How to prevent painful UTIs

There are hardly words to explain the searing pain that can come with a urinary tract infection according to women who suffer from them. Symptoms of a UTI — the condition is called cystitis when the bladder is infected — may include burning, pressure, pain over the bladder area, nausea, blood in the urine and a persistent, wildly urgent need to urinate. Typically confirmed by a urine test or through a urine culture, they are a mostly female problem with women being four times as likely to be as affected as men and half of all women will have one at some point.

Women often get what’s quaintly referred to as “honeymoon cystitis” — an infection that follows sexual activity. Although the urinary tract has mechanisms to prevent infection, intercourse is an ideal opportunity for bacteria from the bowel to migrate around and up the urethra to the bladder.

Most women find relief from the fiery pain quite quickly after taking antibiotics. (If the pain persists, medical attention is needed to rule out kidney infection and other causes.)

Other suggestions that may work:

Drinking lots of water.

Urinating after sex.

Taking low-dose antibiotics after sex.

Keeping the area around your urethra clean. Wipe from front to back. Don’t wear thong underwear.