UTI + International Beer Fest: Yay or Nay?

June 18, 2010 3:56 PM

I'm 99% sure I've got a UTI (had one before, have all the same symptoms now), but I can't see my doctor until Monday. I'm not on antibiotics. Is it a horrible idea for me to drink copious amounts of beer tomorrow?

I've searched past questions and used my Google-fu, but I'm still not sure what the best course of action would be. My gut tells me that it's perhaps not the best idea to drink a lot of beer with a UTI, but I've found nothing to back that up. Aaaand...I've been looking forward to this event for months. Over 200 kinds of beer, from all over the world, many of which are difficult to find and purchase locally. My ultimate goal, though, is not to have my UTI spread to my kidneys. Am I being paranoid, or would it be a good choice to skip Beer Fest?

posted by pecanpies to Health & Fitness (26 answers total)

I'm prone to them, unfortunately, and mine have a way of progressing very fast to my kidneys. So personally, I would not mess around. Not sure where you are located, but CVS minuteclinics and the like handle this sort of thing very quickly and efficiently.
posted by smalls at 4:03 PM on June 18, 2010

I am not a doctor.

You will be peeing a lot, probably, and that will probably hurt, but if you're drunk enough you may not notice or care. It may help flush things out, though. Having a lot of water go through the system might discourage the infection from migrating up into the kidneys. Just don't try to hold it!

Drink a lot of cranberry juice between now and the beerfest.

Is there an urgent care you can go to? You can probably get a scrip for cephalexin pretty easily. Most health insurers will cover an urgent care visit at least partially.
posted by kindall at 4:04 PM on June 18, 2010

Yes. I had a low-grade, hardly noticeable UTI five years ago, knocked back too much tequila with friends one night and ended up in the hospital with nephritis the next day. It is the sickest I have ever been and it took me weeks to recover with antibiotics and probiotic yogurts and only Tylenol and ibuprofen for pain relief. It sucked. It hurt to walk for a week, and I've hardly touched anything stronger than a single glass of red wine for five years as a result.

If you're going to do it anyway, I recommend starting on some acidophilus pills or probiotic yogurts right now, finding some uva ursi and unsweetened cranberry juice, drinking sufficient water (not too much and not too little) and seriously pacing yourself tomorrow, with periodic breaks for water and probiotics. Still, it probably won't help much and you could be seriously hurting by Sunday.
posted by annathea at 4:08 PM on June 18, 2010

IANAD. But In my experience, the best short term solution is to flush the plumbing through with copious amounts of urine. Beer will obviously help in this regard, as will water. But when beer is involved you must (must, must, must, must, must) ensure you keep hydrated, Perhaps a pint of water between each pint of beer. Bear in mind you will be taking frequent trips to the bathroom.

Obviously, get it checked out as soon as you can by a doctor.
posted by TheOtherGuy at 4:09 PM on June 18, 2010

Best answer: Alcohol suppresses the immune system so drinking while you have an infection is never a great idea. Even if you get antibiotics this doesn't change things much, the infection won't be gone by tomorrow and your body needs it's own immune function to help the antibiotics.

I'd be weighing up information like how fast can such an infection spread? How dangerous is it if that happens? Are their symptoms I can track to make sure I get treatment faster if necessary if the infection does spread? Basically assume worse case scenario (infection will get worse faster drinking than not drinking) and look at the risk from there. Note that I know nothing about UTIs specicfically so have no idea if it's something that will be mildly inconvenient or deadly, and if you're unsure probably assume worse case there too to be safe.
posted by shelleycat at 4:12 PM on June 18, 2010

Just adding my voice to those who are saying that, in their experience, drinking on top of a UTI is a terrible idea and one they've deeply, deeply regretted (and I only had 2 beers, with lots of water and cranberry pills, no more.) However, YMMV, just be absolutely SURE you can see your doctor Monday and get on antibiotics right away.
posted by WidgetAlley at 4:16 PM on June 18, 2010

I definitely agree with the recommendation to see if you can't get in to get some antibiotics sooner.
posted by Zophi at 4:19 PM on June 18, 2010

Best answer: I don't understand why you can't go to an urgent care clinic now and get started on antibiotics. Even without insurance it would be relatively inexpensive. The misery of a worsening UTI is just not worth it.
posted by SLC Mom at 4:27 PM on June 18, 2010 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Yeah, I drank on top of a UTI and managed to nudge the infection up towards my kidneys. Ended up in the fetal position on my front porch throwing up with a temp of 103, had to call 911, suffered the indignity of a very angry Sikh ER doc waving my urine sample in my face and going "WHAT IS THIS! THIS IS NOT URINE IT IS PUS!" before throwing me some Vicodin and serious antibiotics.

Not recommended. Hit the MinuteClinic or your favorite local urgent care.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 4:29 PM on June 18, 2010 [6 favorites]

Response by poster: All right, I'm glad I asked. I'm headed to the urgent care center right now. I called, and fortunately they're open for another hour and a half.

I may still go to the beer fest, but just to spend time with friends. Ticket's already bought & paid for, so may as well go for the atmosphere. Thankfully I've got friends & a partner who won't pressure me into drinking, and will probably in fact scold me if I take more than a sip or two.

Thanks everyone. There'll be another beer fest, but I only have 2 kidneys, and I'd like to keep them as healthy as possible!
posted by pecanpies at 4:40 PM on June 18, 2010 [2 favorites]

Seconding urgent care. When you tell them you have a UTI it's not like they're going to say "prove it." If you're able to describe the symptoms, that's usually good enough. Hell, I had a UTI in the middle of a hurricane event and I couldn't see my doctor because I was stuck at work for 36 hours. He was happy to phone in a scrip for me.
posted by contessa at 4:43 PM on June 18, 2010

I have staved off UTIs, sans antibiotics, by drinking copious amounts of lemon juice (no sweetener), cream of tartar dissolved in water, and downing cranberry pills like they're going out of style. Think a bottle a day.
posted by Anonymous at 4:50 PM on June 18, 2010

If I was you I'd ask the urgent care doc too. The chances are really high they'll tell you not to drink, but sometimes it's helpful to have that outside professional validation. It would make it easier for me to enjoy the beer fest, not drinking, if I could say "well the Dr told me not to". I hope you get better soon.
posted by shelleycat at 4:52 PM on June 18, 2010

Best answer: Also, see if you might be able to switch your ticket to a "designated driver" one since you won't be drinking anyway. I know this exists at some beerfests, at least, and since it doesn't cover alcohol, it's a nominal entrance fee and your money won't be wasted.
posted by emumimic at 5:38 PM on June 18, 2010

Pure cranberry juice (100%) is always key, whether or not you decide to imbibe anything else. (Plus, it's quite an experience to drink; if you aren't going to get the beer experience, might as well get another one!)
posted by nat at 6:00 PM on June 18, 2010

Response by poster: Just got back from the urgent care center, Rx in hand. I asked the doc, and he said definitely do not drink alcohol (or tea, interestingly enough).

I've found another friend to buy my beer fest ticket, and I'll be buying a designated driver one instead.

All is well in the land of the green! Thank you, everyone.
posted by pecanpies at 6:30 PM on June 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

Glad it sounds like you've resolved it. But should you have a UTI again and urgent care isn't open, there are also a couple of OTC drugs that have helped me (in addition to tons of water and cranberry pills). I think one was called Cystex, but a google for UTI OTC should find some. At any rate, if a doctor isn't immediately feasible, starting to fight it with those OTC meds can help!

And glad you're able to swap your ticket - win for health and designated drivers.
posted by ldthomps at 7:06 PM on June 18, 2010

No tea because of caffeine--which is a diuretic. Alcohol and antibiotics are never a good combo.
posted by 6:1 at 7:31 PM on June 18, 2010

Cranberry juice does not treat UTIs, it prevents them. Proanthocyanidins in cranberries prevent the attachment of bacteria to the walls of the urinary tract. Once they're attached, proanthocyanidins don't do anything to remove them.
posted by emilyd22222 at 7:55 PM on June 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

Alcohol can dehydrate you, and that's the LAST thing you want when you have a UTI!

Follow your doctor's orders.
posted by Lizsterr at 10:48 PM on June 18, 2010

Next time you get a UTI go to a healthfood store and buy some grapefruit seed extract. Put a few drops in some water and you'll be better in no time.
posted by pick_the_flowers at 12:11 AM on June 19, 2010

A UTI calls for drinking lost of fluids. Alcohol is irritating to the urinary tract, so it's not a great idea, but unlikely to cause complications. I always found that vitamin C and cranberry juice helped deal w/ the symptoms, and will certainly not cause any problems.

Do you have a doctor? Call her. You'll get a call back from somebody with far better credentials than mine, or most of the ones in this thread. Not that we aren't all brilliant.
posted by theora55 at 12:26 PM on June 19, 2010

Best answer: Alcohol is irritating to the urinary tract, so it's not a great idea, but unlikely to cause complications.

Except for, you know, suppressing her immune system. Somewhat important when a person has an infection (and scientifically proven unlike all the home remedies now appearing in this thread). pecanpies has been to the Doctor now, this has been taken care of.
posted by shelleycat at 2:20 PM on June 19, 2010

One time I was in the weekend UTI situation and drank a whole bottle of cranberry juice concentrate. Disgusting. They really dress that stuff up for Ocean Spray.

It didn't work. I got a kidney infection. I wish I had gone to urgent care.
posted by melissam at 8:24 AM on June 20, 2010

UTIs can be nasty, nasty things--I had to run to the emergency room in the middle of the night a few years ago because I couldn't take the pain of a UTI anymore. I'm glad you're getting some help, pecanpies.

I talked to my doctor about ways to prevent UTIs and he said that I could try the cranberry pills or juice, but that nobody knows what the right dose is. I tried the pills for a while, but they didn't seem to do much for me. What helps me is just drinking lots of water and taking a vitamin C pill every day (another rec from my doctor).
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 5:54 PM on June 20, 2010

The tragedy of this thread is that if you were talking about the San Diego International Beer Festival, there's a low chance that you would have actually drunk "copious amounts of alcohol." I went; beer was dispensed only in 1-ounce pours which you had to ask for individually. Beer wasn't available for purchase by the bottle unless you went out into the fair and drank fair beer (which is poor beer). By the end of the afternoon, I probably managed to get fewer than 50 samples over several hours, which works out to about four bottles. Most of it was delicious, and I learned a lot about beer. I'd even call it beer heaven, but it wasn't an event for sucking down gallons of booze.
posted by lostburner at 4:09 PM on July 13, 2010