How to get rid of a UTI

What is a UTI?

A UTI stands for urinary tract infection, also called a water infection. Cystitis, which means bladder infection, is the most common type, but you can also have a UTI in your kidneys or urethra. UTIs are caused by bacteria and are relatively common. They’re more common in women than men, and as you get older.

What are the symptoms of a UTI?

If you have a UTI, you might have one or more of the following symptoms:

needing to pee more often than usual
feeling a burning or irritating sensation when peeing
having pee that looks cloudy or has a strong smell
having pain or discomfort in your back or lower tummy
having a temperature
feeling tired, sick or losing your appetite

UTI treatment

Sometimes a UTI will go away on its own. Most people will need antibiotics. Some people may be prescribed a ‘delayed antibiotic’, meaning they’ll be asked only to use it if their symptoms don’t go away after a certain amount of time. If you think you have UTI symptoms, you should speak to your GP to discuss treatment options. If your symptoms continue after treatment, you should seek medical advice to rule out anything else that might be causing the problem.

If you keep getting UTIs, your GP might recommend you having a low dose of antibiotics over a long period of time, or refer you to a specialist for more tests and treatments. For women who have gone through menopause, there is evidence that vaginal oestrogen creams can reduce UTI symptoms.

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How to prevent UTIs

There are some things you can do yourself that may help prevent a UTI returning. These include:

going to the toilet regularly during the day
trying to completely empty your bladder when you go
wiping from front to back, not the other way round
going for a pee as soon as possible after sex

Home remedies for UTIs

Very few home remedies for UTIs have been proven by scientific evidence to be helpful. You might have heard that cranberry juice helps with UTIs, but the research on cranberry juice and cranberry pills doesn’t show a clear benefit. It has been shown in clinical trials that drinking more liquid than you normally do may help prevent recurrent UTIs.

For more support for dealing with long-term (chronic) UTIs, see the Chronic Urinary Tract Infection Campaign.

Meet the expert

Dr Harry Ahmed is a practising GP and Senior Lecturer at Cardiff University. He is researching whether having a UTI increases your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.