Posted 4/28/2009 8:36 PM (GMT 0)
I started having frequent UTI's 2 years before I was even diagnosed with Crohn's so it wasn't drug-related for me. Usually about 4 a year. I took so many antibiotics for these UTI's my straight hair became curly!
I just didn't understand why I was having so many. I'd been Dx with IBS at the time so I KNEW I was having loose BM's but that didn't trigger anything in my brain and connect it with UTI's. So my cousin (a NP) one day said he thought I wasn't wiping good enough. I was offended! He also asked if I took a lot of baths but I didn't so...
...I got to thinking about what he said. I do now think my UTI's were from loose BM's that were hard to "clean up" completely and because of splash-backs from the toilet. Just a minimal amount of stool getting into the urinary tract can cause UTI's and I really do think that was the case with me.
I use A LOT of TP now and really, really, really WIPE, WIPE, WIPE and WIPE again until I'm almost raw and no stool shows at all! And if the D is really bad, I'll take a shower. And if I have splash-back issue, I'll take a shower, too! Since I started doing that, I haven't had a UTI in quite some time.