You can take steps to prevent new or relapsing urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Prevention tips for men and women

• Drink plenty of water and other liquids each day. This helps ensure that you urinate frequently, which flushes bacteria from your urinary tract.
• Urinate when you have the urge. Don't hold your urine for a long time.
• Avoid constipation.
• Ask your doctor about taking methenamine to prevent recurrent UTIs.
• Ask your doctor about taking antibiotics to prevent recurrent UTIs.

Prevention tips for women

• Urinate immediately after sexual intercourse. This is the best protection women have against UTIs, because it helps prevent bacteria from moving into the urethra.
• Avoid using condoms coated with spermicide or a diaphragm for birth control if your doctor believes they are causing you to get UTIs.
• Change sanitary napkins often.
• Avoid douches, feminine hygiene sprays, and other feminine hygiene products with deodorant. These can change the normal balance of organisms that help prevent infection.
• Wipe from front to back after using the toilet to avoid spreading bacteria from your anus to your urinary tract.
• Try cranberry products like pure cranberry juice, cranberry extract, or cranberry pills.
• If you get UTIs often, ask your doctor about taking antibiotics right after sexual intercourse to prevent recurrent UTIs.
• Post-menopausal women may want to ask their doctors about using vaginal estrogen to prevent recurrent UTIs.

Prevention tip for men

• Keep the tip of your penis clean, especially if you are uncircumcised. The foreskin can trap bacteria, which can then get into the urinary tract and cause infection.