The Best Way to Get Rid of a UTI

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are painful and inconvenient. Symptoms include the constant need to urinate and a burning sensation in the genital area. Women are more susceptible to getting UTIs than are men, according to the Mayo Clinic, because their urethras are shorter. There are steps to take to clear up a UTI and prevent the infection from spreading to the kidneys, which may lead to chronic or acute kidney infections, which can be quite serious.

Things You'll Need

• Urinary pain relief tablets
• Heating pad

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Instructions

• 1

  Schedule an appointment with a doctor or go to a walk-in minor emergency clinic to receive a prescription for an antibiotic, such as Amoxil, Bactrim and Cipro. You will need to be seen right away due to the discomfort and urge to urinate and to prevent the infection from spreading and causing further complications.

• 2

  Purchase an over-the-counter medication, such as Cystex or Uristat to help ease the pain of the UTI until you can get to a doctor. Urinary pain relief tablets are available at pharmacies and discount stores. These will not cure the infection. It is vital that you get a prescription for an antibiotic from a physician.

• 3

  Drink plenty of water. Although you may dread urinating due to the pain, drinking water will help flush the bacteria from your body and help you get relief from the symptoms faster.

• 4

  Avoid consuming citrus juices, carbonated beverages, alcohol and coffee while under treatment for the infection. These types of beverages will aggravate the bladder, and may increase the frequent urge to urinate, according to the Mayo Clinic website. Drinking water will help flush the bacteria, so this is the only advisable beverage. Water will also increase the urge to urinate, but will not increase pain and discomfort as the other acidic beverages may.

• 5

  Use a heating pad on your lower abdomen to help ease the pain. Place it directly above your bladder in between your pelvic bones.