This may be TMI, but I get UTIs all the time. Apparently, I used to get them a lot as a kid and now as an adult I get them just as much if I don’t take the right precautions. If I want to go right to sleep after having sex, I’ll get a UTI. Instead, in such a romantic post-sex way, I have to get up and pee, and then I have to take two cranberry pills with a whole glass of water.

Being a UTI expert (I put that on my business card), I know all about how to deal with them, and one of the MOST important things to me is dressing the right way so you don’t disturb the UTI even more.  So here’s what I’ve found to be the best things to wear when your urinary tract isn’t feeling as amazing as usual. Read More »

This Week’s Ingredient: Cranberries!

They’re sweet. They’re tart. They’re harvested from bogs. And they’re a deep, beautiful, fire-engine hue. If your only exposure to cranberries is in combination with their fermented partner, vodka, then you’re totally missing out (not to mention that the “cranberry juice” served in bars is basically just sugar water). Long celebrated for their ability to prevent urinary tract infections, cranberries are also thought to enhance digestive health and prevent kidney stones. It’s not customary to eat raw cranberries as they are far too tart to snack on alone. Hence the popularity of dried cranberries and juice–but beware that both contain added sugar to temper their tang.

Easy Meals

1. Add dried cranberries to a romaine salad with crumbled feta for a simple and healthy plate of different textures and flavors.
2. Any combo of cranberries and oatmeal (for breakfast, in cookies) adds a twist to the classic oatmeal & raisin duo.
3. Place cranberry juice in an ice cube tray with popsicle sticks inserted in each divet for homemade pops. Read More »

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Got a health question? Don’t trust those “Doctors” at the University Health Center? Are you scared of Web M.D. because it always tells you you’re gonna die? Ask a real doctor, like our friend Dr. Lissa Rankin. She’s here every Thursday to answer whatever you throw at her – like how to deal with HPV – so ask away. Leave your question in the comments or send it over to us. Don’t be shy; she’s waiting for ya!

Q: I just started having sex and all of my friends tell me I have to pee after. They say that if I don’t pee I can get a UTI. The problem is that I never have to go. I try every time – I run to the bathroom and sit there but nothing ever happens. Is that bad? Do you HAVE to go after? Is there something wrong with me that I can’t go?

A: Your friends are giving you good advice. In general, it’s a good idea to pee after sex. Sex can introduce bacteria where it shouldn’t be, up inside the normally sterile urethra (the tube from the bladder to the outside world). Urinating flushes out an bacteria that may be lurking near the opening to the urethra, just dying to crawl inside and wreak havoc with a urinary tract infection (UTI). Read More »

Sex = good. Waking up with some guys junk rubbing against your butt = not so good.

Contrary to popular belief, we girls enjoy a good old romp in the hay as much as guys do (probably more, if you happen to be me).  Sex in the bedroom, sex in the shower, sex in the stacks….well, you get the idea.  Sex is great. Grand. WONDERFUL.

But there are some things about sexy time that we can all agree are not so great, grand or wonderful. (Editor’s Note: Like getting preggers.) Even guys have their gripes! No matter how mind-blowing, how crazy, or how many of our roommates can hear our screams of pleasure, there are 4 things about sex that we just plain HATE.

1. Next-Day Body Aches
Everyone loves a slumber party with their boy toy, but not so much the pain that ensues the next day (especially if we happen to be lucky enough to find a guy with a…um….bigger friend).  Your inner thighs throb, your butt muscles ache, your vajay hurts to the touch…er…wipe. And if things get a little crazy, you’ve got rug (or t-shirt sheet) burn on your back, elbows and knees.  And don’t even get me started on the pain that comes with a UTI. One night o’ passion can knock you out for days. Read More »

I’m one of those girls who religiously pees after sex. I read an article at some point in my life (probably in Cosmo when I was sneaking it at 15) about how peeing could prevent UTIs. Combine that with the fact that I inherited my mothers insanely-active bladder, and I can’t imagine not taking that trip to the potty. Sure, it sorta kills the romance and puts cuddling on hold for a minute, but I’ve never had a UTI so I think that makes it worth it.

I’ve also heard girls talk about how peeing after sex could prevent STDs and pregnancy. I’m less than convinced, but could there be some truth in it? Does urine have some secret healing powers? I decided to investigate the idea of peeing after to sex to see if it really does anything…or if we’re all missing out on quality cuddles for nothing.

Most research finds that peeing after sex may reduce the possibility of contracting a Urinary Tract Infection. Peeing after sex can prevent UTIs because “it can help remove unwanted organisms from the urethra, which may reduce the risk of urethral infections.” While it’s not a guarantee, what do I really have to lose by running to the bathroom naked to clean out my urethra? I’m not a fan of any unwanted organisms in my lady-parts, so if peeing after sex will flush them out, I’m game.

So if pee can rid me of that evil bacteria, can it do the same for sperm? Read More »

"Hm. That doesn't smell right..."

Got a health question? Don’t trust those “Doctors” at the University Health Center? Are you scared of Web M.D. because it always tells you you’re gonna die? Ask a real doctor, our friend Dr. Lissa Rankin. She’s here every Thursday to answer whatever you throw at her – like the ultimate cure for a hangover! – so ask away. Leave your question in the comments or send it over to us. Don’t be shy; she’s waiting for ya!

Q: After unprotected sex I noticed my urine becoming really smelly on a consistent basis, which is a new thing for me. There are no other symptoms-no burning or itching or anything, just the smelliness when I pee. Could this be an STD??

A: Usually, healthy urine has almost no odor (unless you’ve been feasting on asparagus or other foods or vitamins that are known offenders).  If you are dehydrated, your urine will be more concentrated and may have a stronger smell. Also, if bacteria have contaminated the normally sterile urinary system, which happens when you have a urinary tract infection, you may notice an odor.

Most of the time, when women approach me complaining of foul-smelling urine, they’re actually smelling their vagina. If you have a vaginal infection, such as bacterial vaginosis or trichomonas vaginalis, you may notice that your vaginal discharge, when it mixes with your urine, smells icky.

While it could be a sexually transmitted disease, such as trichomonas infection, which causes a vaginal infection characterized by a foul-smelling odor, most STD’s do not cause your urine to smell. Sex however, can trigger urinary tract infections, and infected urine may smell icky.

I would suggest a visit to the gynecologist. Make sure they check out your vagina, as well as your urine, to make sure there are no infections either place. And if you’ve had unprotected sex, go ahead and get tested for everything while you’re there. You can set a good example for your partner and feel more secure about next time.

–Dr. Lissa Rankin’s book, What’s Up Down There? Questions You’d Only Ask Your Gynecologist If She Was Your Best Friend, will be published by St. Martin’s Press in Fall 2010. She invites you to join her Pink online community (www.owningpink.com/forum) or read more of her writing at Owning Pink (www.owningpink.com).

I’ll never forget the time that I was traveling with a bunch of dudes and found myself faced with a UTI. Having had the nasty infections before, I knew without going to a doctor what, precisely, was going on down there.

And I needed to pee. (But of course I couldn’t).

Being with a bunch of guys, no one understood just what I was going through. In fact, they thought it was really hilarious. And wouldn’t let me get near the bathroom. But while they laughed, my body ached. So I slapped the guy nearest to the bathroom and shoved my way in. Yes, I hit him…and I do not regret it.

Urinary Tract Infections are one of the most painful things that you can experience. They burn. They ache. They make your pee smell foul. They make you feel like you have to urinate constantly, but when you try to go-you can’t!

And if all that isn’t bad enough, they could lead to septicemia, which is a nice way of saying you could lose your limbs. For real. Just ask Brazilian bombshell (and Miss World contestant) Mariana Bridi da Costa. She recently had her hands and feet amputated and it all stemmed from a terrible UTI.

So, yeah, they’re absolutely awful.

Luckily, my years of getting the infection have taught me how to avoid it. If you’re in the market to avoid UTIs (and, trust me you should be), take my advice and follow these tips: Read More »

Most likely, if you are a female in college, you have experienced a UTI (urinary tract infection) at some point in your four years. I remember the first time I experienced one was during a double shift while waitressing.

Running to the bathroom every five minutes while trying to wait on customers is not an easy task. For those who have not had one before, you are very lucky.

Until you have had one, you cannot truly understand the discomfort and annoyance that comes along with one.

Well, after that horrific experience, I take preventive measures to make sure that one never plagues me again. Luckily, Glamour magazine recently published an article titled the “UTI Fixes No One Ever Tells You About.”

The tips go beyond the commonly known things like peeing after sex, drinking cranberry juice, and wiping front to back (gross, I know, sorry) to show that there is actually more that you can do. Read More »