So, you just saw a doctor about the pain and burning you experience when peeing and were diagnosed with a urinary tract infection (UTI). Most likely, after testing a urine sample to figure out which bacteria has caused the UTI, your doctor will or already has given you a prescription for antibiotics. How long your antibiotics treatment will be depends upon how serious your UTI is. A mild simple UTI may require 2-3 days of antibiotics, but it can go as long as seven days, and complicated UTI may call for a two-week treatment. To ensure that all the bacteria are killed, it’s important that you follow the instructions of your doctor and take the antibiotics as long as prescribed for.
Urinary tract bacterial resistance against common types of antibiotics has become a serious healthcare problem in recent years. For example, Bactrim, which is a combo antibiotic consisting of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole, has been found to be ineffective in about 1/3 of UTI treatments. Therefore, your doctor will first test your urine to determine which bacteria we’re dealing with and pick the appropriate antibiotic. However, if after 2-3 days of taking antibiotics you haven’t yet noticed any improvements of UTI symptoms, see your doctor again, because the medication you are using might be ineffective. A different antibiotic drug may be required.
There are several things you can do to facilitate the work of the antibiotics and speed up your recovery. They are listed below. In fact, you should even pay attention to these things after stopping the antibiotic treatment and continue doing them for up to two weeks. This will help your still vulnerable bladder and urethra recover faster.
Again, if you don’t notice any improvement within 2-3 days go to see your doctor again. In the rare event that things get worse rather than better, see your doctor right away or go to the ER. This is because a worsening condition, especially when accompanied by nausea, back pain, high fever and chills, could be the UTI infecting your kidneys. This is a life-threatening condition and requires immediate medical attention.