5 Steps to Living UTI Free
The urinary tract infection is a common infection affecting over 9 million Americans each year. In fact, bladder infections, with their irritating and sometimes debilitating symptoms, are one of the most diagnosed infections in adults, with 1 in 5 women likely to experience a repeat UTI. What may be surprising is that despite advances in UTI testing to support those suffering from frequent UTIs, clinicians continue to rely on dated and unfortunately inadequate urine culture testing.
If you get UTIs more than 3 times a year or have had 2 infections in the last 6 months, you’re dealing with what healthcare providers refer to as recurrent UTIs.
What can I do if I have frequent UTIs?
The weight and burden of experiencing frequent urinary tract infections impacts many aspects of a person. The uncomfortable and painful symptoms affect quality of life, and emotional wellbeing, not to mention the added burden of multiple clinician visits, prescriptions and rounds of testing, which can put an additional strain on finances.
By arming yourself with the knowledge and new research on what causes frequent UTIs – you can carve out a new path to freedom from UTIs.
Five Steps To Live UTI Free
1. Become A UTI Scholar – BRAVO - You’ve already taken the first step in clicking on this article! Because UTIs are common infections, there is a wealth of information online thanks to research in peer-reviewed journals. What you will find, is there is a host of reasons and causes for chronic UTIs, so understanding what may be unique to you is important. Gather your historical information from clinicians you have seen to manage and treat your UTIs. This includes the testing results used to confirm bladder infections (Yes, get the lab result to be able to see what organism may have been the culprit) and names of prescriptions which you have been given. This insight will be immensely helpful when you speak with a specialist as it may show trends or bring to light an antibiotic resistance.
2. Become Your Own Bladder Detective – grab a notebook and jot down your daily food and beverage choices as well as any symptoms you may be experiencing and when you experience them. You might just find a link to that burning feeling and something you ate or drank (or didn’t in the case you’re not drinking water). Have we mentioned to always drink water? Always drink water – it flushes out your bladder and the bacteria that’s partying in there. We share some recommendations on this on our blog.
3. Consider Advanced UTI Testing - The great news is that there are company’s out there dedicated to YOU finding relief. There are newer tests that can detect much more than the simple (unreliable) dipstick test or urine culture. If you’re struggling with multiple infections, it could be a chronic embedded infection within your bladder walls that isn’t being treated effectively. The MyUTI Test, utilizes DNA (molecular) investigating to provide a more comprehensive view of the bacteria or fungi growing in the urinary tract. Best of all, it arrives at your doorstep for at-home urine collection, then the sample is simply shipped out to the lab for analysis with results reported to your clinician in some cases as little as 24 hours.
4. Find A Specialist – Did you know there are healthcare providers that specialize in chronic urinary tract infections? For females: the field of urogynecology or a female-focused urology. For men (yes, guys get them too) seeing a Urologist can help to determine the cause and the cure. See the links section below to find a provider near you.
5. Connect With A Community – Chronic pain can feel isolating, reaching out and finding a group which can support your journey to relief may be helpful. Many private virtual support groups for patients are now online where you can interact with other patients like you. The Chronic UTI/Embedded Infection support group on Facebook is comprised primarily of women and is linked below.
Be proud of taking the first step.
If you’re struggling with frequent bladder infections, you certainly are NOT ALONE. You deserve a pat on the back for taking the initiative to inform yourself and desire change. You should not feel any shame about advocating for yourself with your healthcare provider or seeking a second opinion if you feel your recurrent symptoms of infections are not being taken seriously.
As an informed patient armed with new knowledge, you now know that UTIs can be caused by a number of factors completely out of your control. The good news is that through state-of-the-art advancements in testing, online support groups, and evolving research in how the infection is understood, relief is just around the corner.
