Friday, 13 August 2010
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How To Deal When Your Vag--Not Your Heart-- Feels Like It's On Fire
UTIs suck a big one.For those of you who don't know, a UTI is a urinary tract infection. This can be as simple as an inflammation of the bladder (most common and not too serious) or a kidney infection. They are caused by bacteria (E. coli, to be exact) entering the vagina. Girls new to sex often get them, kids who would rather do the potty dance than actually pee might get them, and long road trips don't help either.
Between the burning when you pee, occasional blood, and funky smell, there is absolutely nothing redeeming about these bad boys. Except that it means that you didn't catch crabs. Which is a positive.
So here are some tips to avoid UTIs and some advice on how to deal with your burning vag. Hold on, I think I need more cranberry juice.
The annoying symptoms:
1. Constantly feeling like you need to pee. But you don't, so you end up sitting on the toilet, angry and muttering obscenities.
2. Burning or pain when you actually do pee.
3. Cloudy, bloody, or funky smelling urine.
4. Some leakage.
5. Pain in the lower abdomen.
Alas, if you are already at the stage where you are running to the bathroom every five minutes because your bladder is bitching "release me!" but not much comes out, then you are contracted said UTI. Now you must deal with this bullshit for a few days-- here's how:
1. It is recommended that you go to a doctor who can confirm that you really do have a UTI. They can then give you antibiotics and even medication to deal with the pain. They can also tell you if you are truly having a UTI and not something more serious.
2. If you can't make it to the doctor's you will have to rough it out the natural way. Drinks tons and tons of cranberry juice (100% juice, not cocktail) or take cranberry capsules, drinks lots of water, and take Vitamin C. I swear by drinking water bottle after water bottle of juice and water-- it gradually eliminates the burning and and you stop having false alarms.
3. Avoid sex until the infection is cleared, or you will only irritate your angry vag more.
To avoid getting UTIs, remember these rules:
1. Front to back. Wiping, I mean. I know, y'all aren't toddlers, but it has to be said.
2. Pee within 10 minutes of sexy time ending. Worried about your man hearing you tinkle or too happy basking in the glory of sweat and sex smell to go to the bathroom? Get over it. Get to the bathroom and pee because bacteria will build up if you don't. And then your vag will burn and sex will no longer be on your agenda. You dig? Also, gently wash around your vag after sex to remove lingering bacteria.
3. Keep your bits dry and clean. Avoid sporting nylon undies and wet bathing suit bottoms for extended periods of time. Cotton crotches are best.
4. Go to the bathroom frequently and don't hold it for long.
4. Avoid sex positions that hurt your bladder or urethra (if you are having sex and freuently get UTIs, it can be because a position you are using is causing too much friction on your urethra). Use lube (water-soluble) if you aren't wet enough.
5. Drink lots of water. It keeps you hydrated AND it expels bacteria.
6. Avoid frequent bubble baths.
IMPORTANT: as I am sure you all know, vaginae are self cleaning. You don't need to douche (which can lead to UTIs), they aren't dirty. But that doesn't mean you should never clean them (or around them) or they can defend against bacteria 100%, so it is important to follow the tips above.
Now I'm off to buy more cranberry juice.
For more information, you can go here and here and here and here.
Anyone have other tips on how to deal with UTIs? Stories? Did this help?
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- From: TheCatInTheCradle@xanga
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Comments (43)
Don't totally overload on the water when you have a UTI though. One of my friends did this and the doctor said she was peeing blood b/c she'd hurt her bladder even more. :/
Make sure the cranberry juice you take is unsweetened. It might be sour as hell, but if that's the route you choose to get rid of UTIs, sugar will only exacerbate the issue. I've heard it's best to just steer clear of cranberry juice and follow your course of antibiotics - it's more a preventative than it is a solution.
I've never actually had a UTI. I'm so grateful that I've never had to deal with it. They sound painful. o.o
Wasn't this posted earlier today?
The new title is misleading. UTI's have nothing to do with vaginas, other than the fact that the girl parts are right next to each other.
I had a UTI this past Thanksgiving. I didn't know for sure it was a UTI--I thought I was sore from having a lot of sex...so I went out of town for Thanksgiving and met a girl who had a UTI. I told her "tell me how your vag feels" She told me, I said I felt the same. So she gave me some of those pills that make the pain go away. I returned home, and went to the doctor that day. He confirmed that it was a UTI and gave me medicine for it. He said that if my lower back starts to hurt, come back immediately. Sure enough, a day and a half later, my lower back starts hurting. "Looks like the UTI spread to your kidneys." Turned out it spread to BOTH of my kidneys (very rare!). I was in extreme pain--the Vicoden didn't really even help. I also had a bad reaction to the Cipro (the meds they typically prescribe for UTI) so I couldn't keep ANYTHING down--not even a sip of water to take a pill! I threw up everything I ingested for 3-4 days! Went to the ER and they gave me new meds. I got a total of 5 liters of fluid through IV's within 4 days. I was ridiculously dehydrated and in pain. That's the sickest I've been in years!!! Damn UTI's....avoid them at all costs!!!!
I wish I'd known all of this information before.
I'm confused. A UTI has nothing to do with your vagina. If your vag hurts when you have a UTI... you probably have more than just a UTI. Urethra and vagina are two totally different holes, my dear.
@pinkdagger@xanga -you're right, the distinction is important. you are supposed to drink 100% juice and not cocktail because it's all sugary and it's the actual cranberries that help with the infection
@MadMarch@xanga - omg, how much water did she drink?!?
@MyGoodMood@xanga - this is true, but most people associate all that downstairs business together. if i said, "is your urethra burning?" i don't think everyone would click it and read it :)
@starcrossedloversdivine@xanga - like above :)
haha perfect timing for me on this one. ugh
@MyGoodMood@xanga - Maybe even "vulva" would have sufficed. I thought this post was going to be about yeast infections or even stretching it a bit to bacterial vaginosis or something when I read the title though. Sadly enough, a lot of people don't know the difference and just assume anything between the legs is called a vagina.
@TheCatInTheCradle@xanga - About two gallons a day, I believe. She thought it would flush out the infection, but all it did was flush out the lining of her bladder. >.<
@MadMarch@xanga - oh my god. i didn't know you could even drink 2 gallons a day. yessh, thanks for the heads up.
Pee does not come from "your vag." I am sick and tired of people using "vagina" to encompass the entire female genital region. Anatomy is important, otherwise you wind up sounding stupid.
@MyGoodMood@xanga - EXACTLY!!!!
Not exactly your vagina, if something is going on down there then I suggest that there may be a possible severe yeast infection. But I have gotten UTIs ever since I was a little girl. I mean I wasn't a dirty kid, I showered every day sometimes twice and always wore new underwear and wiped normally. I still do all these things. But I was just super sensitive. You should mention that you should also avoid wearing thongs. I don't care how well you wipe your ass, there will always be some feces particles left behind to gather on your butt floss. So I try to avoid wearing them a much as possible. Also make sure your partner's hands and fingers are clean (dirt and gunk under nails are also bad), that can irritate and lead to more risks of a UTI.
I used to go to the DR when I had a UTI but I couldn't after I started the birth control. So I toughed it out and drank lot of water and when I "felt" like I had to "pee" I went and pushed it out as much as I could. Sometimes you could actually see the teeeeny tiny clumps of bacteria come out and so I drank water and cranberry juice as much as I could. This seemed to help when I flushed my system. But if you are having extreme pain I suggest you go to the DR before the infection spreads to your poor kidneys. When I get UTIs I am very whiney and upset. nothing seems to relieve the pain and the uneasy feeling of always needed to pee, and also fearing to pee because of the burning and pains. So I drank fluid and then I went to sleep. I would wake up and pee and then repeat the process to help me survive the horribleness known as a UTI. If you need any other suggestions or tips gals... message me or find my other services I use and get a hold of me. I have had plenty of these things and I can even just be there to talk to and listen... :)
@TheCatInTheCradle@xanga - No problem. I read this post to warn people about water overload, since I've heard that it's really, really painful. I drink about 2 liters a day, which is plenty, and I don't drink too much more even for a UTI. I'd focus more on getting in half a liter of cranberry juice along with the water. At one point I did have a minor UTI (I caught it early), but it went away when I did that.
Ugh, UTIs suck. Should give them a heads-up though, if they're taking meds from the doctor they should also take some kind of good bacteria replenishing pills, lest they end up with a yeast infection (happened to me, soooo effing annoying)
Only I had one UTI in my life..thank god. Thanks for this post =)
Oh my god, i hate UTIs with such a passion.
I had one, and thought it might be cistytis (sp), or a UTI, so i got myself away to the doctors. It was a UTI, so i was prescribed antibiotics to take for three days. After two days, i felt totally better and thought i didn't need the rest of them, as i was all better. But then, because i didn't finish my course of antibiotics, it came back with a vengance. Owch... 3 days of another kind of antibiotic, cartons of cranberry juice, cranberry pills and lots of water, and i was feeling fantastic. It hasn't come back yet, but that's because i always wee after having sex, and follow all the advice you listed :)
Thanks for doing this post, it'll be really helpful to lots of woman :)
loved this post.
i thought i had a UTI about a month ago. Went to CVS to get the UTI test strips.I drank a ton of water and eventually it went away. People say it was just dehydration!Whats wrong with bubble baths??? Thank god I never got a UTI. THey sound painful :(
When I get a UTI, it's always intensely itchy, but not painful. The rest of the symptoms are the same. Anyway, at the first sign of an impending UTI, I just overdose on concentrated cranberry tablets from the local health food store and I'm usually alright in a couple days.
I've never had UTI and I hope to never get it!
They're even more of a bitch when they decide to turn into a kidney infection!
I'm one of those people who doesn't see the point in going to the doctor for little things (I tend to think my body can fix itself) Yeah, I learnt my lesson! XD