Millions of people every year have to deal with UTIs, or urinary tract infections. While they’re very common, that doesn’t make them any less important to deal with promptly. Read on as our team at AFC Urgent Care Sevierville provides some helpful info.

• Here’s what to do: Figure out if what you’re experiencing constitutes a UTI. A few common symptoms include a burning sensation when peeing, frequent urination, cloudy or dark urine, urine with a strong odor, and a feeling of incomplete bladder emptying.
• What to do next: Drink lots of fluids. The less hydrated you are, the more likely you are to get a UTI. So, drinking lots of water can help both treat UTIs and prevent them from occurring again by making you urinate more, which helps remove bacteria from the urinary tract.
• What to do after: Increase your vitamin C intake. The reason why this can work is because vitamin C increases the acidity of your urine, which, in turn, can kill off infection-causing bacteria.
• Another thing to try: Drink unsweetened cranberry juice. Although studies are mixed on whether it can treat current UTIs, studies show that cranberry juice definitely helps prevent future UTIs. Cranberries work by preventing bacteria from adhering to the urinary tract, thus preventing infection.
• To support those home remedies: Take a probiotic. Probiotics are available in supplement form or can be found in fermented foods, such as kefir, kimchi, kombucha and probiotic yogurt. Probiotics are known to work best alongside antibiotics because antibiotics can cause disturbances in levels of gut bacteria.
• Doctor recommendations: If none of these home remedies work, schedule a doctor’s appointment. Like we said earlier, UTIs are often effectively treated with antibiotics, which can be prescribed by your doctor.
• Action steps to take: Practice some daily healthy habits to reduce your risk of a UTI. This means doing things like not holding your urine for too long and urinating after sexual intercourse. Not doing these things can lead to a build-up of bacteria, which can result in infection.
• After you’re better: Stay vigilant with your newly implemented healthy habits. If you frequently get UTIs, staying hydrated and clean will go a long way in preventing future infections.

We hope you stay healthy and well this year! If you have any questions or health concerns, don’t hesitate to visit AFC Urgent Care Sevierville today.