Women Are Calling Out Doctors Who Don't Take Their UTIs Seriously
Many women are sharing their frustrations about how doctors have handled UTIs
If you have a bladder and a urethra, you’re capable of contracting a urinary tract infection. If you have a vagina, bladder, and urethra — congratulations, you’ve just hit the Trash Trifecta. Because there probably isn’t a woman on earth who hasn’t endured the misery of a UTI. Regularly.
And since they’re so common in women, plenty of us feel like doctors just don’t take our pain seriously. Which, as plenty of women online will tell you, is complete bullshit.
Twitter user @floozyesq recently expressed her frustrations in a humorous tweet that quickly received a ton of responses from women who are so tired of doctors dismissing their infected urinary tracts.
“We need a Disney princess with chronic UTIs who goes to the doctor and the doctor tells her to always pee after sex and the princess says she’s already doing that and the doctor says, ‘well that’s all the advice I have.'”
Ah, sometimes the saddest and truest things are the funniest. But in all seriousness, how is that still the only piece of “advice” doctors have about preventing UTIs?
YES. THIS. I had my first UTI long before I was sexually active. And when I was on the birth control pill all throughout my late teens and twenties, I had UTIs all the damn time. Twice, I had to go to the ER because they turned into excruciatingly painful kidney infections. I swear to God, I could make myself pee for 36 hours straight after sex and still get one, so WTF?
https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/979036182515474434
I practically bonged cranberry juice when I was too young to know any better, and you know what it did for me? The acidity in it gave me a cluster of fucking mouth ulcers. And probably eroded an entire layer of my tooth enamel. THAT’S IT. THAT’S LITERALLY ALL IT’S GOOD FOR.
https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/979207096498442240
That’s another thing: we know when we have a UTI. I assure you, none of us are over here like “man I could really go for some pointless amoxicillin right now.” Please don’t make us waste a trip to the urgent care waiting room.
My two-year-old already knows that wiping back to front could make her “peeper” hurt. Because I’ve drilled it into her head. BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN DRILLED INTO HER MOM’S HEAD FOR THREE DECADES.
Dismissing a woman’s concern over anything health-related is reprehensible. Especially because painful bladder symptoms could mean there’s a different bladder issue — like interstitial cystitis — or something far more serious going on.
If you feel like you’re not being taken seriously, or your physician isn’t addressing your concerns in a satisfactory way –get a new doctor. Don’t be afraid go full Disney princess and advocate for yourself — because neither your doctor or Prince Charming are gonna do it for you.
