Four Tips For Avoiding Urinary Tract Infections

Once you get a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), it will revisit over and over again until you address all of the triggers. Fortunately, there are three things you can do to prevent UTIs, as well as to ensure that your kidneys and urinary tract remain as healthy as possible. Even if you are now suffering from UTIs, following these simple steps should slow down the instances of recurrence until they go away altogether.

Preventing the Spread of E.Coli

The vast majority of UTIs are caused by the E.Coli bacteria. Contrary to popular belief, this pathogen exists as a low level opportunistic infection in the rectal area, under the arms, and other parts of the body. Unfortunately, when fecal content travels from the rectum to the urethra, it can easily travel to the bladder, and then to the kidneys. In order to prevent this, you should be very careful to wipe fecal content in a motion away from the urethra. You will also be well served by avoiding sexual foreplay that includes oral or other forms of stimulation that might lead to urethra contamination from other parts of the body.

Your Diet and Supplements

In most cases, the bacteria that cause UTIs have a hard time colonizing the wall of the bladder when it has an acidic pH. This is one of many reasons why cranberry juice and lemon juice can help stave off a UTI. At the very least, you should drink several cups of these beverages on a daily basis. If you are prone to kidney stones, you may need to balance this out with beverages that have a higher pH in order to prevent stone formation. Since each person has a unique physiology, it may take a bit before gain a balance that prevents UTIs without leading to stones.

Keeping Hydrated

One of the easiest things you can do to prevent UTIs is make sure that you drink plenty of plain water. This will ensure that your kidneys flush more often. Since bacteria will have less time to grow in the bladder, they will also have a lesser chance of blossoming into an active infection. It will also be of some help to empty your bladder as soon as you feel a need to do so, rather than trying to hold in.

Avoiding Foods that Trigger UTIs

Even though you may love sodas and soft drinks, they put an enormous burden on your kidneys. In fact, even if you are not diabetic, you can easily end up in a situation where your kidneys will start dumping sugar into the urine. Needless to say, bacteria thrive when there is plenty of glucose available for food. Therefore, if you want to prevent bacteria from thriving in the bladder, you should try to stay away from sugary foods and beverages. Depending on your physiology, reducing your carbohydrate intake by a small amount may make it a bit easier to break the UTI cycle.

Aside from being a nuisance, UTIs can pose a serious risk to your health. If left untreated, the infection can spread to your kidneys, where it will cause serious damage. While modern antibiotics can help you get rid of a UTI, there are a number of antibiotic strains of bacteria emerging. As a result, if you do end up with a UTI, it can easily be more difficult than usual to treat if you do not take other steps to discourage the disease process.

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