For those of you who have experienced urinary tract infections, the discomfort caused is certainly no longer a foreign experience. One of the biggest discomforts that people with urinary tract infections often experience is the urge to urinate that cannot be suppressed at night. In fact, this moment is the time the body needs the most to rest and recover! The best way to deal with this disorder is to treat the underlying infection, namely by taking natural or medical medicines to suppress the symptoms of the infection. If the urge to urinate keeps you up at night, try wearing pads to bed and ask your doctor for recommendations for appropriate medications.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Managing the Symptoms of a Urinary Tract Infection at Night
Step 1. See a doctor to treat the underlying infection
Appropriate medical treatment methods can instantly treat many of the symptoms that accompany urinary tract infections, including an uncontrollable urge to urinate at night. Therefore, if you feel you have a urinary tract infection, immediately consult a doctor! Most likely, the doctor will take a urine sample to confirm or rule out infection. After that, don't forget to take antibiotics or other medicines that are prescribed for you, okay!
- Although it really depends on the type and severity of the infection, you may need to take antibiotics for a week or more. However, your body may start to feel better in just a few days.
- Remember, antibiotics must be finished, even if you feel better before the medicine wears off. Taking antibiotics at the right dose can prevent the infection from reoccurring or getting worse in the future.
Step 2. Ask your doctor for recommendations for drugs that can relieve tension in the bladder
To the doctor, explain that the infection that occurs makes you always want to urinate at night and it is difficult to sleep. After that, the doctor will most likely prescribe a doctor to relieve the pain that appears and reduce the frequency of urination so that you can maintain the quality of your sleep.
- Consult the possibility of taking over-the-counter drugs such as phenazopyridine or Azo-Standard with your doctor. Both can help relieve tension in the bladder, as well as the intense pain and uncontrollable urge to urinate that accompanies urinary tract infections. These medications have minimal side effects and work effectively for most people, but will make your urine turn red or orange after a while.
- Remember, even if they can relieve symptoms, they will not cure the underlying infection.
Step 3. Limit fluid intake at night
Drinking too much before bed can increase the urge to urinate at night! Therefore, you should limit fluid intake in the period after eating and before bedtime, especially fluids that can trigger urine production, such as caffeinated or alcoholic beverages.
Hydrating the body is something that must be done while the infection is ongoing. Therefore, do not limit the intake of fluids that enter throughout the day! In particular, try to drink as much as possible in the morning, even from the start of your day
Step 4. Avoid foods and drinks that can irritate the bladder
When the urinary tract is inflamed, you should avoid foods and drinks that can make the condition worse, especially just before you go to bed. Some of them are:
- Caffeinated and carbonated drinks
- Alcohol
- Sour fruits, especially citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, and grapefruits, along with their juices
- Tomatoes and their derivatives
- Spicy food
- Chocolate
Step 5. Do a sitz bath or soak the buttocks and genital area in warm salt water to relieve pain that appears
First of all, you need to first fill the bath with warm water. After that, you can pour the unscented Epsom salt into it, if you want. Then, soak in the solution for 15-20 minutes, right before going to bed at night. Supposedly, this method is effective in relieving the pain and discomfort that arises due to infection.
Don't add accessories like bath bombs, bubble baths, or scented bath salts. Such products can further aggravate the condition of the infection
Step 6. Relieve pain at night with a bottle of hot water
If the pain from the infection keeps you awake at night, try to relieve it by compressing the lower abdominal area with a hot water bottle. Don't forget to wrap the bottle in a towel so the extremely hot temperatures don't risk burning or injuring your skin.
- While warm compresses are a good pain relief option to use while you're awake, using them while sleeping can be dangerous! Be careful, unsupervised use of warm compresses can cause a fire or even burn your skin.
- Consult the possibility of taking over-the-counter pain relievers, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Motrin) to increase your comfort while you have an infection.
Method 2 of 2: Dealing with Trouble Holding the Need to Urinate at Night
Step 1. Try to urinate twice at the same time to fully empty your bladder before going to bed
Because the infection that occurs makes it difficult for you to urinate optimally, various negative risks such as urinating too often, wetting the bed, or even increasing stress levels are prone to occur. To fix this, just before going to bed at night, sit on the toilet and try to empty your bladder as much as possible. After that, stay on the toilet for 30 seconds to a minute, and try to urinate again to get the rest out.
While sitting on the toilet, try to lean forward slightly and place your palms on your thighs or knees. This position will help you to empty your bladder more optimally
Step 2. Make a scheduled voiding plan at night
The trick, try setting an alarm to wake you up every 2-4 hours to urinate in the bathroom. In this way, the bladder will not be too full so that the risk of wetting the bed or in a hurry to urinate will be reduced.
Try setting an alarm at a different time each night. That way, your bladder won't get used to waking you up at a specific time each night to urinate
Step 3. Wear pads at night to prevent urine from soaking your bed
If a urinary tract infection forces you to “wet the bed” at night, having to urinate regularly in the bathroom will certainly interfere with your quality of sleep. That's why, it's best to wear pads to collect urine that comes out without permission when sleeping at night.
- Pants with good fluid absorption ability are also a good option. In particular, these special pants are designed to prevent fluid from leaking like diapers for adults.
- Instead, wear cotton underwear that allows the skin to breathe better.
Step 4. Ask your doctor for medication recommendations to control the urge to urinate at night
Doctors can actually prescribe medication to control the urge to urinate while curing the infection. Try asking for a drug recommendation that best suits your condition, yes!
- The options commonly prescribed by doctors are anticholinergic drugs, drugs to relax the bladder such as mirabegron, and alpha-blocking drugs.
- Discuss the possibility of taking fesoterodine with your doctor. In general, fesoterodine is a drug that has been shown to suppress the urge to urinate due to infection at night, as well as to improve overall sleep quality.
Tips
- Drink as much fluids as possible to flush bacteria out of your system and speed up the recovery process.
- Don't hold back the urge to urinate! These behaviors will only make your symptoms worse and slow down your recovery process. In addition, make sure you also always urinate after sexual intercourse.
- Consuming cranberry juice can help improve urinary tract health.
- If the urge to urinate at night is preventing your body from getting enough rest, try taking time to take a nap. Remember, the body needs to get enough rest to fight infection and recover faster.
