Chances are, whether you’ve had sex with one partner or many, at some point as a result of your boudoir repertoire, you’ve had the unfortunate reality of a post-romp infection… most commonly in the form of a urinary tract infection (aka UTI).
According to Kidney Health Australia, one in two women and one in twenty men will experience a UTI in their lifetime, with the odds, unfortunately, skewed much more toward women.
This isn’t fair, but with antibiotics, it’s always been an easy fix… until now.
In rather unwelcome news, it turns out common prescriptions might not be so effective either, with a new medical report published in the New York Times finding that some strains of UTI are unresponsive or resistant to drugs.
In research undertaken by the New York City Department of Health, the study found a third of uncomplicated urinary tract infections caused by E. coli — the most common strain — were resistant to Bactrim, one of the most common prescription drugs, and at least one-fifth of UTIs were resistant to five other common treatments.
That stings…
And it’s not looking up, either. Lance Price, director of the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center at George Washington University, admits that “This is crazy… shocking,” in addition to the drug ampicillin, once a mainstay for treating infections, being abandoned too as a gold standard because multiple strains of UTIs are resistant to it.
A new scientific study even found a third of all UTIs in Britain are resistant to ‘key antibiotics….’
So what’s a girl to do… other than gulp endless buckets of cranberry juice and/or become a nun?
Good question. Well, there is some hope, with medical experts at the New York City Department of Health introducing a new app this month that gives doctors and nurses access to a list of strains of urinary tract infections and which drugs they are resistant to educate and spread awareness.
Among those approved as ‘effective’ for most E-coli strains are nitrofurantoin, which is sold as Macrobid, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, which is sold as Bactrim or Septra.
Outside of a doctor’s prescription (for the right antibiotic, of course!), science also has confirmed that drinking more water (1.5 liters minimum) does help!
And of course, let’s not forget regularly sipping on our dear old friend cranberry juice, along with easy prevention techniques like choosing cotton underwear over lacy synthetic, swapping baths to showers, and urinating after sex.
Not so sexy sounding, but hey, it’s either Bridget Jones comfort pants or the nun life, your choice!
