A urinary tract infection, or UTI, is an illness that occurs within the urinary system and usually requires antibiotic therapy. It can cause abdominal pain and discomfort and painful urination, and the appearance of blood in the urine. It is critical to have a UTI detected so that treatment can begin as soon as possible.
Sleeping with UTI discomfort is difficult for many people, irritating and making everything worse. That’s where we come in.
Here, we’ll show you how to sleep with UTI discomfort and give tips for treating and preventing UTI discomfort in the future.
What Are The Symptoms?
A UTI is an infection that can arise anywhere in the urinary tract. This can happen in the kidneys, bladder, or urethra.
Each can present with identical symptoms, but several differences can indicate which sort of infection is present.
A kidney infection is characterized by back discomfort or pain on one side of the body, fever with chills and sometimes shaking, nausea, and vomiting.
Bladder infections frequently cause pelvic pressure, pain during urination and frequent urination, pain and discomfort in the belly, and blood in the urine.
The most common symptom of a urethral infection is a burning sensation during urine and discharge.These infections originate when bacteria enter the urinary tract, triggering an immunological response in inflammation.
This causes pain and discomfort and fever, and frequent urine as your body tries to flush the bacteria out of your system. It also generates a stinging sensation, and urine may seem hazy or odorous.
UTIs are more frequent in women than in men, and more than half of all women will have at least one at some point in their lives. This can become a recurring issue for other people, and they may struggle with UTIs for years. As a result, UTIs must be treated as soon as possible to minimize antibiotic resistance.
It might not be easy to obtain a decent night’s sleep when you have a UTI. However, we will show you how to sleep with UTI discomfort in the following eight steps.
The Eight Steps To Take While Sleeping With A UTI
It is beneficial to lessen discomfort and pain when preparing to sleep with a UTI. Because of this, you will have an easier time falling and staying asleep.
That is significant since your body heals the most during sleep. Therefore it is critical to discover strategies to sleep well while dealing with the discomfort of a UTI.
1. Make use of a Hot Water Bottle
A hot water bottle placed on your abdomen can help you sleep better by reducing cramping and pain and the inflammation that causes pain.
While a heating pad may also assist in relieving discomfort, sleeping with a plugged-in heating pad is not recommended because it can be dangerous. On the other hand, a hot water bottle is ideally suited and safe for usage overnight.
If a hot water bottle is not available, any plastic bottle from water, pop, or juice can be filled with hot (not boiling) water and wrapped with a light towel or blanket to protect the skin from burns.
2. Enjoy a Sitz Bath
A sitz bath, a warm bath with baking soda, can help relieve the pain of a UTI before going to bed. Warm water from a bath provides the same comfort as a hot water bottle on a bigger scale and can help alleviate cramping and stomach pain.
A tablespoon of baking soda added to the bathwater will also help alleviate discomfort and pain while eliminating bacteria and any odour caused by the UTI.
3. Avoid alcohol and foods with high acidity.
Avoid anything that can irritate the infection or increase the growth of bacteria to get the most excellent sleep possible.
Avoiding coffee, alcohol, and carbonated drinks can give your body the best chance of fighting the infection because the components in these beverages can aggravate UTI pain.
Chocolate and acidic foods are also likely to enhance urination pain and may even reduce the frequency of pee required to eliminate bacteria from your body. Spicy foods containing tomatoes can also irritate a UTI and make it worse.
4. Consume More Water
Drinking more water can help minimize discomfort by flushing away the illness. Just make sure to limit your intake between dinner and bedtime, so you don’t wake up repeatedly during the night to use the restroom. Of course, this will disrupt sleep.
5. Use Medication Only When Necessary
If muscle spasms stop you from sleeping, some drugs can help minimize spasms and reduce the pain produced by the illness. An over-the-counter pain reliever or fever reducer can be used to alleviate pain and allow you to sleep well.
There are also drugs that can lessen urine frequency, allowing you to sleep through the night without irritating the illness further.
6. Make the most of your sleeping position and environment
Make a pleasant and welcome sleeping environment when preparing for sleep.
This involves utilizing a comfy pillow and blanket to generate the ideal sleeping temperature. Ideally, it would help if you slept at a lower temperature than you did during the day. This will assist the body in relaxing and falling asleep.
If you have back pain, you should select a sleeping position that supports your back and keeps your spine straight since this will lessen your suffering. You can prop up your body correctly with pillows or cushions.
For example, if you sleep on your back, place a pillow beneath your knees to form an abdominal fold. This will assist in alleviating any cramping. This approach may help alleviate lower back discomfort by repositioning the muscles and relieving strain.
7. If possible, sleep near a bathroom.
Sleeping near a bathroom and utilizing a night light for bathroom excursions can help prevent sleep loss caused by bathroom trips. If you need to urinate in the middle of the night, avoid turning on the overhead lights because they will make it more challenging to fall back asleep. Instead, use a nightlight.
8. Wear Loose Sleepwear
When choosing sleepwear, choose items that will not push on your abdomen since this can enhance cramping pain and press down on the inflamed areas, causing even more pain.
Comfortable, loose clothing will help you sleep through the night and provide maximum comfort.
UTI Discomfort Treatment
Any UTI must be treated with oral medicines to destroy the bacteria and eliminate the infection from your body. Antibiotics should be used exactly as prescribed for the prescription duration to ensure that the infection is completely treated and will not reoccur.
Even if the symptoms are gone, stopping medications too soon might cause the illness to resurface and may even help it evolve and develop resistance to antibiotics. While you wait for your doctor’s visit, you can take some steps to alleviate your discomfort.
Increase your water consumption to increase urination, which will help flush out bacteria. This will boost your immune system and reduce bacterial growth. Increased fluid consumption will also enhance your ability to empty your bladder during urine, essential for battling the infection.
What To Avoid And How To Sleep With UTI Discomfort: Pain Relief
As previously stated, applying a heating pad or hot water bottle to your belly might provide relief from cramps and may minimize the burning sensation that happens with urinating. Heat lowers inflammation while relaxing the muscles, which should alleviate pain and suffering.
It is critical to avoid foods and beverages that promote inflammation or pain. Coffee and other caffeinated beverages and foods high in added sugar should be limited or avoided entirely.
Spicy meals can also irritate the urinary tract, increasing pain and decreasing blood flow to the bladder. This reduces your immune system’s ability to combat the infection and restricts the supply of nutrients to the location.
In the presence of UTI symptoms, Vitamin C should be avoided or limited since the acidity increase from eating Vitamin C might cause pain to escalate. However, Vitamin C can help prevent UTIs from forming in the first place. So, once the UTI has cleaned up, make sure you’re getting enough Vitamin C in your diet.
Prevention Of UTI Discomfort While Sleeping
Even if you are prone to UTIs, there are some things you can do to avoid them. One of the first things you should do is boost your water consumption and keep your body hydrated. This will encourage urination at least every few hours, which will help flush out bacteria before they multiply and develop an infection.
Clear fluids other than water, such as coconut water, are also healthy, as are foods high in water content, such as watermelon, cucumber, and other melons. Cranberry juice has been demonstrated to help reduce urinary tract infections by increasing urine acidity.
This then inhibits bacteria from taking hold and multiplying. Because adding sugars can aggravate the problem, unsweetened cranberry juice is the best option. While cranberry juice will not prevent all infections, it will not make them worse and can provide another option to help avoid them.
Vitamin C operates on the same principle, delivering nutrients and a vitamin recognized to help improve the immune system. Supplementing will keep your body healthy, making your urine more acidic, and preventing bacteria from settling and multiplying.
While antibiotics are helpful for many conditions, they should only be used when absolutely necessary and in accordance with the instructions provided. Antibiotic resistance can develop from overuse or misuse, preventing them from operating as intended.
Including probiotics in your diet can help replenish the healthy bacteria that drugs kill and aid in avoiding future sickness.
Final Considerations
A urinary tract infection can affect anyone, but women are more likely to be affected than males.
More than fifty percent of all women will suffer from a urinary tract infection (UTI) at some point in their lives, it is a fairly common event, and there are numerous ways to alleviate the discomfort while still getting a good night’s sleep.
Over-the-counter pain relievers may help lessen cramping and discomfort while you wait for therapy or antibiotics to start working.
A hot water bottle can help reduce inflammation and make sleeping with a UTI more comfortable. While ensuring that your bladder is empty before bed can help you sleep by preventing frequent waking from urinating during the night. Nevertheless, it is critical to drink more water and fluids throughout the day and urinate as needed. This will aid in the removal of microorganisms from your body and hasten your recovery.
Antibiotics are required to cure a UTI and must be taken exactly as directed. Antibiotic misuse can lead to antibiotic resistance, making subsequent infections more challenging to treat.
Prevention is still the most effective strategy to reduce UTIs, and there are various things you can do to avoid future infections. A UTI can be avoided by drinking water and other fluids, taking vitamin C, and drinking cranberry juice.