Hydration & Urinary Tract Infection

What you drink and how much of it can affect your chances of developing a urinary tract infection. Maintaining your hydration levels by drinking plenty of fluids can reduce your risk of infection.

Urinary Tract Infection

• According to the National Institutes of Health, a urinary tract infection occurs when bacteria enter your urinary tract and infect in your kidneys, bladder or urethra.

Symptoms

• Symptoms of a urinary tract infection include cloudy urine, frequent need to urinate and pain while emptying your bladder.

Hydration

• Drinking enough fluids to maintain the water and fluid levels in your body is important to your overall health. If you do not replace fluids as they are lost through urination and sweat, you can become dehydrated. This can lead to symptoms like dry mouth and low urine output.

Considerations

• You are more likely to develop a urinary tract infection when you are dehydrated. Dehydration can also cause the symptoms of the urinary tract infection to be more severe, says the Southern Connecticut State University's Student Health Services website.

Treatment

• A urinary tract infection is treated with antibiotics. Each person needs to consume a different amount of fluid to maintain hydration. According to the Cleveland Clinic, a rule of thumb to follow is that if your urine is darker than pale yellow, then you need to drink more to avoid dehydration.