The short answer is yes; in most cases, you can exercise with a UTI. Exercise isn't thought to exacerbate the process of bacterial growth in the urinary tract. In fact, some personal trainers and fitness experts say that exercise can help distract you from the discomfort you may be experiencing.
UTIs are caused by bacteria (usually from the bowel) making their way up the urethra into the urinary tract and multiplying in the bladder. Exercising does not exacerbate this process, in fact, in the early stages, exercise might actually help to distract you from the discomfort for a short while.
Make sure you get plenty of rest. A kidney infection can be physically draining, even if you're normally healthy and strong. It may take up to 2 weeks before you're fit enough to return to work.
Treatment for UTIs
Your symptoms will normally pass within 3 to 5 days of starting treatment. Make sure you complete the whole course of antibiotics that you've been prescribed, even if you're feeling better. Over-the-counter pain relief such as paracetamol can help with any pain.
Most of the time, UTIs go away pretty quickly—usually, symptoms stop within a couple of days, and the bacteria completely clear out after you've taken antibiotics for three to seven days, per AUA. However, there are some things you can do to help speed up the healing process.
While there's no evidence running causes UTIs or makes the infection worse—in fact, regular exercise might protect you—the symptoms can make it uncomfortable to train. “You may not get very far, or you may just run to the bathroom,” says Dr.
Water is by far the best beverage choice for someone with a UTI. Drinking at least 12 8-ounce cups of water each day while you have an infection will help flush the bacteria from your system and can speed up the healing process.
Bladder infections or urinary tract infections
If you have new, severe urinary symptoms, leave work and see your doctor. These symptoms can worsen quickly, causing nausea, headaches, and even kidney infections. Early antibiotic treatment is key.
Additionally, a number of common foods and drinks — artificial sweeteners, spicy foods, alcohol, coffee, acidic fruits, citrus, or caffeinated drinks — can irritate your bladder, and may worsen UTI symptoms — so you should steer clear of them if you have signs of a bladder infection.
“It's estimated 50 percent of UTIs can be treated by drinking a significant amount of fluid alone," says Felecia Fick, a Mayo Clinic urogynecology physician assistant who was not involved in the study. "The extra you're drinking is flushing out the bacteria that are present in the urinary tract."
While Dr Lee says that “it's fine to work out with a UTI if you feel up to it,” she caveats that with the fact that sweating a lot can lead to dehydration, and “this can make a UTI worse.” It's also probably worth understanding what caused your infection in the first place.
Fluoroquinolone antibiotics
Tears in your tendons, the tissue that connects your muscles to your bones, are also possible. High-intensity exercise could increase the likelihood of these side effects. To be safe, consider taking a break from exercise until you finish your round of fluoroquinolone antibiotics.
Bladder infections are a type of UTI, but not all urinary tract infections are bladder infections. A UTI is defined as an infection in one or more places in the urinary tract—the ureters, kidneys, urethra, and/or bladder. A bladder infection is a UTI that's only located in the bladder.
DON'T drink coffee, alcohol or caffeine until the infection is gone. These drinks can irritate your bladder. DO drink a shot of sugar-free cranberry juice, if you like it. Cranberry juice may help fight infection, though the effectiveness is still being studied.
If you think you have a UTI, the first thing you should do is schedule an appointment with your OBGYN or primary care physician. Many women will try to self-treat it, or worse, just hope it goes away on its own.
Bacteria grow more quickly in warm and hot water. Our doctors may recommend avoiding hot tubs and taking showers instead of baths. The soap in bubble baths can irritate the urinary tract and should be avoided.
For most cases, three to five days should be enough to treat a UTI. When prescribed antibiotics, it's best to take as instructed to finish the full dose, even if you feel better before you've completed the medication.
Water intoxication in a woman with a simple UTI
In the case of UTIs, drinking more water than usual has been shown to temporarily reduce the number of bacteria in urine, but the reasons for this remain unclear.
Often, UTI symptoms clear up within a few days of starting treatment. But you may need to continue antibiotics for a week or more. Take all of the medicine as prescribed. For an uncomplicated UTI that occurs when you're otherwise healthy, your health care provider may recommend a shorter course of treatment.
If left untreated, a UTI can turn into a kidney infection, also called pyelonephritis. Pyelonephritis can cause serious complications, like kidney scarring, high blood pressure, and renal failure, which is why treatment is essential.
Simple bladder infections may go away on their own in about a week — even without antibiotics. If you don't have any symptoms of a kidney infection and you aren't pregnant or at high risk of developing complicated UTI, you may opt for a “wait-and-see” approach to antibiotic treatment.