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.

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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.

The Recipe: Cranberry Apple Sauce

I made this recipe (from Simply Recipes) for family at Thanksgiving as an alternative to the more traditional cranberry sauce and it was well received, but it’s even better as a summer snack. Make a batch to have on hand as a sweet, cold alternative to ice cream or as a tasty side for a sandwich!

Ingredients:

* 3 to 4 pounds of peeled, cored, roughly chopped Granny Smith apples (or other good cooking apple such as Fuji, Jonathan, Mcintosh, or Gravenstein)
* 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
* 2 Tbsp lemon juice
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 cup of brown sugar
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1 cup water
* 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Place all of the ingredients in a large (5-quart) pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and cover. Cook 20-30 minutes, or until the apples can easily be mashed.
2. Remove from heat. Mash the apples and cranberries with a potato masher to the consistency you want.

Store in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks, or freeze for up to a year.
Makes 1 1/2 to 2 quarts.

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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

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).

That said, if you don’t have to go, you don’t have to go. Although I would question why you don’t. Assuming you spent more than 5 minutes in the sack, a well-hydrated person would have likely collected at least a wee bit of urine in the bladder. If you never have to pee after sex, you may not be hydrating enough. In general, you should be drinking the equivalent of about eight 8oz glasses of water (or other healthy liquid, such as herbal tea or green juice) per day. If you’re not drinking enough, this also increases your risk of UTI’s. Drinking a glass of water before sex should fill up your bladder and help you flush things out.

So, no. There’s nothing wrong with you. But it sounds like increasing your fluid intake would be a good preventative health strategy for you. Drink up- and try to pee afterwards. And if nothing comes, don’t stress out. You’ll likely be just fine, girlfriend!

- 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).

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.

2. Nice (or naughty) Girls Finish Last
Studies show that less than 30% of women are able to achieve orgasm through vaginal intercourse.  As opposed to, um, 100% of guys!?!? What gives?  Even us lucky ladies who are able to reach the big O know that our guy will almost always come first (and if “first” happens to mean “two minutes in,” well, I don’t want to talk about it).  There’s nothing worse than a few minutes of a guy huffing and puffing on top of us, then rolling over and falling asleep while we lie there, bored and unsatisfied.

3. Ick. Ew. Gross.
Sex is a beautiful thing…in theory. The actual act is all sorts of awkward and dirty. Like when our guy’s on top dripping sweat into our hair and eyes. Or that weird fart noise that happens when two sweaty bodies collide. Or the sight of two 36-Cs flopping around. Or having lube on our hands, in our hair, and everywhere else imaginable. Or, worst of all, the big old’ wet spot conveniently located in the middle of the bed. Which is exactly where we end up passing out for the night.

4. Birth Control
Okay, so this one is necessary, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it. Especially when guys just sorta expect us to be on it these days. And, yeah, having no pregnancy scares is a great thing, but the slew of side effects from those itty bitty pills sometimes makes pregnancy look appealing (I mean, at least then we’d have an excuse for packing on the pounds). Not only does The Pill make us moody, irritable and fat, but long-term use of oral contraceptives can cause strokes and heart attacks in the future. And there’s nothing I hate more than a heart attack.

What are your biggest between-the-sheets gripes?

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?

No. Peeing after sex does NOT prevent STDs or pregnancy. I repeat: it does NOT prevent STDs or pregnancy. Sexetc.com explains: “The semen and penis go into the vagina and the urine comes out the urethra, which is a different opening. So, while urinating after sex might empty the bladder, it has no effect on where the sperm are inside the vagina.” It seems obvious because it is. Anyone who tells you differently is just trying to sneak by without using a condom.

For STD and pregnancy protection, condoms are ALWAYS you’re best bet. Std411.com says: “STDs cannot be flushed or washed away, so peeing and washing will not prevent a bacterial or viral STD and nor will they cause a STD to go away.”

Let’s be honest, people; if pee pee could prevent STDs, wouldn’t people have figured that out a long time ago?

So let’s break it all down:
Peeing to prevent UTIs = truth.
Peeing to prevent you from being a mom with an STD = big, fat false.

If you’re going to have sex and you want it to be the safest/cleanest/baby free-est it can be, use a condom, pee when you’re done, wash those hands, then hop back under the covers for a much-needed and much-coveted snuggle sesh.

"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).

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:

-Have good hygiene. It may sound gross, but wipe yourself from front to back when you use the bathroom; wash the skin between the vagina and anus daily; and always pee and wash up after sexual intercourse. The bacteria from the anus is definitely a huge cause of UTIs, so making sure that stuff doesn’t get near your vajay will help out a great deal.

-Drink your fluids! Drinking lots of fluids, particularly water, will flush your system regularly and decrease your risk of UTI.

-Take your vitamins. Getting essential vitamins needs to happen if you’re going to avoid things like UTIs. Vitamin C, for instance, helps out a great deal.

Something you should know:

If you get a UTI, you need to take antibiotics to get rid of it. When I had a particularly severe UTI (which I mentioned above), I made the mistake of trying to take care of it myself. The infection ended up spreading to my kidney and almost to my blood within a week. I was carried into the E.R. due to pain so severe that I could not walk. The doctors told me I could have died from it had it spread to my blood.

Don’t take the risk. Make sure you take care of it the right way…with a doctor and not a few bottles of cranberry juice..

(Photo from: uab.edu)

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.

1. Choose the Right Condom: “Research has found that using ones with spermicide increases UTI risk.” So, make sure you and your boy are always using non-spermicide condoms.

2. Don’t Wait All Day to Pee: “Holding it in gives infectious bacteria more time to grow in the urine.” Take frequent bathroom breaks, no matter where you are.

3. Change Tampons Frequently: “When left in longer than three hours, tampons can become breeding grounds for bacteria that may find their way into the urethra as you move around or when you wipe.” I think that’s pretty explanatory…Make sure you are changing your tampon frequently for this, and a number of other reasons, like toxic shock syndrome.

4. Don’t Hover: “Squatting over the toilet, which a lot of women do when using public restrooms, deson’t allow your pelvic muscles to relax and fully empty your bladder.” Quit popping a squat in public restrooms…seriously. Put toilet paper down or something on the seat if you are scared of dirty bacteria. And plus, did you know your cellphone is probably dirtier than a public toilet?

5. Try a New Trick in Bed: “Frequent sex in the same position causes friction on the urethra, making you more susceptible to UTIs.” Okay, this one shouldn’t be so hard for most girls, and maybe even a little fun. Who doesn’t love another excuse to spice things up in the bedroom?

So, as you see from these five tips, there is more that you can do daily to prevent UTIs. And some of it isn’t actually too bad. I know I will use these tips to stay UTI free for as along as possible!