Having only one urinary tract infection (UTI) is bad enough but when it is recurrent it can significantly upend your life. A UTI happens when enough bacteria enters the bladder through the urethra causing an infection. The urethra actually opens just above the vaginal opening. Which for females is a vulnerable spot that can easily be surrounded by bacteria. Now, some are on the luckier side and don't get UTIs or maybe just one in their lifetime, but a few of us get them all the time. So I am here to go over some helpful tips to prevent this infection from happening to you!
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Essential hygiene tips to prevent UTIs
First, there are some hygeine tips that everyone should be following that also just happen to help prevent UTIs. The first is always wiping from front to back with toilet paper after you use the bathroom. This keeps any bacteria at your back end from traveling up near the urethra bladder opening. The second is make sure you urinate right after sex. Think about it, sex is a fun but messy event where bacteria can get near the urethra. When you urinate after, it helps to flush some of that bacteria out. The third hygeine tip is to drink lots of water. Water is amazing for overall health but in this case what you are doing is keeping your urine very dilute and keeping the bladder tissue healthy. It's great to drink about 1-2 liters of water per day.
Supplements and lifestyle factors
A supplement you can take if you have frequent UTIs is cranberry. Although not consistently proven to prevent UTIs, a concentrated version of cranberry such as a cranberry tablet supplement from your pharmacy can help to prevent bacteria from sticking to the walls of your bladder. Some other supplements such as D- Mannose and probiotics might also help. Please speak with your doctor before starting any supplements to confirm they are safe for you and in what doses.
There are some activities and circumstances that can make you more suseptible to UTIs as well. If you have atrophy (thinning, drying and loss of elasticity) of your vaginal tissue - such as during menopause, if you use spermicide frequently or if you are unable to fully empty your bladder each time you urinate, you are more susceptible to UTIs.
When to see a doctor
If you have symptoms of lower abominal pain or discomfort just above your pubic area, combined with painful urination or frequent urination, you might have a UTI and should see your doctor. I always recommend seeing your doctor the first one or two times this happens so you get proper urine testing to confirm the correct diagnosis. Then from there if this becomes a frequent problem for you, try some of my sugestions above and keep your doctor in the loop as well on your progress at keeping these infections far far away!
DISCLAIMER: Features published by Adaaba are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. Always seek the advice of your GP or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health-related programme.
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