Urinary Tract Infection

• Burning or stinging when passing urine
• Need to pass urine more often
• Passing only small amounts of urine at a time
• Fever, feeling unwell, chills, vomiting
• Blood in the urine
• Discoloured, smelly or cloudy urine
• Pain in lower stomach or lower back

Mild UTIs may go away without medical treatment:

• Drink 2-3 glasses of water as soon as you feel the symptoms. Continue drink as much water as you can about 8 glasses in 24 hours. This can help flush bacteria out of your urinary tract.
• Rest and keep warm – a hot water bottle on your stomach may help with pain.
• Avoid alcohol. fruit juices, strong coffee or fizzy drinks, as they make your urine more acidic.
• Avoid having sex, or using diaphragms and spermicides, until the infection clears.
• Avoid using tampons – use sanitary pads.
• Don’t use vaginal deodorants or douches.
• Wear underwear with cotton gussets. You can use panty liners and change them a few times a day.
• Take a pain reliever, such as paracetamol if needed.
• Drink urinary alkalinisers. They make t urine less acid and help to reduce burning, when passing urine. These are available from the pharmacy. Check with your pharmacist before using such products as they may interact with other medicines you take.

 

IMPORTANT

You should see a doctor if:

• your symptoms last for more than 24 hours
• you have a fever, nausea or vomiting
• there is pain or tenderness in you lower stomach or lower back
• there is blood in your urine or you have an unusual vaginal discharge
• you have the symptoms of a UTI an you are, or think you could be, pregnant
• you have UTis that keep coming back
• Men and children with symptoms of a urinary tract infection must always see their doctors.

 

Medicines

You may require antibiotics for your UTI. Accredited pharmacists can supply an antibiotic, trimethoprim, without a prescription but only under specific circumstances and in limited quantities. Talk to your pharmacist. You may feel better in a few days but it is important to finish the antibiotics, to stop the current infection coming back. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking any other medicine, or have any medical condition.

• Drink as much water as you can on a regular basis – about 8 glasses in 24 hours.
• Take time to empty your bladder completely each time you pass urine.
• Go to the toilet as soon as you feel the need – don’t try to hold on.
• Use toilet paper as a blotter after passing urine, rather than wiping.
• Wipe your bottom gently from front to back after passing stools. Use soft damp tissues.
• Use each piece of toilet paper once only.
• Use a mild unperfumed soap to wash the area around your bottom, and wash gently.
• Pass urine straight after sex, to flush any bacteria.
• Use a water-based, rather than oil-based, lubricating gel for sex if your vagina is dry.
• Wash your genital area before and after having sex.
• Wear loose-fitting trousers and underwear with cotton gussets – so heat and moisture do not get trapped.
• Drink cranberry juice as it may help prevent bacteria attaching to your bladder. However, if you take medicines on a regular basis, consult your pharmacist or doctor first before beginning regular cranberry juice

Trimethoprim is an antibiotic that is often used to treat urinary tract infections. Trimethoprim was reclassified in 2012 to allow accredited pharmacists to treat uncomplicated UTIs in women aged 16 to 65 years.

The intention was to improve access to treatment for this common condition. This is a great news for all the ladies but it is not available to everyone. Pharmacist will require a face to face consultation with you to determine whether or not the treatment is suitable for you.

There are other treatments available if you do not qualify for the antibiotic. Your pharmacist will decide the best treatment for you including referral to doctors if the condition is severe.

It is short 3 day course of antibiotic. The tablet is best taken at night with meals until the medicine is finished.

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