Much unlike many a magazine editor who recommends you buy all sorts of crap that they most likely got for free, your Jezebel staff doesn't get jack shit (other than books, unsolicited). And that's how it should be. But on our own time, in our personal lives, we still buy stuff. So this is Worth It, our daily recommendation of random things that we've actually spent our own money on. These are the things we buy regularly or really like, things we'd actually tell our friends about. And now we're telling you.
I get UTIs a lot. I don't drink enough water (which is really dumb, and I'm working on it, I swear); as a result, I often suffer from the horrible, my-body-will-never-be-right-again pain that anyone who has ever suffered a UTI knows about. I really am getting better — I drink cranberry juice and take cranberry tablets and keep water at my desk and pee after every single time I have sex because if I skip even just once for a post-coital cuddle, I get hit. And while my UTIs are definitely less frequent, they still happen occasionally. And they still suck.
Then my mother came across Azo Extra Strength Tablets. Because she is a good mother, she benevolently shared them with me. And oh, sweet lord, are these miracle pills. When I feel that old familiar feeling, I take the two pills, and within 30 minutes the terrible, burning, have-to-pee-all-the-time-but-nothing-will-come-out sensation subsides, and I can drink loads of water and "power it out." Granted, it turns your pee fluorescent orange for about 24 hours (which can be an early-morning shock if you forgot you took one before going to bed), but it's a good indicator of when the Azo has left your system. Azo suggests that you take two tablets three times a day for no more than two days — in my experience, if I take two pills twice over 24 hours I can get rid of the problem.
Now, I have to stress that I take these pills this when I feel the very first traces of discomfort, well before the issue becomes a full-fledged infection, as per the suggestion of my doctor. (I've gotten very sensitive to the early sensations of things going awry, which is a side effect of having the problem so often.) That said, if you have a UTI you should definitely see a healthcare professional and antibiotic up to keep it from turning into something more serious, like a kidney infection. But Azo is a great way to control the discomfort while you're waiting to get to the doctor, or for the antibiotic to kick in.
It should be noted that I am by no stretch of the imagination a person of medical or scientific knowledge. However! I am a woman who has had her fair share of UTI-induced misery. If you, like me, are a frequent sufferer and can feel the fuckers from the onset, Azo may be a helpful preventative measure or, at the very least, offer a modicum of relief.
Azo Standard Max Strength Tablets, $8.99 at Drugstore.com.
Worth It only features things we paid for ourselves and actually like. Don't send us stuff.