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Barb DePree, MD, NCMP,MMM

Director of the Women's Midlife Services at Holland Hospital

Holland, MI

Dr. Barb DePree, a gynecologist in practice for over 30 years, specializes in midlife women's health. She is certified through the North American Menopause Society as a provider, and was named the 2013 NAMS Certified Menopause Provider of the year. Dr. DePree currently serves as the director of the Women’s Midlife Services at Holland Hospital, Holland, Michigan. In 2018, she completed a certification in Genetic Cancer Risk Assessment.

A member of NAMS, ACOG and ISSWSH, Dr. DePree has been a presenter for the ACOG CME audio program. She has served as a key opinion leader for Shionogi, AMAG, Duchesnay, Valeant, Wyeth and Astellas leading physician education, and participating in research projects and advisory panels.

Finding that products helpful to her patients’ sexual health were not readily available, Dr. DePree founded MiddlesexMD.com that shares practice-tested, clinically sound information and products, including guidance for working with partners and caregivers. Dr. DePree publishes regularly on her own blog, providing updates on research in women’s sexual health, as well as observations and advice based on her work with women in her practice. Sharecare named her as a Top 10 Social Healthmaker for Menopause in September of 2013. In 2017, she was named among the “Top 10 Best Menopause Blogs” by Medical News Today. Dr. DePree also publishes podcast interviews on women in midlife, exploring the ways they have made the transition in their lives and careers.

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UTIs in the News, and It's Not Good
iStock.com/vitapix

UTIs in the News, and It's Not Good

With urinary tract infections—or UTIs—becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, it's important to know how to prevent them.

Your Body

Recently the New York Timesreported on how antibiotics are becoming less effective at treating urinary tract infections (UTIs), which it calls "the single biggest risk to healthy people from drug-resistant germs." It's disconcerting to know that the frontline defense against UTIs is crumbling. When they don't respond to treatment, UTIs can turn into serious conditions, like kidney infections.

The piece made me think it's a good time to revisit the topic of avoiding UTIs altogether. Because of the way we're built, with a short urethra in a warm, moist location close to our other orifices, our bodies lend themselves to bacterial growth. We are 50 times more likely to get UTIs than men until menopause and twice as likely after (due to changes that happen in men as they age).

In addition, the loss of hormones that happens during menopause makes our genitourinary tissue more delicate and, thus, susceptible to infections. Because it helps bacteria migrate from one spot to another, even having sex can cause a UTI.

To reduce the chances of developing a UTI:

  • Drink plenty of fluids—enough so that your urine is the color of straw.
  • Urinate after sex. This will help flush bacteria out of your urethra.
  • Talk to your health care professional about a vaginal estrogen cream.
  • Practice good hygiene by wiping front to back and keeping your private parts extra clean.

When it comes to UTIs (and just about everything else), an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

Barb DePree, MD, has been a gynecologist for 30 years, specializing in menopause care for the past 10. Dr. DePree was named the Certified Menopause Practitioner of the Year in 2013 by the North American Menopause Society. The award particularly recognized the outreach, communication and education she does through MiddlesexMD, a website she founded and where this blog first appeared. She also is director of the Women's Midlife Services at Holland Hospital, Holland, Michigan.

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