Recurring urinary tract infections (UTIs) are rare in healthy men. Though one out of five women will develop a UTI at some point in her life, most men will never have a UTI. In fact, only 20 percent of diagnosed UTIs occur in men. If you found yourself in the “unlucky 20%” of men, make sure to check out these two posts:

• Interview with a prominent urologist Dr. Turek: UTI in men are complicated
• 25 UTI causes you must know

Once you are over the hump, follow these 3 tips to prevent new infections:

How to prevent UTI in men?

This is how to manage your UTI risk factors:

1: Check your general health

Here are several health conditions that increase the chances of UTI in men:

• An enlarged prostate gland
• Kidney stones
• Diabetes
• Bladder catheter insertion
• Any health condition that affects the immune system

Therefore, if you are experiencing recurring urinary tract infections, make sure to check if you have any of the above conditions since your UTI could be a symptom of a more serious health issue.

2: Be careful with sex

Did you know that E. coli bacteria (that cause 90% of all UTIs) can travel from one person to another? They are just bacteria, after all, they do not care which body they invade. Therefore if you are engaging in unprotected sex with males or females, you might be welcoming your partner’s E. coli in your own urethra. Depending on your overall health, habits and the concentration of E. coli in your partner’s body parts you may or may not be able to flush the invading bacteria out. And if E. coli make their way up to the bladder you are likely to develop a UTI.

Solution?

• Vaginal unprotected sex? Advise your woman to drink a round of probiotics so she doesn’t breed E. coli in her vagina. It’s a win-win for both of you! I recommend RepHresh Pro-B Probiotic as my favorite product on the market.
• Anal sex? Well, you should probably use a condom. Also, you could try different probiotics to reduce the number of E. coli in your partner’s gut and make sure your partner is treating their constipation.
• Vaginal sex after anal play? Bad idea! Unless you are washing up and putting a new condom the risk of spreading E. coli is too high. Still, an overall healthy male might be able to avoid the risk, just make sure to urinate right after the intercourse.

3: Keep E. coli numbers in check

Several studies have demonstrated the efficacy of certain strains of probiotics to reduce the number of E. coli in the human gut. Some of them can adhere to E. coli to immobilize and help you to get rid of them. Others stick to the lining of your gut providing a natural barrier and reducing E.colis’ ability to stick to the lining.  These probiotics are also known to increase immune function and to act as natural antibiotics to kill undesirable microbes.

The following strains have been investigated and proved to reduce the number of E. coli:

• Lactobacillus acidophilus Bar13, L. plantarum Bar10
• Lactobacillus rhamnosus LR06 (DSM 21981)
• Bifidobacterium longum Bar33 and B. lactis Bar30
• Lactobacillus pentosus LPS01 (DSM 21980)
• Saccharomyces Boulardii (S. boulardii)
• Lactobacillus plantarum LP01 (LMG P-21021)
• Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. delbrueckii LDD01 (DSM 22106)

Hyperbiotics PRO-15  is a good product to help you to keep your E. coli population under control. Read my post “Probiotics: what do you need to know” to understand how to choose the right probiotics.

Bottom line, if you are a guy you need to do the following to prevent UTIs:

• Stay healthy
• Keep it clean
• Take probiotics

You could also try D-mannose to prevent E. coli sticking to your bladder lining if you have any health conditions that make you prone to frequent UTIs.

And there are plenty of Herbal remedies and Bladder supplements you could include in your UTI prevention routine.