Menopause Made Easier: Expecting the Unexpected
DEC 20, 2024Menopause may be a natural life stage, but the journey can be unpredictable.
Read MoreOver the years, I have helped scores of women with frequent, recurring urinary tract infections (UTIs). Since many recommendations have changed over the last decade, I decided to answer the question right away. Because some common practices have turned out to be unhelpful, an update is timely and warranted.
First, involvement of your primary care provider is critical. "Must not miss" disorders need to be considered prior to going forward with the recommendations given below.
Second, how do you define recurrent urinary tract infection? Most define recurrent UTI as when a woman has two or more symptomatic urinary tract infections in six months or three or more symptomatic UTIs over 12 months. What makes this definition less precise is the fact that the degree of discomfort in the woman usually is the determining factor that leads her to present to her primary care provider. Frustration usually motivates the woman to act.
Once your primary provider has determined you have recurring UTI's, the following recommendations may be made for young, healthy, non-pregnant women:
For sexually active women:
Antibiotic regimens:
Studies have suggested these methods are efficacious for six months up to several years of therapy.
Questions:
So that is the latest information on the treatment of recurrent urinary tract infections. If you have a follow up question or comment, please feel free to ask.
Menopause may be a natural life stage, but the journey can be unpredictable.
Read MoreDischarge data from US emergency rooms have shown an increase in walking pneumonia among all age groups this year. The increase was highest among children ages 2 to 4, and prompted an alert from the Centers for Disease Control.
Read MoreIs it considered abnormal to have discomfort as your bladder empties, or to have difficulty emptying completely? Let our experts help.
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