Best Ways to Help Prevent UTIs

Written by Marijke Vroomen Durning, RN, Anne Machalinski
Medically Reviewed by Shruthi N, MD on April 10, 2025
7 min read

If you’ve ever had a urinary tract infection (UTI), you know how painful and frustrating it can be, especially if it keeps coming back. Technically, a UTI can happen anywhere in your urinary tract, right up to your kidneys. But most affect the lower part of your tract, the bladder and urethra. That’s why you’ll often hear UTIs called bladder infections.

So, what causes a UTI in women? Women have UTIs more often than men because of their short urethras. Bacteria don’t have to travel far to get into the bladder. Women can get UTIs at any age, but postmenopausal women are more likely to get them.

“Typically, older women are more prone than younger women,” explains Mark Ellerkmann, MD, director of the Urogynecology Center at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. “When a woman goes through menopause, she no longer has estrogen stimulating certain tissues [like vaginal tissue].” This causes dryness and means bacteria can grow more easily in the vagina. Since the vagina is so close to the urethra, the bacteria can easily move and go up into the bladder.

Antibiotics often clear up a UTI within a few days, but taking antibiotics can often lead to other problems, such as antibiotic resistance. It’s always best to try to prevent the infection from happening in the first place. The key is keeping bacteria away from your urethra. Here are some simple measures you can take that may help prevent UTIs:

Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. The simplest way to reduce the risk of a UTI is to flush bacteria out of your bladder and urinary tract before it can set in. If you’re well-hydrated, you’ll pee often enough to move the bacteria out. Many experts say “plenty of fluids” is about six to eight glasses a day.

Urinate when you need to. Don’t try to hold your bladder if you need to pee. When you do go, give yourself the time to empty your bladder completely. Don’t rush it. Urine left inside can be a breeding ground for bacteria.

Wipe from front to back after peeing. Bacteria tend to hang around your anus. “The most common bacteria is E. coli,” Ellerkmann says. “It’s a good bacteria in your gut and colon, but not so good when it gets into your bladder.” Up to 90% of UTIs are caused by E. coli. If you wipe from front to back, especially after a bowel movement, they’re less likely to reach your urethra.

Urinate before and after having sex. If there are any bacteria near your urethra, peeing before having sex can help flush them away so they can’t be pushed up into your urethra. Peeing after sex pushes out bacteria that still might have entered the urinary tract.

Avoid irritating feminine products. Skip douches, deodorant sprays, scented powders, and other potentially irritating feminine products. These products can more than double your risk of a UTI.

Rethink your birth control. A diaphragm, spermicide, or spermicide-lubricated condom can make you more likely to get a UTI because they all can lead to bacterial growth. If you often get UTIs and use one of these birth control methods, switch to a water-based lubricant for vaginal dryness, and consider trying another birth control method to see if it helps.

Take special care if you need a urinary catheter. Catheters, tubes that drain urine from your bladder, are a common cause of UTIs in health care facilities. Some people need catheters at home too. If you have to have one, be sure you know why you have it, and check regularly if and when it can be removed so you avoid having it in longer than needed. Always wash your hands with soap and water before handling the catheter, and avoid tugging or pulling on the tubing. Finally, make sure the bag that’s collecting the urine stays below the level of your bladder to prevent urine from backing up.

Some doctors also advise women who get a lot of UTIs to wear cotton underwear, take showers instead of baths (also recommended by the CDC), and avoid wearing tight clothes that can trap bacteria near their urethra. While these are simple enough to do, none of them are supported by scientific data.

“Recurrent urinary tract infections are defined as more than two UTIs in six months or more than three in a year,” Ellerkmann says. There are many reasons why you might have repeated infections, including:

  • Being postmenopausal
  • Having some types of cancer treatment
  • Having some sort of blockage in your urethra that prevents complete drainage of urine
  • Having abnormalities in your urinary tract

If you get a lot of UTIs, your doctor may consider giving you a prescription for:

  • Low dose of antibiotics, taken daily for three months or longer
  • An antibiotic that you can start taking at the first sign of an infection
  • Antibiotics to take just before or after sex if your infections are related to intercourse. “One thing that can be helpful is taking a single dose of one of the first-line antibiotics either right before intercourse, or if she doesn’t know she will be sexually active and it happens, when she gets up to urinate right after sex,” Ellerkmann says. “It’s sort of nipping it in the bud, and it can be very helpful.”
  • At-home UTI tests to do when you have symptoms
  • Estrogen cream if you’ve gone through menopause. The treatment can help balance your pH factor and allow “good” bacteria to flourish again.

Over the years, people have tried various methods of preventing UTIs. Some have shown promise, while others are questionable. 

D-mannose for UTI 

According to Ellerkman, people have been using D-mannose, a dietary supplement, for years to try to prevent UTIs. “I used to recommend it as well,” he says. “I don’t think it’s harmful, but the data, I think, is a little less robust regarding its efficacy. A meta-analysis [a study that looked at several studies] that came out, probably within the last two years, suggested that there is minimal evidence to support the use of D-mannose.”

Probiotics for UTI

Probiotics, particularly the lactobacillus probiotic, may help some people ward off a UTI, but the research isn’t really clear. One small study said it was helpful, but others found no benefit.

Cranberry juice for UTI

Over the years, a lot of studies have focused on a substance found in cranberries that’s thought to prevent bacteria from sticking to the lining of the bladder. But none of these studies have shown how much of this substance it would take to help prevent UTIs.

“There is evidence supporting the use of cranberry, concentrated cranberry, and cranberry extract,” Ellerkman says. “But I don’t advise my patients to consume cranberry juice because there’s a lot of sugar in most cranberry juices.” It would take a lot to get any effect, and Ellerkman points out that cranberry juice can irritate the bladder and cause other problems. He recommends patients take a concentrated cranberry supplement instead.

If you want to try cranberries, remember to speak with your health care provider, just as you would before starting any type of supplements. Some people shouldn’t take these supplements, such as those who have kidney stones, people taking blood-thinning medications (anticoagulants), or those on medications that affect the liver.

Baking soda for UTI

Some people claim that regularly taking baking soda will help prevent UTIs because they believe it lowers the acidity in the bladder. Ellerkmann says he’s not seen any evidence supporting baking soda for this use. Plus, there are dangers associated with taking baking soda. It’s high in salt, which can be dangerous if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, or kidney disease. It could also be harmful if you have bleeding in your gastrointestinal tract or if you’re pregnant. Baking soda can interact badly with some medications, so it’s important to check with your pharmacist if you take any supplements or prescription medications. 

Apple cider vinegar

You may have read about using apple cider vinegar for UTI prevention because it may have some antibacterial properties. One recent study done in a lab (not on people) showed that apple cider vinegar acts on two types of bacteria, but there isn’t any proof that apple cider vinegar can help prevent UTIs.

Urinary tract infections, UTIs, are a common type of infection, especially among women. Most tips about helping prevent UTIs from happening in the first place focus on keeping your genital area as clean and bacteria-free as possible. Home remedies, such as apple cider vinegar and baking soda, aren’t proven to be helpful, but cranberry supplements might be.
 

How do you get a UTI?

Most UTIs are caused by bacteria, although in rare cases, they could be caused by a fungus. The bacteria are around the anus or in the vagina and then move into the urethra and up to the bladder.

How to prevent a UTI after sex

After having sex, it’s important to get up and empty your bladder. This way, the urine that leaves your body will flush out any bacteria that may have been pushed into the urethra during sex.

What can I take daily to prevent UTIs?

Some people swear by taking cranberry supplements to help avoid UTIs, but there aren’t any medications that can do this. If you keep having UTIs, your doctor might suggest a long course of antibiotics (several months) to try to stop the cycle of infections.