Stop playing UTI roulette

Here's the routine. A twinge on Friday evening. You drink a litre of water. You tell yourself it's nothing. You lie awake listening to your own bladder. Saturday it's worse. Your GP is closed. Welcome to UTI roulette.

In our survey, waiting it out was one of the most common strategies. And getting a doctor's appointment in the evening or on weekends was the biggest barrier women named. So we wait, not because we're careless, but because the system is built for weekdays and UTIs clearly aren't.

It's not just pain. It's the sleepless night, the cancelled plans, the meeting where you can't stop thinking about the toilet. It's the low-level stress of never knowing whether this one will turn into a full infection.

Let's be very clear, because this matters: fever, chills, pain in your back or side, feeling sick, or blood in your urine means see a doctor today. Same if you're pregnant. Antibiotics exist for good reasons, and a real infection needs real treatment.

What we want to change is the bit before that. The panicked, helpless waiting. Having a plan, and something on your nightstand, is a lot calmer than crossing your fingers.