UTI or urinary tract infection is a disease that can be cured or at least controlled, however, if the person who has a UTI neglect it and leave it untreated it can cause some serious problems.
most of the people who had a UTI at least once in their life are prone to getting another UTI later on in their life. in other words, if you had a UTI before it’s more likely that the UTI will return to you in the future even if you had successfully treated the UTI in the past.
That does not mean that you are doomed with the UTI for the rest of your life it just means that you should be more careful with what you eat or drink and take some precautionary measures so that the UTI can never return to you.
Understanding where the bacteria come to the urinary tract from can help us in understanding how to prevent the bacteria from reaching the urinary tract from those places.
_ the colon or the rectum:
the most dangerous place on the urinary tract is the rectum, naturally, it contains a lot of bacteria and some of those bacteria can travel from it to the urethra and cause a UTI, the colon if it’s low on the normal flora (the good bacteria) bad bacteria can replace it and begin to cause us some trouble.
_ the blood:
well naturally if you have some bacteria in your blood, this bacteria can reside in your urinary tract.
_ The lymph system:
in some rare cases, the lymph system can carry some of the bacteria to your urinary tract. Here are some tips that can prevent the UTI from happening in the first place so that you will not have to treat it with antibiotics and other medications:
1_ treat your colon (large intestines) and digestive tract problems:
if you have any indigestion problems or if you have an always bloating colon or an IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) or if you have any problems in your bowel then that could mean that you have a really weak normal flora (the beneficial and helpful bacteria that resides in the colon).
having a weak normal flora could make the other bad bacteria invade your colon, and from the colon, the bacteria can travel to your urinary tract and cause UTI.
so take care of your large intestines or colon to prevent UTI.
2_ drink plenty of water:
you have heard of this tip somewhere else, but I’m here to confirm it to you, yes drinking a lot of water is one of the most important ways to prevent the UTI.
so, if you think that you are prone to UTI or if you have had some UTI attacks in the past and you don’t want that thing to happen again then drinking a lot of water can be the way for you.
This method is also used for people already having uti.
Why is water that important for the prevention of uti?
Well, it’s because water helps in washing the kidneys and ureters and the bladder in other words water washes everything it passes from so when it passes through the urinary tract (the kidneys, ureters, and bladder) it can wash away any organism that is attached to the walls of these organs.
Of course, water cannot wash away every bacteria or organism that is in there because some bacteria can be strongly attached to the walls of the bladder or the urinary tract in general by some sort of claws or hinges that water alone can’t remove it.
but that’s only the case if you are already having a UTI.
but if you are trying to prevent the UTI then the bacteria will not get the chance of growing strong and attaching strongly to the urinary tract so in that case water should be enough.
unless if you already have UTI but you didn’t know so in that case the bacteria has had enough time to prosper and get strong and spread so at that time just drinking water is not enough to treat the infection but still it will be a big help in the recovery process.
3_ exercise:
although exercise has no direct relationship to the UTI it’s sure one of the ways of strengthening your immune system making it more resistant to infections like the urinary tract infection (UTI) try exercising in the fresh air it’s the best.
4_ Eat watermelon:
juicy fruits like watermelon are the best for UTI watermelon contains about 92% water which is very good for UTI. also, it has very low sugar content (although it tastes very sweet and delicious) which is an advantage for the watermelon over the other fruits because even if it’s from natural sources sugar is not very good for UTI.
5_ wipe from front to back:
this advice applies especially for women, see the thing is for women they are more prone to having a urinary tract infection than men and this happens because women have a shorter urethra.
the urethra basically is the tube that connects the bladder to the outside for the removal of urine in males, the urethra travels through the penis so for that reason it is basically longer in men than in women.
so what does the length of the urethra have to do with the fact that women are more susceptible to UTI?
well, basically the main reason for people having UTI is that the bacteria travels from the bowel through the rectum and then to the urethra so in men the urethra is long so the bacteria have to cut a long distance before it reaches the bladder.
while in women where the urethra is shorter the bacteria will have to cut a shorter distance than that in men to reach the bladder so that’s basically why women are more susceptible to UTI.
So for this reason, women should take an extra precautionary cleaning measure which is to use a sterilized wet wipe and use it to wipe from the front to the back.
be careful not to use it in the wrong direction that is from the back to the front in this way the wet wipe can bring some of the bacteria from the rectum to the urethra and that is bad so make sure to wipe from front to back meaning from the vagina to the rectum for best results.
6_ use vaginal or men’s douche:
for women, they have to use internal and external vaginal douche but keep in mind that the PH of these douches must be below 7 which means that these douches must be Acidic, not alkaline if they are alkaline they can increase the probability of UTI and other infections while acidic douches will kill the bacteria.
so make sure that the douche is acidic and the PH is below 7
same thing here applies for men when using men’s douche (for men there are only external douche, no internal douche because you know) men should also make sure that the douche is acidic and the PH is below 7 men and women should use their douches after or before having sex also at scheduled times is also good.
7_ empty your bladder right after having sex:
sex can be a source of bringing bacteria to your genitals whether you are a man or a woman your partner if he or she is not practicing good hygiene can transfer some of his or her bacteria to you.
in that case, the bacteria would still not had the time to travel from the urethra to the bladder so if you pee right after having sex the urine flow will push the bacteria out of your body before it can cause you any problem.
that’s why some people especially men will feel a little burning sensation when they pee after having sex because there are some bacteria in their urethra but when they pee they will push it out of the urethra and when they pee next time the burning sensation would be gone.
This advice especially applies for men because in men the urethra carries both urine and semen while in women the urethra caries only the urine.
so in men, the urethra will be more prone to bacteria attacks because you know during sex it more dilated or relaxed for the semen to be ejaculated properly so this process will make it susceptible to bacteria attacks so men will have to make sure to pee right after having sex to remove the bacteria.
8_ empty your bladder more often:
keeping the urine in your bladder for a long time is not a good thing, despite what some people say, holding yourself and not going to the bathroom early can cause so many problems for you and one of these problems is the UTI.
holding the urine will make the bladder more stretched and by the time this will reduce the bladder capacity to dispose of the urine properly.
also keeping a full bladder for a long time and over time may cause some small holes or areas where the bladder wall is weak and stretched out more than the other areas, in these areas the urine can stay in there and it will be harder to dispose of that urine, the bacteria can aggregate on these areas causing further infections and many other problems.
The bottom line is
Do not hold the urine in fact if you can pee more often it will be great, so whenever you feel some urge to urinate no matter how little that urge is go on and pee in the bathroom.
9_ reduce your daily consumption of sugar:
sugar is either natural sugar and this type of sugar is found in fruits and other natural sources, this type of sugar is way less dangerous than the other type of sugar which is the fortified sugar or the artificial or manufactured sugar which is the most dangerous type.
and why is that?
because it weakens your immunity which makes your body more susceptible to infections like the UTI, also it can be a source of food for the bacteria to gather around it and cause infections, especially if your blood sugar levels go above average.
So no fortified sugar.
10_ practice good hygiene:
always make sure that the bathroom that you are using is clean, try to make sure that everything is well hygenated before using any public bathroom by using a hygiene spray or anything else just make sure that everything is clean, if you have a sex partner you must make be him or her beware that you need him or her to be more aware of his personal hygiene, also the hygiene of the food and the house is also important.
Also, avoid the use of not well-cleaned sex toys (if you use any), or make sure that they are well cleaned and hygenated before use.
11_ drink a lot of juice:
juices like lemon juice and orange juice are very healthy in general and are especially good for the prevention of the UTI.
Now, why are they good for the prevention of uti?
Basically the bacteria that cause the UTI needs an alkaline medium to flourish and proliferate, drinking acidic juice like lemon juice or other acidic juices will make the urine more acidic, this will make it more difficult for the bacteria to flourish in this kind of medium.
Note: do not use this advice if you have a kidney stone or a history of kidney or if you know that your kidneys have a tendency to form kidney stones or if your UTI was caused by a kidney stone.
acidic urine can increase the probability of forming kidney stones so use this strategy only for a short period of time and then return to drinking moderate amounts of these juices that should cause you no harm even if you are at risk of a kidney stone.
But if you think that a UTI is coming and you want to prevent it before it happens and that UTI has no relationship with any kind of kidney stone or kidney salts or whatever, then feel free to drink as many lemon and orange juice as you can so that it reduces the probability of you getting a UTI.
Also, you can use this strategy in the treatment of UTI along with the other UTI treatments and medications given by your doctor.
by the way, if the color of your urine is yellow then it’s acidic and you should probably drink more water to dilute it, while if it’s a pale yellow to amber then it’s the optimal color and it indicates that you are well hydrated.
12_ no soda:
From my personal experience and from scientific research I can tell you that soda is a bad irritant to the urinary tract, irritation to the urinary tract can make the conditions go worse.
lately, it has been discovered that soda drinks like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Seven Up or others are big factors in the formation of kidney stones which is very bad for people suffering from UTI.
Try to lower your consumption of these beverages to the lowest point possible or if you can do not drink them at all.
13_ no spicy food:
try to avoid spicy food and foods with sharp flavored spices as much as you can because spicy food and foods with sharp flavors can cause some irritation to your urinary tract which may result in a UTI.
so avoid those foods as you can but it’s O.K. to cheat a little every now and then because it’s not as dangerous as the Pepsi or the coca-cola on the UTI.
14_ Eat a lot of fruits:
although fruits contain sugar in varying amounts still the benefits of the fruits outweigh the low risks that might come from the natural sugar in the fruit so do not worry the natural sugar isn’t nearly as dangerous as the fortified sugar.
So if you are trying to prevent uti eat fruits more often.
15_ eat foods and supplements that contain probiotics:
foods like cheese, yogurt, or supplements that contain probiotic bacteria (probiotic bacteria like lactobacillus bacteria and others) can have the potential of preventing UTI.
why?
because it contains beneficial bacteria, this helpful and beneficial bacteria will compete with the bad bacteria for a place in the body (especially in the colon) making it easier for the body to get rid of the bad bacteria.
but I would not recommend this method for old people groups because cheese and yogurt contain a lot of proteins and a lot of proteins are not very good for the because an old man or woman’s kidney cannot handle large amounts of protein, probiotic supplements may be best suited for older people.
16_ supplements are good:
supplements that contain vitamin A, vitamin C, all the B vitamins and minerals like iron, magnesium, manganese, and low amounts of sodium and potassium are the best choice of supplements for the prevention of UTI.
because these vitamins and minerals will support your immunity against any bacterial invasion to your body that might occur in the future.
pharmaton here is a multivitamin supplement that contains a large ray of vitamins and minerals including vitamin A, C, B vitamins, iron magnesium manganese, and potassium.
in addition to supporting our immune system pharmaton will give you an energy boost and rid you of that fatigue.
a bottle contains 100 capsules, take one capsule a day after breakfast, see its price on Amazon.
17_ antibiotics:
for women who have suffered from recurrent episodes of UTI they should take a short course of prophylactic antibiotics after sex to prevent the recurrence of the infection, antibiotics like nitrofurantoin, fosfomycin, co-amoxiclav are suitable for this purpose.
18_ D-Mannose:
many researches have been done on this new medication, D-Mannose differs from antibiotics in that it does not try to kill the bacteria but rather prevent the adherence of the bacteria to the walls of the bladder and other parts of the urinary tract so that the bacteria will go with the urine out of the body, the researches that have been done so far on D-Mannose are quite promising.
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those were my top 18 tips on how to prevent the UTI I hope that they were helpful.
keep in mind that preventing the UTI is much better than having a UTI then treating it but it will need some patience and knowledge about UTI from your side first for you to fully understand the disease and prevent it in the future thank you and keep healthy.