Looking for ways to prevent painful urinary tract infections (UTIs)? Here are five ways to reduce UTIs and protect your urinary health. UTIs are one of the most common infections, and if left untreated, they can lead to serious complications, including kidney infections.
These infections occur when bacteria enter the urinary tract, often affecting the bladder first. While women are more prone to UTIs due to their shorter urethras, anyone can experience them. The good news? Simple daily habits and preventive measures can make a big difference.
In this guide, we’ll break down 5 ways to reduce UTIs, helping you stay healthy and avoid discomfort.
What are Common UTI Symptoms?
Symptoms and further complications because of a urinary tract infection are dependent on where the infection is located in the urinary system. Urinary tract infections in the bladder can lead to symptoms such as:
- a strong, persistent urge to urinate
- burning when urinating
- cloudy urine
- blood in the urine
- pelvic pain
In advanced infections, UTIs or bladder infections can reach the kidneys and lead to symptoms like back and side pain, nausea, fever, and chills.
5 Ways to Help Reduce the Risk of UTIs
Because urinary tract infections in the bladder are common, knowing how to prevent UTIs is important.
1. Don't use the same intermittent catheter more than once.
Although washing and reusing catheters may work for some individuals, most people experience recurring urinary tract infections when catheters are reused. Using a urinary catheter once and disposing of it can significantly reduce urinary tract infections. Luckily, most major insurance companies, such as Medicaid, Medicare, and even VA, cover sterile and single-use catheters. Reusing catheters and using indwelling catheters can often lead to infections, costing insurance companies more.
2. Hydrophilic catheters can be the answer to reduce infections.
These catheters help you avoid discomfort and infection by lessening friction and injury to the urethra, which can occur with other types of catheters. Unlike conventional catheters, hydrophilic catheters have a surface that remains smooth and slippery from insertion to withdrawal due to a layer of lubrication bound to the catheter surface and water-activated. Since the pre-lubricated coating is activated by sterile water, there is no need to touch it, which reduces the risk of contamination that can arise because of stray bacteria or pathogens that may be on your hands.
3. Use catheters that have an introducer tip attached, such as a closed system catheter.
Most closed systems have an additional safety feature known as an introducer or insertion tip. The introducer tip permits the pre-lubricated urinary catheter to bypass the highest concentrations of bacteria found in the first few millimeters of the urethra rather than pushing the bacteria further into the urethra whilst inserting the catheter. This will help fight against and prevent urinary tract infections.
4. Catheterizing correctly is key.
Learning and knowing how to catheterize correctly can help avoid irritation and infections, such as UTIs, that can occur when a technique is executed incorrectly. Your doctor or primary care nurse can help and show you how to catheterize properly once you are comfortable with a catheter. They can also show you how to keep the equipment sterile for usage.
