Sex and infection

In cases where antibiotics fail to prevent relapses, your doctor may suggest special tests to check how your bladder functions and to ensure that you do not have diabetes, tumors, kidney stones or obstruction of the urinary tract.
But often the cause of recurring infections remains unknown. Even in this case, much can be done to improve one’s condition. For example, some women have found a link between urinary tract infections and the frequency of sexual intercourse.
“For women who have noticed a link between the resumption of infection and sexual intercourse, we now recommend taking one antibiotic pill before sexual intercourse or immediately after it, says Dr. Whitemore. If it can be assumed that the problem is related to the use of the vaginal diaphragm (cap of the CR) or chemicals that destroy spermatozoa, we suggest trying to try another means of preventing pregnancy, for example, a cap that is worn on the cervix. Often this is enough to end the infection or alleviate the problem. ”
If this does not help and the infection continues to ruin your life, then it is often advised to conduct a long preventive course of treatment, also called restraining therapy in small doses. Doctors have found that a single antibiotic tablet at night can, in some cases, eliminate the development of an infection with minimal side effects. For women whose symptoms of cystitis recur from time to time, doctors advise treatment on their own. They tell you what medicines are effective in case of illness, and then supply you with medicines for emergency. At the first sign of an infection, you are taking a short course of treatment. You do not have to call your doctor, wait for a call back, visit a doctor, take a prescription, all this takes time and costs. You already know the signs of a beginning infection, and you can start taking medicines much earlier. You need to keep a medical diary and know what symptoms require a visit to the doctor.
If you are at an age when menopause is over, you can be relieved by such a simple thing as estrogen replacement therapy. "Sometimes all that is required is to put an estrogen containing ointment on the vaginal area," says Dr. Whitemore.