UTI Prevention??

[chely7425]

I am VERY prone to getting UTIs... does anyone know any natural ways to help prevent them?

[carriebft]

Cranberry juice is a big one or so I am told.

[thomlynn]

Avoid all sugar and lots of vit C.

[Ironica]

There's hygiene things, of course, which your dr. has probably told you about, but just in case:

* Wipe front to back, never back to front. (Yes, I know women who were adults before they learned this.)

* Always pee after intercourse. (It's a good idea to pee before, too, but even more important after.)

* Don't get in the habit of "holding it" for a long time after you feel the urge to go.

* Wear underwear made of 100% cotton (or at least a 100% cotton crotch). (And, it goes without saying but I'll say it anyway... always wear underwear, and change it daily ;-).

Other than that... they say "cranberry juice," but actual cranberry juice is *nasty*. The drinkable stuff has a bunch of sugar or fruit juice added to it. The sugar may actually make you more prone to infection. If you can get ahold of some cranberry pills, taking them regularly may help. The reason cranberry juice helps is that it changes the pH of your urine, making it more acidic and therefore a place that bacteria are less inclined to grow.

Some women with chronic UTIs benefit from probiotic supplementation, too, but I'm way too wiped out to try to find my book and look up which kinds.

[jeomom3]

For me the big thing I have to remember is to always pee right after sex. Also, if I feel the slightest twinge of a UTI starting I either drink cranberry juice for several days or take cranberry pills. Eating blueberries is supposed to help just like the cranberries, too. But I can't say that I've noticed blueberries helping me.

[sapientia]

I, too am prone to uti's and I live in mortal fear of them. They hurt. Ditto on the above posts as well and I take cranberry capsules, and there is a homeopathic/herbal mix called 'uti care' that I have gotten at the health food store that wiped one out in a day-the company name is 'natural care'. I swear by the stuff-but I don't know that it is in any way safe during pregnancy-but maybe if you find it you could call the company and ask or talk to your midwife/doctor?

[3for3hb]

I second probiotics, cranberry juice concentrate capsules, and hygiene.
Speaking of which, I feel like I'm getting one. Nice. :


Sapientia - are you talking about this? the only thing I'd wonder about is the arginine hcl. gotta look that up.

[chely7425]

Ok, stupid question... what exactly is a probiotic?

[apmama2myboo]

another thing you can do is do NOT take baths, take showers. i used to get them constantly when i was on the pill, but when i stopped it they went away. push lots of liquids, cranberry is great but can block iron absorption so be careful of your iron levels too. good luck. they're horrible!

[Ironica]

Probiotics are bacteria. Basically, inside our intestines, there's 400-500 different species of bacteria that we're dependent on for help in digesting our food and keeping diseases at bay. That's why people often get diarrhea when they take antibiotics... you kill the good bugs with the bad, and it throws off your system.

Yogurt (with live, active cultures) is one source of probiotics, but you can also buy capsules that have them in pretty high doses (which is probably more useful). They can be pricey, but see if your mom will spring for them I guess ;-). Whole Foods has an enormous selection; it's quite overwhelming, actually. Seriously, one of these days I'll feel like getting off my butt and looking up just which strain(s) were helpful in preventing recurrent UTI. ;-)

[DancingOtter]

Take raw fresh garlic like a pill and NO SOAP anywhere near your vagina. Period.

[sapientia]

Yes, that's the stuff-but i don't know about its use in pg.
Did you find anything out about the arginine hcl? I don't know anything about it and am curious...

Originally Posted by willemsmamma

I second probiotics, cranberry juice concentrate capsules, and hygiene.
Speaking of which, I feel like I'm getting one. Nice. :


Sapientia - are you talking about this? the only thing I'd wonder about is the arginine hcl. gotta look that up.

[To-Fu]

Not in your DDC, but just dropping by to offer up this link, which is chock-full of prevention tips for UTIs:

http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.ph...future_UTIs.3F

It's based mostly on Our Bodies, Ourselves, so you know you can trust the info.

[My3babes]

I used to get UTIs ever time we DTD, which made me completely resent SEX altogether, lol.

SO I pee right before *if i can* and right after. And I take cranberry pills for several days starting the NIGHT we DTD and continuing for several days with LOTS of water. So far this has prevented UTIs for the last 4 months *YAY* when I used to have one every week and sometimes take a script of Bactrim to fix.

I also had to switch my body wash. I was using Bath & body works and my MW said it was irritating my labia when I had my last UTI and she said that then when we dtd it was irritating my hoo-ha SO I use Baby Wash now too.