A burning sensation when you pee. Stomach cramps. Fatigue. If you’ve ever had a urinary tract infection, you know how uncomfortable the symptoms can be — and how quickly they can escalate to unbearable.
Your urinary tract is an organ system that includes the urethra, ureters, bladder and kidneys. If any of these organs get infected with bacteria, you can develop a UTI. (A kidney infection is technically a type of urinary tract infection.) Urinary tract infections are the most common infections treated in clinics, but that doesn’t mean they can’t cause major problems. Left untreated, UTIs can be serious, potentially leading to issues like a kidney infection or a systemic infection called sepsis.
But if you nip your UTI symptoms in the bud, you can reduce your risk of complications. Here’s how to get rid of a urinary tract infection fast, according to doctors.
UTI causes
Your body is full of bacteria. Not all of them are harmful. However, when too many bacteria colonize in your urinary tract, you may develop a UTI. Anyone can get a UTI, but “in general, UTIs are more common in women,” says Dr. Marisa Clifton, director of women’s health at Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Brady Urological Institute in Baltimore. Between 50 and 60 percent of people with vaginas will get a UTI in their lifetime.
Clifton says people with vulvas have urethras closer to their vagina and anus, where bacteria thrives. They also have shorter urethras, so bacteria travel a shorter distance to get to the bladder compared to people with penises.
Here are some things that may cause a UTI in people with vaginas:
- Certain procedures, like getting a catheter, can push unwanted bacteria into your urinary tract.
- Sex can push bacteria toward your urethra.
- You can spread bacteria to your urinary organs by wiping stool in that direction.
- Declining estrogen levels during menopause can alter a person’s gut flora, causing too much harmful bacteria to grow in the urinary tract.
Here are some things that can cause a UTI in people with penises:
- Sexually transmitted infections like chlamydia and gonorrhea can spread bacteria to the urinary tract.
- Stones in the urinary tract can obstruct the flow of urine, leading to an infection.
- An enlarged prostate can also block the flow of urine.
Getting rid of a UTI quickly
1.“You typically need to have three symptoms to be diagnosed with a UTI,” says Dr. Binisa Shah, an immediate care physician at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. The most common UTI symptoms are urinary frequency (feeling like you have to pee a lot), urinary urgency (feeling like you can’t hold it) and burning while peeing. It’s not always possible to kick a UTI within a day, but if you have symptoms, there are a few things you can do at home. First, start drinking fluids right away. Sometimes UTI symptoms can intensify if you’re not peeing enough. “You may be able to flush the bacteria out of your body by drinking more and urinating more frequently,” says Clifton.
2. See your doctor ASAP. Without treatment, bacteria can travel to the kidneys and cause more severe symptoms, such as fever, chills and pain in your back. Your primary care provider or an urgent care clinic can diagnose or treat a urinary tract infection. If you have UTI symptoms, a medical provider will test your urine to look for signs of infection. These tests often look for leukocytes, a type of white blood cell. Most providers send the urine sample to a lab to determine what type of bacteria is causing the infection, which can help determine the best antibiotic to use. Your provider may also treat you before the bacterial test if you have symptoms and signs in your urine.
UTIs are treated with antibiotics, which stop bacteria from growing. “Antibiotics can lessen symptoms and prevent the infection from spreading to other parts of your body,” Shah says. Most courses of antibiotics are only three days, and you should notice symptoms resolving after just a day.
3. Until symptoms completely resolve and even for a few days after, many patients take AZO, a pain reliever that targets the urinary tract, to reduce symptoms of irritation in the bladder. AZO commonly darkens the color of your urine to an orange or red color. This is normal and not harmful, though it can stain your underwear. “Sometimes symptoms can linger after the infection resolves because the body is in an inflammatory state, which you can calm down with other techniques,” says Clifton.
While cranberry juice has been shown in some research to help alleviate UTIs, Clifton says there’s not enough data to be sure how much it helps, so you may want to stick with water, especially if you have diabetes (sugar can be a bladder irritant for diabetic folks). Also, Shah suggests skipping alcohol and coffee if you’re trying to kick a UTI, since those can make dehydration worse.
If your infection comes back, you may have recurrent UTIs. That could be due to a lifestyle factor, like not drinking enough water, or a medical reason, like a hormonal imbalance due to menopause. Either way, if you have UTI symptoms once or on a recurring basis, it’s worth checking in with a medical provider who can help.