“Are repeat UTIs a common thing?”

You ask. Tia answers. #TiaTalkTuesday

We’ve all been there — the middle of a work day, and that sudden urge to pee *really bad* strikes out of the blue.

You go to the bathroom and it burns. The pain starts to creep up to your lower back and you know immediately in that moment that you have a UTI.

Again.

In this #TiaTalk, I’m diving into the science of UTIs — more commonly described as a tortuous “you-know-it-when-you-feel-it” experience all vagina-bearing humans seek to avoid at all costs — by answering the top asked q:

The short answer is: Yes 😰

UTIs are known to have a high “recurrence rate.” Or in non-doctor jargon, if you’ve had one UTI, it’s likely you may get another one.

In one study of 113 college-aged women, 27 percent of women experienced one follow-on UTI within six months after the initial infection, and 2.7 percent experienced two or more follow-on UTIs during this same time period.

And interestingly enough, in another study, researchers found that if the first UTI was caused by the bacteria E-coli (the most common culprit of UTIs), women were three times more likely to develop a second UTI within six months than those whose first UTI was caused by another type of bacteria.

In short, the most common type of UTIs results in additional UTIs.

How can I prevent UTIs?

While UTIs are not STDs, they are a lot more common in sexually-active people (especially if your partner has a penis). Think: this guy ⬇️

Therefore, my first & foremost #TiaTip is to pee soon after sex, which can help flush away any bacteria that might have traveled to your urethra when things were gettin’ hot & heavy 🔥

Promise, this pause-to-pee is worth any “ruining the moment” you may fear!

Second, whenever you have the urge to pee (outside of sex, too), do it — at minimum, every four hours during the day. Holding your pee too long is not only uncomfortable, it can increase your risk for infection. Or, in the words of our girl Kendall:

Third, when going to the bathroom, be sure to wipe from front to back to avoid wiping bacteria from the butt to the urethral area. It’s stating the obvious, but don’t ever forget how close all your parts are to one another!

Fourth, if you are especially prone to repeat UTIs, you may want to talk to your doctor about keeping an antibiotic on hand to take preemptively after sex or as soon as you feel symptoms coming on, or introducing a supplement like Magnesium or Vitamin D into your regimen.

My team of women’s healthcare experts recommends being vigilant about water consumption (2–3 liters per day), and limiting alcohol, sugar, caffeine and even spicy foods.

Lastly, avoid scented soaps and washes in or around the vagina, which tend to kill off good bacteria needed to fight the bad stuff.

So, how do I treat them?

If you’re wondering if cranberry juice can cure you, it’s unlikely and largely unproven. Instead, as soon as you feel an onset of symptoms — think: needing to pee more often and more urgently, when you finally do pee, only being able to pee a little at a time, and burning or pain while peeing — head to a doctor or clinic ASAP to get a UTI test, and antibiotics to treat it.

As time progresses, symptoms can get worse and evolve to include pain or pressure in the pelvic region, a low grade fever, blood or cloudy urine, and pain in your lower-back, so it’s not something to mess around with!

In addition to an antibiotic, your doc may also recommend a pain reliever like Azo Urinary Pain Relief that can help until the antibiotics kick in, and minimize this look:

Lastly, while the pain relief can (thankfully) kick in quickly, it’s important to always complete the full course of antibiotics to ensure you’ve fully squashed the infection 👊🏿👊🏽👊

Until next time…

❤️ Tia

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Tia is a personal, private chat-based women’s health advisor you can message with about birth control, sexual health, periods and more. Made by a team of women’s health experts, Tia knows you, learns you, and is your go-to for all those “ugh!” , “oops…”, and “huh?” moments. On Tuesdays, we surface the top *anonymous* questions from the community and report back with the answer. Have a burning q you want us to tackle? Leave it in the comments below or email info@asktia.com.