urinary infection

inasopp
inasopp Posts: 13
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, i'm having an urinary infection for the third time, and i was wondering if anyone had any diet (or other) tips on how to prevent this from happening? I've heard it helps to drink cranberry juice, does anyone know if this is true? :-)

thanks for helping xx

Replies

  • bluberrygoo
    bluberrygoo Posts: 222 Member
    I had two while I was pregnant and cranberry juice does help.
  • inasopp
    inasopp Posts: 13
    thank you, then i'll buy some tomorrow:-)
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Okay... so don't judge me here or think I am crazy but I had kidney problems because of constant UTI's (from dehydration) but these are the things my doctor told me to help alleviate them and also ensure i don't suffer from them again.

    Things to prevent:
    1.) always pee before and after sex. always. For women this is usually the cause of UTIs.
    2.) always wipe from front to back
    3.) always change your underwear/clothes after working out and getting sweaty or swimming.
    4.) do not EVER hold your pee or stop peeing halfway through
    5.) always make sure you drink the necesarry amount of water, Being dehydrated and having very concentrated urine will make things SIGNIFICANTLY worse.
    6.) some women get UTI's every time after sex, even when they pee before and after. If this is the case your doctor can prescribe you something called nitrofurantinoin. (a low dose antibiotic)

    Things to help Alleviate once you have one:
    1.) drink a LOT of water. As much water as possible. I know the last thing you want to do is drink water when you constantly have that "have to pee" feeling but it is VERY important,
    2.) Cranberry juice and pills. (not ocean spray... tart bitter nasty cranberry juice)
    3.) MY LIFE SAVER- Azo Standard or Maximum strength, (this turns your pee bright orange so dont freak out.) This stuff IMMEDIATELY gets rid of the discomfort. Watch out though because you may stop taking the AZO thinking you're all better and having no symptoms when you still have the UTI.
    4.) GET ANTIBIOTICS. It is very important that you get antibiotics and take them as directed. (usually bactrim or ciproflaxin) It is important to completely rid yourself of the UTI so that you do not get reccuring UTI's like i did which lead to bladder infections, to kidney infections, which cause hospitalization. If you start having lower back pain and fever then go to the ER.


    Trust me, Azo standard, water, cranberry, and use the preventative measures to live UTI free!
  • inasopp
    inasopp Posts: 13
    Thanks for the long answer!
    I've already been to my doctor and gotten antibiotics.(penomax). It is just so annoying it keeps coming back. :-( I also got an appointment on the hospital take an ER to see if there is anything wrong, witch hopefully there aren't.
    I don't know how you can always pee before and after sex though, i usually only pee maybe three, maybe four, times a day!
    Azo is a pill right? do you know if it is possible to crush them and drink them instead of swallowing them whole? (and i reaaaally hope they sell it here if they get rid of all the discomfort right away)

    again thank you!!
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    Have they done a culture? To figure out WHAT is causing your infections?

    A UTI that keeps coming back would warrant one to be sure you are getting the right medications to take care of that specific infection. I get UTIs very easily, so I know a few things about them. I also suggest AZO. If for some reason that doesn't seem to help, there is a prescription called UTA that may also be an option. It's more expensive, but you do what you have to do.

    Drink LOTS of liquids, cranberry juice (pure), and go when you feel you have to. Don't hold it as that can cause infections!
  • 1sisrat
    1sisrat Posts: 267 Member
    if you are peeing only 3-4 times a day you're dehydrated. You need to be going at least 6 for healthy waste removal. Drink more water. I used to have at least 2 uti's a year... I started rinsng off after sex and drinking more water and i haven't had one in 2 years.
  • inasopp
    inasopp Posts: 13
    i dont know if they have done a culture, at least they haven't told me whats causing my infection. The antibiotics i got today was a guessing from my doctor, and he said to come back fast if it doesn't improve after three days.

    Well i suppose i need to drink more water :-)
  • momof2winsplus
    momof2winsplus Posts: 137 Member
    Instead of cranberry juice, you can get Cranberry pills in most vitamin sections. Same benefits without the calories. And yes, they work! Just make sure to drink your water, too.
  • rebelontherun
    rebelontherun Posts: 192 Member
    I get those all the time and I hate it. I used to drink cranberry juice but I hate it, it's added calories and most of them have a lot of sugar in it. So I usually drink a lot of water and take cranberry pills
  • KaraP18
    KaraP18 Posts: 145 Member
    Definitly cranberry pills. Never get UTI's anymore and u dont have to drink that sour juice.
  • jjmaag
    jjmaag Posts: 11 Member
    I've been getting them for so long now, i'm starting to average out at about 3 a year but it used to be much worse. I take cranberry pills everyday, and drink SO MUCH water. I probably pee at least 20 times a day, i think my co-workers think i'm a freak!
  • kimdt74
    kimdt74 Posts: 22 Member
    This may sound crazy, but try alka seltzer. Sometimes I just put it in water and some times I put it in cranberry juice. I suffered with UTI's for a couple of years, and went through several expensive test to try to find the cause of them. The only time I completely got over them is when I was on antibiotics for 3 or 4 months. Which only lead to other infections. I read where drinking alka seltzer helped some people. Now if I feel like I am getting an infection I drink one right then.
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
    Okay... so don't judge me here or think I am crazy but I had kidney problems because of constant UTI's (from dehydration) but these are the things my doctor told me to help alleviate them and also ensure i don't suffer from them again.

    Things to prevent:
    1.) always pee before and after sex. always. For women this is usually the cause of UTIs.
    2.) always wipe from front to back
    3.) always change your underwear/clothes after working out and getting sweaty or swimming.
    4.) do not EVER hold your pee or stop peeing halfway through
    5.) always make sure you drink the necesarry amount of water, Being dehydrated and having very concentrated urine will make things SIGNIFICANTLY worse.
    6.) some women get UTI's every time after sex, even when they pee before and after. If this is the case your doctor can prescribe you something called nitrofurantinoin. (a low dose antibiotic)

    Things to help Alleviate once you have one:
    1.) drink a LOT of water. As much water as possible. I know the last thing you want to do is drink water when you constantly have that "have to pee" feeling but it is VERY important,
    2.) Cranberry juice and pills. (not ocean spray... tart bitter nasty cranberry juice)
    3.) MY LIFE SAVER- Azo Standard or Maximum strength, (this turns your pee bright orange so dont freak out.) This stuff IMMEDIATELY gets rid of the discomfort. Watch out though because you may stop taking the AZO thinking you're all better and having no symptoms when you still have the UTI.
    4.) GET ANTIBIOTICS. It is very important that you get antibiotics and take them as directed. (usually bactrim or ciproflaxin) It is important to completely rid yourself of the UTI so that you do not get reccuring UTI's like i did which lead to bladder infections, to kidney infections, which cause hospitalization. If you start having lower back pain and fever then go to the ER.


    Trust me, Azo standard, water, cranberry, and use the preventative measures to live UTI free!

    I was born with a birth defect of the kidney. I also suffered from reflux back into my kidney that caused many MANY UTI's. This is good information.

    Another thing is artificial coloring, such as in soda and try to avoid caffeine. Another thing to remember is if you are taking the antibiotics that you should eat a couple of yogurts a day to prevent a yeast infection from the antibiotics.

    Yes, you can chew the azo standard although it may make your teeth pink, but it is a small price to pay for getting pain relief. Azo is a standard drug at my house as well as my travel bag. I NEVER go on vacation with out it.

    Good luck. I know how terrible they are.
  • IvoryParchment
    IvoryParchment Posts: 651 Member
    If you don't urinate frequently, it means your urine is concentrated. What you consider waste, bacteria consider yummy.

    Bacteria reproduce by dividing themselves in half and having two new bacteria. No sex, no pregnancy, very quick. They can do this every 20 minutes if conditions are ideal, and the warm, wet, yummy environment in your bladder is pretty ideal.

    There is almost no distance between your vagina and bladder. Bacteria get pushed in a peed out all the time. Suppose even one bacteria gets in. In 20 minutes, there are two bacteria. Then it goes like this:
    40 minutes: 4
    1 hour: 8
    2 hours: 256
    3 hours: 2048
    4 hours: 16,348
    5 hours: 130,784
    6 hours: 1,046,272
    7 hours: 8,370,176
    8 hours: 66,961,408
    9 hours: 535,691,264
    10 hours: 4,285,530,112

    Yep, 4 billion bacteria if you don't pee all day at work. And if you do that once, what are the odds that after you empty your bladder, there is no more than one bacteria left? If you have two bacteria to start, the whole thing happens even faster. And as I said, you're going to have far more than one bacteria in and out of your bladder every day.

    A bladder infection usually means over 100,000 bacteria in one ml of urine. If you aren't peeing for that many hours, you're probably dehydrated and maybe only making about 300 mls in 10 hours. You've already got a urinary tract infection starting with only a single bacterium, just by holding your urine.
  • ericabrothers
    ericabrothers Posts: 115
    you can drink some beer also. it will make you pee more and you will get more of the bacteria out. i don't know why your doc didn't do a culture. that will tell you what organisim is growing and what antibiotic will kill it. also make sure you take all of your antibiotics, even if you feel better take them all. i know everyone says "don't hold your bladder" and in a perfect would this would be ideal. i have to hold it more often than not. i think they secretly brainwash you in nursing school to be able to hold your bladder. i will seriously have to pee so bad i feel like i'm gonna pee all over myself and then i get busy again and forget for a little while. you can also take pyridium and it makes your pee bright orange but numbs your urinary tract. i have taken this before and it made me so sick to my stomach, i'd rather it feel like somene was riping a cactus out when i was peeing than take it ever again. they also make med for uti's that turn your pee blue that i have taken and it didn't make me sick. good luck getting rid of it for good :smile:
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