SmartClinic Urgent Care Blog When Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) Keep Coming Back
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) affect about half of women at some point during their life, and men can get them, too. Because these infections are so common, medical science has focused on developing effective treatment. For many people, a round of antibiotics clears up the UTI and its symptoms.
But in some cases, the UTI comes back. If you’re dealing with chronic UTIs, come in to see our team at SmartClinic Urgent Care. As specialists in urinary tract infections, we can determine what’s causing your recurring UTIs and apply treatment designed to keep them from coming back.
Understanding recurring UTIs
If you’ve had two or more UTIs or other bladder infections within six months or three or more infections in a year, you may be diagnosed with chronic bladder infections. This issue affects at least a quarter of women who get a UTI.
You could be genetically predisposed to recurrent UTIs, but this chronic infection could also come from other sources. Some other factors that can contribute to persistent UTIs include:
- Bacteria re-entering your urethra after intercourse
- Changing estrogen levels that occur with menopause
- An issue with your urinary tract itself
- Bladder or kidney stones
Talk with our team about your symptoms and when you first start to notice them. We can help you pinpoint what might be behind your recurring infection.
This way, we can apply treatment to address the issue at the source while also soothing your UTI symptoms. If you’re going through menopause and dealing with a UTI that keeps coming back, for example, talking with your doctor about hormone replacement therapy might help.
What you can do about chronic UTIs
Some lifestyle changes can help you reduce your risk of bacteria re-entering your urinary tract while helping to flush out any bacteria that does get in. If you’re dealing with recurring UTIs, we recommend:
- Drinking a lot of water
- Urinating right after intercourse
- Regularly washing your genital area
Also, talk with our team about the type of birth control you use. Diaphragms and spermicides (including spermicidal-lubricated condoms) can increase your risk for UTIs. Changing to an alternative type of birth control might help you avoid future urinary tract infections.
You don’t have to live with UTIs that keep coming back
If you keep getting UTIs, it’s time to get a medical professional involved to get to the root of the issue.
To talk with our SmartClinic Urgent Care team and tap into our extensive experience treating urinary tract infections, you have options. You can walk into either of our clinics in West Covina or Santa Clarita, California, or you can call the clinic nearest you to schedule an appointment.
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