Recent Blog Articles

How good is your cardiometabolic health — and what is that, anyway?

Poison ivy: Scratchin’ like a hound?

Poison ivy: Scratchin’ like a hound?

Apps to accelerometers: Can technology improve mental health in older adults?

Opioid addiction and overdoses are increasingly harming Black communities

New Harvard tool helps fact-check cancer claims

Hand pain from arthritis? This may help

Polio: What parents need to know now

Ketamine for treatment-resistant depression: When and where is it safe?

Have lupus? What to know about birth control
Staying Healthy
Can we prevent urinary tract infections?
- By Heidi Godman, Executive Editor, Harvard Health Letter
These are the steps to take when you’re trying to ward off UTIs.
If you haven’t experienced a urinary tract infection (UTI) before, take note: while the infections are uncommon in older men, they can be common in older women, occurring in 10% of women ages 65 or older, and in 30% of women ages 85 or older. For up to a third of women who have a UTI, the infection comes back within six months.
"E. coli bacteria [which live in the intestines] cause approximately 80% of all recurrent UTIs and continue generating microbe strains that are resistant to antibiotics. The ability of the bacteria to stick to the urinary tract can sometimes make them very difficult to eliminate," says Edward Doherty, who spent 10 years working on potential vaccines for recurrent UTI and other conditions at Harvard’s Wyss Institute and is now CEO and co-founder of vaccine maker Attivare Therapeutics.
To continue reading this article, you must log in.
Subscribe to Harvard Health Online for immediate access to health news and information from Harvard Medical School.
- Research health conditions
- Check your symptoms
- Prepare for a doctor's visit or test
- Find the best treatments and procedures for you
- Explore options for better nutrition and exercise
I'd like to receive access to Harvard Health Online for only $4.99 a month.
Sign Me UpAlready a member? Login ».
Disclaimer:
As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.
No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
You might also be interested in…

A Guide to Women's Health: Fifty and forward
Midlife can be a woman’s halftime celebration. Not only can it be an opportunity to reflect on and rejoice in the life you’ve lived, but it is also a good time to plan your strategy for the future. A Guide to Women's Health: Fifty and forward will help you determine the conditions for which you are at greatest risk and do your best to avoid them. It will also help you to better manage chronic conditions that may erode your quality of life, and to deal with physical changes that are more bothersome than serious. It is designed to give you the information to make the choices today that will ensure you the best health possible tomorrow.
Free Healthbeat Signup
Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox!