natural prevention of UTIs??

[Dinatos8282]

Hey ladies. My girlfriend is prone to UTIs. Recently her gyno put her on Marcrobid for prevention, but she has been having bad side effects from using it. She is going to stop taking it, but I am worried that her UTIs are going to return. And that is not going to be fun for either of us. Other then drinking cranberry juice and lots of water are there any other things that can be taken to prevent them? Thanks for the help

[redsquirrel]

peeing after sex (if you splash inside) is the only other thing i can think of right now

[redMachchick]

Hey D.....

I used to get UTI's all the time when I was younger, and still sometimes get them. Here are some thoughts for you. First she needs to go back to the doctor and have them CULTURE her urine to find out what bacteria it is and which antibiotic kills it completely. That could be her problem, the doctor isn't giving her the right medicine, it is not effectively killing all the bacteria, so in turn she keeps getting them.

What kind of lube do you use? And is she on the pill? Is she taking Macrobid once daily? Sorry for all the questions, but I just would like to know so I can help you more.

You CAN flush one out, but you gotta catch it really early...usually at the FIRST sign of burning and cramping. Sometimes they creep up and sometimes you have no warning though. She needs to take in LOTs of fluids and Cranberry Juice and Pills. Vitamin C and is good to load up too because it also aids in killing infection. And I mean LOTs of water, like a gallon a day.

Preventing them might be as easy as changing her lifestyle a little... I know a lot of my problem back then was that I wasn't hydrated enough. She might need to lay off the Cokes and caffiene, if she drinks alot of it...and drink more water and juice. The more hydrated the better you are at pushing bacteria and waste through your urinary tract. And EVERY time she has sex and you guys finish, she needs to immediately go get up, urinate and wash herself off. I know, it doesn't sound too romantic, but believe me when I tell you that it will help! Anytime you have sex, bacteria gets pushed up into the uretha and if it isnt flushed out it could possibly cling there and start to grow...:(

I don't really think that taking a antibiotic a day is a very healthy thing to do IMO. When I was going through my UTI "stage" in life I had a doctor who wanted to do the same thing. Antibiotics should only be used for their purpose, killing infections. Use of antibiotics like that could strengthen the bacteria in her bodys immunity to it and that is a bad thing. Also antibiotics take a toll on your body and also kill the GOOD bacteria and flora in your body, and could possibly cause her to get yeast infections, which in turn, makes a horrible cycle....

You guys gotta go through a process of elimination to figure out what is causing them....hopefully she just needs to drink more liquids and take vitamins and that could be causing them. It could be the kind of lube or sex toys she is using also...that was another one of my problems that I found was causing them...Anyway let me know how it goes and if you have any more questions. I am well versed on this subject... LOL :D

[Dinatos8282]

Thanks for the reply red. I saw in my other post that you mentioned that you had problems with UTI and that it was partly linked to KY. Lately we have been using it, but her problems stemmed back from before that. Yes, she is on BC, but I am not sure what type. I do know that it is one with low estrogen. She was taking macrobid each time after sex, but not more then once every 12 hours. That is how her Dr perscribed them to her. I study microbiology in school and the way she told me that he perscribed him didn't sound right to me. I told her all those things you mentioned about nocking out normal flora not only in her vagina, but her intestines, and I told her that the way she is taking them is a perfect way to develope antibacterial resistent bacteria....and God knows that will not be good. Currently she pees both before and after sex, doesn't bother me, but I want her not to get them. She also drinks cranberry juice, but I definately will recomend to her what you said about drinking almost a gallon a day. I def think that she has to get it cultured because I don't think she has done that yet. I spent about an hour or two reading online about UTIs and it just pretty much kept reitterating what you posted. Thanks again for the help. If anything else comes to mind let me know. Oh BTW, what did you do finally to get yours to subside?

[redMachchick]

The reason I asked if she was on BC, is because the hormones make your discharge thicker and more acidic...good for preventing yeast, but can be bad for UTI's...the bacteria can get trapped more easily in the discharge. I'm not saying she should get off the pills, I'm on the pill, but she should take extra care in keeping herself clean down there...as in not only peeing after sex, but washing up too. ;) She should definately try going and getting a culture, and see what shows up. Also try changing lubes, its worth a try. I think that for me, the KY would irritate my uretha and then from there aid in causing an infection. Sounds crazy, but I didn't get them as much once I switched. I don't think she should be taking the antibiotics like that, but that is her own decision and is up for her to decide. I'm not saying for her to drink a gallon EVERY day...but just when she feels one coming on to help flush it out. But she SHOULD start to hydrate more...it WILL make a difference.

As for getting them to subside...I think with me, they finally stopped. I think the major factor is that I take better care of myself than I did when I was 20-21. Eating right, taking vitamins and drinking fluids make all the difference!

I also knew of a friend who had the same problem and she found out her uretha was too small, and that it would "hold" bacteria...she got a lot of them. The doctor finally enlarged her uretha but that was like the last resort and she said it hurt so bad that she was seeing visions.:eek:

If all else fails and this continues for say 6 months or so, I would recommend going to a urologist...he/she can take a scope and look up there to make sure nothing is wrong. But try everything else first!!!