Urinary Tract Infections in Teens and Adults

You can take steps to prevent new or relapsing urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Prevention tips for men and women

• Drink plenty of water and other liquids each day. This helps ensure that you urinate frequently, which flushes bacteria from your urinary tract.
• Urinate when you have the urge. Don't hold your urine for a long time.
• Avoid constipation.
• Ask your doctor about taking methenamine to prevent recurrent UTIs.
• Ask your doctor about taking antibiotics to prevent recurrent UTIs.

Prevention tips for women

• Urinate immediately after sexual intercourse. This is the best protection women have against UTIs, because it helps prevent bacteria from moving into the urethra.
• Avoid using condoms coated with spermicide or a diaphragm for birth control if your doctor believes they are causing you to get UTIs.
• Change sanitary napkins often.
• Avoid douches, feminine hygiene sprays, and other feminine hygiene products with deodorant. These can change the normal balance of organisms that help prevent infection.
• Wipe from front to back after using the toilet to avoid spreading bacteria from your anus to your urinary tract.
• Try Reference cranberry products like pure cranberry juice, cranberry extract, or cranberry pills.
• If you get UTIs often, ask your doctor about taking antibiotics right after sexual intercourse to prevent recurrent UTIs.
• Post-menopausal women may want to ask their doctors about using Reference vaginal estrogen to prevent recurrent UTIs.

Prevention tip for men

Keep the tip of your penis clean, especially if you are uncircumcised. The foreskin can trap bacteria, which can then get into the urinary tract and cause infection.

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