Scarleteen

Hello,

I have suffered from cystitis and I think its due to sex. It cleared up in about a day - I drank loads of water and took over the counter drinks to make the urine less acidic. I have it again now so I'm using all the same methods and it seems to be getting a bit better.
Its so uncomfortable though and miserable - I wonder if you knew any tips on how to avoid it. I always go to the toilet after sex and I drink lots of water everyday so is it just one of those things that will sometimes happen?

thanks x

Hi busylizzie,

I would recommend that you see your physician so that you can be diagnosed and receive proper treatment. If you have an infection antibiotics need to be prescribed. Your doctor might also want to do STI screening to rule out anything else if you are not currently up to date.

Once you see your doctor you can discuss prevention with them. In the meantime a few things you can do to prevent (not treat a full on infection) are to urinate before and after sex, drink plenty of water (like you have been doing ), pee when you have to or don't hold it too long, take cranberry supplements or cranberry juice. Wiping properly (from front to back) is important too.

You can also find more information here: http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advic ... hould_i_do

Just a quickie: if you do drink cranberry juice, it needs to be the kind you get at health food stores without any added sugar (you have to dilute it with water to drink it because it is VERY sour). Cranberry juice cocktails are highly sweetened, and sugar is something that makes the urinary tract more irritated, not less.

But by all means, if you don't feel better in a couple of days, you will, as Ashleah suggested, want to see a doctor. Water and cranberry juice can help prevent UTIs, and cut very mild ones off at the pass, but once you have a UTI, you'll usually need a round of sulfa drugs (a kind of antibiotic), to get rid of it.

Per more prevention, making sure you aren't overdoing sex -- a lot of intercourse or genital rubbing in one session means tissue that's more raw and more susceptible to infection -- that you always urinate both before and after any genital sex, using condoms and lubricant (condoms can help limit the bacteria you're exposed to, and lubricant helps your genitals from getting raw from friction), and that your partner is washing their hands before any manual sex (fingering), and is also showering the day you and they are having intercourse (if you are) can all help a lot.

Thanks for the help guys

At the moment now, since its 7pm where I live nowhere is open except Accident and Emergency at the hospital. And I guess it's not an emergency.
Will it be ok to wait tonight and then go and see a doctor tomorrow at 10 when they open? I won't be risking making myself sicker will I?

No problem, there is no reason why it can not wait until tomorrow as long as you don't start to experience any significant/ persistent pain (which is more of an in general thing and not something you should expect to happen).

Ok, thank you so much for your help hopefully I'll be able to sleep with the discomfort tonight and I'll get it sorted tomorrow

Hi guys, an update and further question.

I've got my course of antibiotics - the symptoms had basically cleared up this morning but I got them to be sure.
But I feel like I'm unusually smelly down there...I'm not sure how to describe the smell. Kind of sweaty maybe but sort of like urine..haha gross. Is this the cystitis, I haven't had this before. Obviously I've showered today but it didn't seem to clear the smell. Also what should I be using for cleaning? I always use a sensitive soap, one that isn't perfumed for the vulva area not inside obviously. Is it still ok to use this?

We just can't know the why of the change of your scent, but yes, having a genital infection of any kind can influence the way a person smells. I'd suggest sitting with this for now, finishing your prescribed medication and then if it still seems to be hanging around, putting a call into your healthcare provider to ask about that.

Per washing the vulva and vagina, you don't need to -- and shouldn't -- wash your vagina (inside the canal(. It cleans itself, and does so in a way that's healthy for your body. In terms of washing the vulva, you can just use warm water, all by itself, or, if you like to use a soap, just do your best to only use something as pure as possible, without added perfumes of any kind (like deodorant soaps or cleansers = big no-no). Sounds like that's what you already do!

Ok thanks so much for all your help, it's really appreciated

You're welcome.