10 Ways to Prevent UTI in Women

 

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Preventing UTIs takes understanding, caution, and dedicated self-care.

A Urinary Tract Infection or UTI is an infection in the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, or urethral opening. Women are more prone to UTIs due to factors like (i) shorter urinary tracts than men, (ii) childbirth, (iii) sexual activity, (iv) lack of nutrition, and (v) confusing information.

You need to know UTIs and that you are worth the care to prevent UTIs. This is a ‘tips’ article, but we will cover all a woman should know about UTIs, including the risk factors and treatment options along the course. We will start by understanding the symptoms of UTIs.

Symptoms of UTIs

• A burning sensation or pain while peeing
• Always feel like you need to urinate, but not much urine comes out
• It is hard to keep in urine
• Pain in the lower abdomen, back, or pelvis — especially when you go
• Cloudy, dark-colored, or bloody urine
• An unusually strong smell of the urine

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Tips to Prevent UTI in Women

1. Pee Free — Be Free

Urinating as soon as you hear nature’s call has more benefits than one might think. Make sure the bladder is emptied well. For one thing, you feel relaxed and focused once you have peed.

When you urinate, the gushing urine clears out the urinary tract. In addition, the toilet visit gives you a chance to cleanse the nether regions.

Emptying the bladder as needed makes sure that no urine leaks out due to stress, bladder pressure, or other surprises. This helps in preventing UTIs by keeping your underwear cleaner.

Also, if you visit the bathroom more frequently without having to let out as much urine as usual, it could be a sign of a urinary tract infection. So going to urinate when needed can let you know if you have contracted a UTI.

2. Water makes everything better

Keep your body hydrated with a good deal of fluids. The frequent urge to urinate is a problem of UTI. So you might feel like keeping your water bottle out of arm’s reach. This does more bad than good.

Staying hydrated helps the body to fight infections in general. Hydration also prevents harmful dryness of the vulva.

A well-hydrated body can dilute urine. When urine is diluted, UTI-causing microbes will get less to feast on. Also, the more volume you pee out, the better you clean your urinary tract.

3. What to Eat to Prevent UTIs?

Studies prove that eating better helps us to steer clear of urinary tract infections. A healthy diet gives us the necessary macronutrients, dietary fibers, hydration, and micronutrients that may improve immunity.

UTIs can be brought on by microbes in the stool, ‘butting in’ discreetly. Studies prove that you can modify the ‘microhabitat’ within the feces in a way that prevents UTIs.

Here are a few things you could consume in general to keep away urinary tract infections:

Barley

Barley grains are known for their diuretic effects — that is, they can help your body to make more urine thus getting rid of a lot of bodily waste. To prevent UTIs, drink water boiled with barley at any temperature you like.

Fresh Berries, Fruits, and Juices

They are refreshing, hydrating, and nourishing; fruits are also UTI-fighting. Women who take more fresh berries and fruit juices in their diet are found to be less prone to UTIs.

Watermelons (and other melons, in general), leafy greens, cucumbers, cranberries, and lingonberries (mountain cranberries) are especially ‘fruitful’ UTI-deterrents.

We really did not need more reason to eat more fruits; but alright!

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Cranberry Capsules

Cranberries are the most effective in preventing and remedying urinary tract infections as supplement pills. The processes that turn the berries into pills bring out the anti-UTI properties better. The concentrated level of proanthocyanidin (PAC) in cranberry pills is what we are going for.

Fermented Milk Products

Fermented dairy products like yogurt improve gut health and thereby overall health and immunity. Now scientists have found that they can safeguard a woman’s urinary tract from infections.

It depends on how much and how often you consume and how well you cope — but alcoholic beverages, tea, coffee, and colas can invite UTIs. Alcohol and caffeine also disturb the good bacteria in your gut, putting you further at risk of catching a UTI.

Sugars

Both natural and artificial sugars and sweeteners can disturb friendly gut bacteria and spawn harmful ones. Further, they can affect the pH levels of blood and urine making way for UTIs. But what throws you in the way of UTIs for sure is diabetes.

5. Taking Charge of the Sexual Causes of UTIs

What party does not involve some trashing? Infections can gatecrash a woman’s urinary tract from sexual factors since intercourse can cache bodily fluids and products in places we don’t want.

Here is how you can keep sex from giving you UTIs:

Clear the Path

Urinate and clean the area both before and after sex. Have an extra glass of water, if needed, to seal in hydration and also to pee more out. Go to the bathroom as soon (before and after) as possible to forbid UTIs, and possibly certain vaginal infections too.

Pee ’em away within the “PM” hours!

To Use or Not (What) to Use — The Safety Dilemma!

Birth control measures like condoms and diaphragms are ‘barrier’ or physical methods. They prevent STDs as well as pregnancy. However, the materials used to make your condoms or diaphragms can cause allergies in the genitals and urethral channel.

What’s more, spermicidal agents coated in condoms can kill the health of the friendly microbiome in the privates. Some lubricants do that too.

Whereas it is not recommended that you quit using condoms and other barriers against STDs and unplanned pregnancy. Birth control pills give you no resistance against UTIs.

Ask your urologist or gynecologist for a solution. Better safe than not!

Lubricants

As discussed, some lubricants can be detrimental to the pH levels, microbial community, and urogenital health in general. But vaginal dryness can make intercourse painful and causes injuries. A wound in the private regions is a welcome call to UTIs.

If you require, ask your doctor (gynecologist, urologist, or licensed therapist) to prescribe a water-based or water-soluble one that is safe for you.

6. Keeping the Privates Clean to Prevent UTIs: How Clean is ‘Healthy’ Clean?

Keeping the pelvic environment healthy does not mean cleaning it too much. Overthought and uninformed personal hygiene habits put the privates of a woman at almost as much risk as microbes.

Our body is built to defend itself against almost all kinds of attacks. Medical science today admits that obsessive sanitation has made harmful microbes more resistant and humans less resistant.

Our private parts are no different. Genitals and the outer parts of the urinary system defend themselves from infections using pH-balancing mechanisms, physical structures (sphincters, hair, etc.), discharge fluids, and minute movements of muscles that push outward. They only need to be kept dry, moisturized, and reasonably clean.

• Give Dampness No Room: Keep your nether regions free from sweat and dampness. Use a panty liner and tell your doctor if excessive discharge or irritation occurs.
• Front to Back: Women should always use wipes and faucets from the front to the back. The anal region is less sanitary than its neighbors. Regardless, pay due attention to both the genitals and the anal region while bathing.
• Menstrual Health: Menstrual hygiene practices can be decisive in preventing UTIs. Change your pad or tampon at least every six hours. Replace your menstrual cup or clean it temporarily in 6–8 hours.

(Credit — Pexels)

• Wise Use of Feminine Products: You do not need any chemical deodorants, powders, douches, creams, or scented soaps unless your doctor says so. In case of any irritation that does not go away with regular washing and drying, go see your doctor. None of the advertised feminine cleaning products are worth it. The groin only needs regular soap and water washes.
• Judicious Dip: Shower baths prevent UTIs better than soaking in the bathtub or pool.
• Clean Undergarments: Change your underpants at least every 12 hours or more frequently, if need be. Opt for light-colored and well-fitted underwear made from hypoallergenic materials. Make sure that the groin can breathe well.

-When you need to use dark-colored undies for long, use chemical-free panty liners to track cleanliness.

-Shop for comfortable styles and cuts. Shorts (or boxers), briefs (high. control, and regular cuts), french-cut panties, hipsters, thongs, g-strings, tanga panties, and tap pants offer a wide range of options. Rotate them in accordance with your clothing style for the day, outfit color, and time of the month. This helps with minimizing rashes, pigmentation, and conditions like contact dermatitis.

-Go to sleep ‘commando’.

7. UTI-Prevention with Antibiotics, Probiotics, Vaccines, and Estrogen

Only 1 in 10 men contract a UTI in their lifetime, while up to half of the women population is said to have experienced a urinary infection.

Risk Factors of UTI

• Diabetes
• Menopause
• Hormonal Imbalances
• Wounds and Trauma
• Autoimmune Diseases
• Surgeries (and catheter use)
• Passage of Kidney and Bladder Stones
• Abnormal structure of the urinary tract (more common in women, and less obvious)

These risk factors insist that women should be more cautious of UTIs than men. Antibiotics, probiotics, and vaccines are available today to prevent UTIs. If vaginal dryness is your ‘UTI villain,’ estrogen creams and supplements will help.

If you have had a UTI before and you have a risk factor checked in, your doctor may suggest any of these safety measures. Be well-informed and open to your options.

8. Managing other Medical Conditions that may cause UTIs

• We have discussed diabetes as a UTI risk factor, and you cannot be too cautious of the risk. High blood sugar and insulin imbalances can breed bacteria in the urethra.
• Menopause wreaks havoc within a woman’s body. But with the help of lifestyle changes and regular doctor appointments, you can reap the benefits of getting rid of your periods. Managing menopausal symptoms also helps prevent UTIs.
• Drink water to prevent kidney and bladder stones. Visit your urologist if you experience pain while peeing, see blood (or any unusual color) in urine, or have an intense ache on the sides of your hips.
• If you have had UTIs more than once (recurrent urinary tract infections or ‘rUTIs’), ask your doctor what preventive measures you should take. When the doctor tailors a set of preventive measures for you, stick to them to the tee.

9. Exercise to Prevent UTIs

Regular core workouts and pelvic floor exercises strengthen all the systems in the lower abdomen. Exercise ensures overall health and healthy urogenital systems.

Urinary incontinence or the inability to hold in small quantities of urine can heighten the risk of UTIs. Urine is not sterile. It breeds bacteria and gives infections enough dampness to grow.

Kegels exercise is a form of pelvic floor workout; simple yet effective in preventing UTIs. Kegels improve sexual health too.

(Credit — Pexels)

10. Full History and Openness

If and when you pay your doctor a visit for a urinary problem (or any problem for that matter), give your doctor a complete medical history. Your doctor will know what to skim out.

Certain medications can cause irritability, dehydration, excessive urination, and changes in urine color and smell. So, medications can both lead to UTIs that you may easily mistake for a UTI and cause a UTI that may be mistaken as something else.

UTI medications can also interact badly with other medications, leading to complications. You need none of that.

Sexual trauma is a leading cause of UTIs and vaginal problems. If you are facing issues down there, try your best not to keep it from your doctor. A licensed medical practitioner is oath-bound to help you and will keep your sensitive details confidential. Make sure you tell your doctor everything needed, and listen just as well.

To Sum Up

1. Keep Aware. Develop a general understanding of your body.
2. Hydration and Urination. Keep yourself hydrated and improve your peeing cycles.
3. Eating Right. Treat yourself to balanced meals.
4. Sabbath. Keep away from alcohol, caffeine, sugars, and other health disruptors.
5. Sexual Health. Practice safe and standard sexual health.
6. Personal Hygiene. Learn good hygiene while not obsessing.
7. Overall Healthcare. Always put your health first.
8. Medical Aids. Opt for vaccines, hormonal aids, probiotics, and antibiotics as recommended by your doctor.
9. Exercise. Stay active to fight infections.
10. Seeking Help. Be open (in both sharing and listening) to your doctor.