Uti

Parent Cafe
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<p>Worked for me. I’ve had my share of UTIs and the last time I felt one coming on I decided to try it and it cleared up.</p>

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<p>“I presonally know someone who ingnored the UTI symptoms and ended up very ill with a kidney infection…”</p>

<p>Me too. She went from needing a three day antibiotic to a three day hospital stay. </p>

<p>This might be a little in the TMI department, but a friend of mine was having trouble with frequent UTIs, and her doctor suggested being more particular about the cuts of underwear she buys. Apparently certain styles, particularly boy shorts, or anything with a central seam on the front or a narrow front panel can contribute to causing UTIs in people who are prone to them. </p>

<p>When I had one I tried to do the cranberry thing, but I don’t think I was drinking enough and it still got worse. At the first sight of blood I was done with that approach and went to the doctor. :slight_smile: Feel better!</p>

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<p>My pharmacist suggested taking cranberry supplements. I did this instead of cranberry juice because the acid is hard on your enamel.
Also using the facilities before and after " marital relations" helps.
;)</p>

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<p>If you wear contacts, remove them for the duration you’re taking the meds. Dont ask me how I know but all your fluids turn that dark rust orange… be forewarned! Yes those over the counter meds do help.</p>

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<p>DonnaL, here is some info. on the OTC med for urinary pain/urgency:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.azoproducts.com/products/azo_standard[/url]”>http://www.azoproducts.com/products/azo_standard&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>There are other brands as well that can do the job; this is the brand I use, though. </p>

<p>UTI’s are very uncomfortable and some women seem to be more susceptible than others. I am one of those. You can try the cranberry juice and pushing fluids (water for the most part, no diuretics)-this can often help head off a full blown infection if done early on. But if you are experiencing pain after a couple of days, your best bet is to get on antibiotics asap.</p>

<p>Common causes of UTI’s in women:</p>

<p>Wiping from back to front after a bowel movement
sexual activity-good advice above to always urinate immediately after sex
staying too long in a bathtub, particularly if bubble bath is used
not drinking enough water and/or not using the restroom often enough (a common problem with nurses or anyone whose job prevents them from drinking and using the bathroom at regular intervals)
Diabetes increases the chances of getting UTI’s, as does pregnancy.</p>

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<p>Yes - urinating before and after marital relations is so important. Also 100% cotton underwear.</p>

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<p>Another point: in the initial stages it can be difficult to distinguish a UTI from a yeast infection. It is possible to dose oneself with the wrong OTC med for several days while things get worse. BT/DT :)</p>

<p>Sounds like you should go for cranberry supplements plus extra fluids, Donna. And call your doctor.</p>

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<p>Thanks so much for all the advice.</p>

<p>I drank a lot of water last night – a couple of bottles – and took an extra cipro tablet (2 instead of 1) before I went to sleep, and again when I woke up.</p>

<p>I’m definitely feeling somewhat better today, less pain and urgency. Being thoroughly hydrated is always good for me anyway, given my medical issues. I’ve left a message for my doctor, and, in the meantime, will continue to drink a lot of water, and am planning to go to a drugstore later to see if I can find Azo and/or cranberry supplements. And have been making sure to go to the bathroom as soon as I think I need to, instead of waiting a long time, as I sometimes have a bad habit of doing because it seems like too much trouble to get up from my desk chair and walk to the ladies’ room.</p>

<p>I promise I always follow all the other “good practices” people have mentioned, right down to always wearing all-cotton underwear (ever since I had all those yeast infection issues a few months after my surgery). And I’m reasonably sure that I urinated promptly after the last time I had “marital relations,” which I believe occurred in or about October or November 1990!</p>

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<p>I usually dopn’t wait to get an appt with my doctor. I just head to a med center after work to pee in a cup and get the prescription. I have found that waiting is not a pleasant thing to do.</p>

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<p>Mafool, I’m with you. You go to the doctor, pee in the cup, the assistant sticks the test stick in it, and someone calls the pharmacy. It takes twenty minutes, done that way. Why wait?</p>

<p>I’ll point out that you can cheaply and easily acidify your urine by taking vitamin C. [Observations</a> on the excretion of vitamin C in human urine](<a href=“http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1263350/?page=1]Observations”>Observations on the excretion of vitamin C in human urine - PMC)
If you take way too much, however, it may also have a laxative effect.</p>

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<p>My family’s doctor lets you come in without an appointment whenever there are UTI symptoms, so that’s what we do. Waiting sucks. The first time I had one it kind of snuck up on me and I ended up in the ER. Not an experience I care to repeat.</p>

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<p>Ditto. When I get a UTI, I get so much burning pain (constant, not just when urinating), as well as a feeling of hot flashes, so I cannot wait two days in agony to see my doctor. Minor emergency clinics can handle a UTI just fine, so off I go (many will even put you on the waiting list when you call so that your wait time upon arrival is limited).</p>

<p>Cranberry juice and water don’t usually address my discomfort satisfactorily. I almost always get on the OTC pain medicine as soon as I have given my sample at the clinic. I was so relieved when they made pyridium an OTC med instead of a prescription only one.</p>

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<p>For anyone who ever needs the OTC medicine, several of the drugstores sell their own brand of “AZO” now. I know Eckerds does and believe Wal-Greens does too. It works just as well and is less expensive. I keep a couple of the little red pill is my purse just in case I get hit by UTI while traveling. </p>

<p>Re-iterating the always pee afterwards mantra. The first UTI I ever had was when I was in college. In agony, I finally went to the infirmary. The nurse practitioner quickly (and to my embarrassment) told me that I was suffering from “Honeymooner’s Disease”!</p>

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<p>Another vote for not waiting. Just a cautionary note, Donna, if you end up in a walk-in clinic do be sure to make sure the person who writes the Rx is aware of all your allergies and issues with antibiotics (I know you are a terrific advocate for your own care) and walks you through their thinking on why they’ve chosen the one they recommend. My hunch is that while you’re late to this particular party this may not be your last hurrah so you’ll want to try to find the med that works for you and let your primary care doctor know next time you see her/him.</p>

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<p>Now I can tell that I have a UTI before the symptoms become difficult. So if I get myself to the med center right away, I don’t need the orange-causing pain meds–just the antibiotic.</p>

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<p>I think Donna needs to see her regular doctor for this. She said that she is already taking Cipro, which is one of the stronger meds used to treat UTIs that already turned into kidney infection. So if her infection flared up with Cipro already present in her urinary tract, it would be a good idea to do a culure test to see what it is causing the infection and what can be used to treat it. I doubt minute clinics would be so thorough; most likely, they would just confirm the presence of E. Coli in urine by a quick test and call it a “UTI”. If it is indeed a yeast infection, antibiotics would be useless to treat it.</p>

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<p>Yes, you need a culture if you still have UTI symptoms while taking cipro.</p>

<p>You need to know what bacteria is present and what it’s susceptibility pattern is.</p>

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<p>I had problems with recurring UTI’s about a year ago. Antibiotic would work but then it came back. After I had it about 3 times, my doctor recommended the Cranberry Pills (triple strength), and at the same time, I threw away all of my comfy microfiber underware and went back to cotton. I don’t know which helped or perhaps it was the combination of cranberry and cotton, but I haven’t had once since.</p>

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<p>Agree that Donna’s situation is atypical and should involve consultation with a physician who knows her and her medical history.</p>

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<p>Also drinking a lot of plain water will flush bacteria out of there. Give the scale some relief. </p>

<p>When my MIL had one of these, the Dr told her to drink a glass of cranberry juice several times a day—so she comes home and she pours the crandberry juice into a little thing the size of a shot glass. And she sips at it and makes a big deal about how she is drinking her juice.</p>

<p>And we said, Mom, you are supposed to be drinking a *large" glass of cranberry juice! Like, giant glass of lemonade in July size!</p>

<p>And she says—“I don’t want to drink that much! It will make me pee!”</p>

<p>That’s the idea, Mom. Well, then we knew how she’d gotten the infection.</p>