A few weeks ago, I met Jenna Ryan, a wellness advocate and entrepreneur who had such a relevant and poignant story, I asked her if she could share it here with me and my community. She gracefully agreed and here’s the post she wrote for us…

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Sometimes you’re doing everything right, and you’re still getting slammed with UTI after UTI. Uqora’s CEO and co-founder Jenna Ryan explains how she  their pink lemonade with a purpose gives you the defense against UTIs, and outlines the daily habits that minimize your risk.

In 2014, I had eight UTIs. I’ve always been susceptible to UTIs, but I had averaged two per year up until that point. This was a new record. My physicians couldn’t explain the sudden onslaught, nor could they craft a better preventive regime than daily antibiotics. Although antibiotics did work for prevention, with antibiotics came yeast infections and other pesky side effects. Plus, there was also the risk of antibiotic resistance with long-term use, which is a risk I refused to take.

For me, the cause of my UTIs was fairly obvious; that familiar tinge would sometimes come an hour after sex or sometimes take days to rear its ugly little UTI head. Either way, my ability to sit back and enjoy an après-sex cuddle pretty much disappeared. Instead, I was immediately sprinting to the bathroom, beating myself up if I couldn’t manage to squeeze the tiniest amount of urine out. Often times I would just immediately jump in the shower.

This isn’t a new and unusual story by any means. UTIs are the second most common infection in the United States, impacting millions of women like me. It’s also been shown to share links with UI. Despite its prevalence, UTI prevention options have not been up to snuff. My own prevention pursuit led me down dead-end, antibiotic-filled paths, with tired, useless cranberry products at every turn.

As a result of my UTI apocalypse, I teamed up with a team of top urologists and physicians to develop Uqora—a pink lemonade with a purpose. You can mix Uqora with a glass of water to flush UTI-causing bacteria after sex, exercise, or every day.

Uqora works in three key ways:

1. Prevents bacteria from sticking to your urinary tract, keeping an infection from taking hold in the first place.
2. Stimulates urine production so you don’t have to sit on the toilet for 20 minutes struggling to squeeze out a drop and tell yourself you’ve done your post-sex duty.
3. Bolsters your immune system function with vitamins and electrolytes to give your body the boost it needs to fend off infections.

What can you do to prevent UTIs?

Often with UTI prevention, there is no silver bullet. Uqora has been a game changer for me and our customers, but it’s important to cover all your bases.

Below I’ve outlined the habits that are key to avoiding UTIs day in and day out.

1. Treat your water bottle like your phone—don’t leave your house without it

Fluid helps move things through the urinary tract, but it also dilutes the urine so bacteria can’t grow, so get serious about staying hydrated.

2. Wipe from front to back
3. Coli is responsible for 90 percent of UTIs. Wiping from front to back instead back to front ensures that you aren’t helping harmful bacteria to migrate from your rectum to your urinary tract.
4. Urinate after sex

Try your best to urinate after sex, which will help flush out any bacteria that may have migrated from the vagina to the urethra during sex.

4. Let her breathe!

Wet bathing suits, tight pants, and sweaty gym clothes trap moisture which harbors bacteria. If you are prone to UTIs, change right after your workout or beach day.

5. Ditch the douche

As if there aren’t enough reasons to keep douches far away from your vagina, they also kill the good bacteria (lactobacillus) you need to combat a UTI.

6. Avoid holding your pee for prolonged amounts of time

This might be a moot point with the UI crowd, but holding your urine for a long time allows bacteria to multiply in the urinary tract, resulting in a bladder infection or UTI. Don’t wait until it’s an emergency.

What about antibiotics?

Although antibiotics are likely to be effective in the short term, continuing to use them can have a serious, long-term impact on your health. If you suffer from recurrent UTIs you may build a tolerance to antibiotics. Also consider the short-term side effects like nausea, diarrhea or opportunistic infections like yeast infections. You can talk to your doctor about preventative (prophylactic) antibiotic use—but do consider the long-term implications first.  

Despite your best efforts, sometimes UTIs can be out of your control—some people just have a higher propensity toward UTIs. This can be a result of hormonal changes, anatomy, pregnancy, conditions like diabetes, or yes, UI. If you’re in that camp—doing everything right but still suffering from UTI after UTI—then check out www.uqora.com.

— Jenna Ryan, CEO and co-founder of Uqora