices in my panties. So I where a liner and it keeps them nicer much longer.

The last time I had one I was told by my doctors that a good preventative is taking 1000mg Vitamin C every day. Since C is a water-soluble vitamin, it doesn't build up in your tissues, so there's no harm in taking such large doses. And, since it's an acid, it makes your UT so inhospitable to bacteria that they don't have a chance.

If you feel symptoms coming on, drink water and only water, and cut out all caffeine (this is the worst part, right here.)

Also, this is something teachers often learn the hard way: go to the bathroom when you need to pee. "Holding it" is just asking for a bacterial bloom of death and pain.

Panty liners are actually really useful if you change them multiple times a day because they keep you dry, which again will help cut down on your chances of getting a UTI.

Post-sex, use wipes. Cleans you off thoroughly and easily, which again...reduces the chance of a UTI. XD

Panty liners actually can cause a yeast infection. And those moisturiziing wipes are too moisturizing. Soap and water is just fine, use clean hands on genetailia in the shower under running water instead of a wash cloth. Wash your underwear seperate from your outerwear. Even detergent and hot water doesn't kill germs, it washes away the surface dirt, not all the bacteria. Add lysol or pinesol to your wash too.

Prebiotic,probiotic supplements and bitter melon not only help with yeast, the immune system, but also UTIs.

hmmm I must be super lucky I have never in my life had a UTI

I haven't had one of these in years. Knock on wood!!! But if I ever do again this is the first place I'm going to look up what to do about it.

Thanks to all of you who posted such wonderful helpful suggestions!

I'm phobic about UTIs. I get them horribly bad when I get them. Here are my tips:

1. Always, always, always, always take TWO cranberry pills before or after having sex, with a full glass of water.

2. Pee before and after sex.

3. When wearing panty liners, switch them out regularly, and position it as far below your urethra as possible while still providing coverage. Stay away from plastic "leak guard" pads and liners that trap in moisture and bacteria.

4. I LOVE instead cups. They last all day, never leak for me, and don't have a bacteria magnet string, like tampons. And of course, just about anything beats pads.

5. Wipe front to back, and pat dry after peeing. I know, obviously, but hey.

6. Gently wash around the outside of your vagina and the folds of your labia with a non-irritating soap (just your run of the mill bar soap, don't use body wash or fragrances), and rinse VERY THOROUGHLY. I soap up front to back and rinse back to front. But that might be the ocd in me.

7. Dry thoroughly with a towel after getting out of the shower/bath.

8. Never use cheap bath products, like bubble bath, body wash, etc. A lot of them even have warnings on the packaging about causing UTIs. You can smell weird and piss blood! Bonus!

9. When in doubt, check it out. Feel weird or uncomfortable down there? Change your pad, rinse off in the shower (hot water feels great for a variety of reasons), take some advil and two cranberry pills with a full glass of water.

10. Pee before bed. My first UTI was an immediate result of not pissing for 12 hours (hey, I was tired). Suffice it to say, I learned that lesson the hard way.

Welp! I am bumping this thread to ask a question. I am suffering from a UTI right now. I got into the doctor and he gave me Cipro. I have taken 3 doses already and I still don't feel much better. Does anyone here have any experience with Cipro? I have taken it twice before and it seemed to work but what I am wondering is, could my body be resistant to Cipro after only taking it a few times?

I may have to go back in if the pain doesn't go away soon. I really want to feel better before Christmas and I really don't want to wait till after Christmas to get into the doctor. (I go to the military hospital)