Getting aurinary tract infection(UTI) sucks.
You know what sucks even more?
Getting a UTI over and over again.
Female nude
Recurrent UTIs can make you feel like you spend half your lifespeeding to the bathroom.
What is a UTI?
Before we talk about recurrent UTIs, lets talk about UTIs in general.
A UTI is an infection in any part of your urinary tract, theMayo Clinicexplains.
Sometimes aUTIkeeps coming back, which is called a recurrent UTI or a chronic UTI.
Being sexually active is a UTI risk factor, theMayo Clinicexplains.
This is thanks to a postmenopausal decline in estrogen.
This results in stagnant urine, which can let infection-causing bacteria linger.
Another common example isdiabetes, where several factors can make recurrent UTIs more likely, Dr. Vasavada explains.
Their increased susceptibility may come down to inherited and genetic factors.
We say the lining of their bladder and ureter is more like Velcro, Dr. Vasavada says.
These types of factors can then run in families.
UTI Diagnosis
A chronic UTI is diagnosed the same way as a regular UTI.
But we generally recommend them because [theyre] not too onerous and theyre good habits anyway.
Peeing after sexis also suchcommon UTI-prevention advice, in case any bacteria has gotten up there.
So if youve gone throughmenopauseand keep battling UTIs, its definitely worthtalking to your doctorabout.
Prophylactic antibiotics are another preventive method to know about if you have recurrentUTIs.
Prophylactic antibiotics is basically a fancy way of saying preventive antibiotics.
One option is low-dose antibiotics taken for daily for something like six months, per theMayo Clinic.
Another route is a single dose of the antibiotic that you take every time you have sex.
Thats often enough to prevent the infection from settling in, Dr. Vasavada says.
Another method is basically self-started or self-directed treatment using a standing prescription.
Finally, you might be wondering about cranberry juice for UTI prevention.
But the science here isnt solid enough to say that cranberry juice or supplements can definitely prevent recurrent UTIs.
So its sort of up to you, Dr. Vasavada says.
If someone takes it and they think it benefits them, great.
But this is especially important if youre susceptible to recurrent UTIs.
Additional reporting by Laura Adkins.
