Blog Posts by The Editors of Prevention

Urinary tract infections are easy to treat, but that's hardly reassuring when you're rushing to the bathroom every 15 minutes to urinate--and experiencing burning, stinging pain.

One in five women will get a UTI--in the urethra, bladder, or kidneys--at some point in her life. Some women get them over and over again. Men are much less likely to get UTIs because their anatomy makes it harder for bacteria to get inside.

Antibiotics are necessary to knock out urinary tract infections, says Larrian Gillespie, M.D. Once you start taking the drugs, the discomfort will usually disappear within a day or two. In the meantime, here are a few steps to make you more comfortable and help prevent the infection from coming back.

More Natural Ways to Prevent a UTI

1) Drink a lot of water. The more you drink, the more you urinate--and frequent urination helps flush harmful bacteria from the bladder, says Mary Jane Minkin, M.D. When you keep filling your bladder and flushing it out, you can reduce the

Grabbing a granola or energy bar may seem like a sensible choice for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up or quick morning fuel, but be wary. Many of these seemingly healthy choices have no more nutritional value than a candy bar. Here are five of the worst offenders, plus our ridiculously healthy pick that you can feel great about noshing any time of day.

Really Healthy Ready-to- Eat Foods

Ridiculous Pick #1: PowerBar ProteinPlus: Chocolate Brownie Don't reach for a protein bar designed for serious weight trainers. This chocolaty bar is packed with 360 calories, 11 g of fat, and nearly as much sugar as a can of cola.

Never Feel Draggy With These Easy Tips

Ridiculous Pick # 2: Quaker Oatmeal To Go Oatmeal may be one of our favorite foods because of its hefty serving of fiber and protein, but-nutritionally speaking-this bar ranks nowhere near its cereal cousin. The key to keeping this square together is sugar, and lots of it: High fructose corn syrup and brown sugar are the primary ingredients

Basking in the sun's warm glow on the beach may be your ideal vacation-but coming home with red, painful sunburn on your back? That's definitely not a welcome souvenir. Try these home solutions to ease the burn.

Get More Amazing Natural Cures

1) Apply soothing compresses. Following a burn, the skin is inflamed. Cool it down by applying ice water soaks, which can be soothing and may make the burn heal a little faster. Add a few ice cubes to tap water, then dip a cloth into the liquid and lay it over the burn. Repeat every few minutes as the cloth warms. Apply several times a day in 10- to 15-minute stretches.


2) Sooth the red with white. If your sunburn is mild (no blisters), apply distilled white vinegar to the affected areas. "The acetic acid in the vinegar acts as a topical NSAID," says Audrey Kunin, MD.

Rejuvenate Your Skin Naturally


3) Use your pantry. Common kitchen staples can be great sunburn soothers. Press the following into emergency action.

Cure It With Ketchup?

CORNSTARCH.

Whether at-home hair dye turned your locks orange or the stylist trimmed off 3 more inches than you asked for, we've all had a tress-stress moment that can reduce even the most level-headed among us to tears-after all, you wear your hair every day, so you can't discard your 'do like an ill-fitting pair of jeans!

What's the solution? We asked top hairstylists to share their hair care emergency plans: They're simple, affordable, and effective ways to make your hair healthy and pretty again-fast!

Classic Haircuts That Erase The Years


1. Your hair is fried from overprocessing and hot tools.
Fix it:

Step 1. Use shampoo and conditioner for color-treated hair that says "moisturizing" on the bottle. These formulas leave protective ingredients on your hair strands.

Get Gorgeous Wind Blown Hair - It's Easy!


Step 2. Apply a superhydrating treatment. Comb a deep conditioner through hair and let sit for 30 minutes. To combat dullness, apply a clear hair glaze, like Aveeno Living Color Shine Glaze

Bedbugs are equal-opportunity pests: You're as likely to encounter them at a high-end hotel as at a budget dive. To avoid forming a lasting relationship with these unwanted critters, follow these precautions from Missy Henriksen, vice president of public affairs at the National Pest Management Association.

1) Pestproof with plastic. When packing, pop clothes into giant sealable bags. There are also medium and large clear plastic suitcase covers for wary travelers who want to keep the bugs at bay.


2) Do a spot check. Upon arrival, deposit your luggage in the shower, and do a visual sweep for the apple-seed-size bugs (and specks of blood) on the mattress and upholstered furniture.


3) Safeguard your belongings. Even if your room is clean, keep your suitcase off the floor, preferably atop a hard luggage rack. Avoid draping your clothes over the furniture or placing them inside the dresser drawers.


4) Wash everything on arrival As soon as you get home, launder all of your clothes--even

There's nothing that can make your blood boil on the road like a bad driver. Before you loose your cool, follow these 8 tips to stay calm in the car this summer travel season.

1) Trade in that pine-scented air freshener for a peppermint candy or cinnamon stick.

In a NASA-funded study, scientists from Wheeling Jesuit University monitored the emotional responses of 25 college students during simulated driving scenarios. The volunteers reported that peppermint lowered their feelings of anxiety and fatigue by 20 percent. Peppermint and cinnamon each decreased their frustration by 25 percent, increased alertness by 30 percent, and made the ride seem 30 percent shorter.

You can buy peppermint and cinnamon oils and aromatherapy diffusers for the car at health food stores.

Find a home remedy for every condition

2) Lend support. Learn to accommodate other drivers, says Dr. James. Instead of competing with them, support them. "If they want to enter the lane ahead of you,

Americans have a serious love affair with pasta. Unfortunately, we rarely eat it like the Italians do-in small portions with light sauces-but in dinner plate-sized piles swimming in creamy or high-fat sauce. And the calories add up, sometimes to almost a full day's worth, not to mention the off-the-chart amounts of sat fat and sodium many contain. Here, are seven of the worst offenders-and healthier options that scratch your pasta itch without sending you into a carb-induced coma.

10 Smart Food Swaps for a Flatter Belly

1. Ridiculous: Spaghetti Bolognese with Meatballs "Bolognese" usually denotes meat sauce, but a few more meatballs added in can really start to ratchet up the calories, saturated fat, and sodium. One plateful can contain almost a full day's worth of calories, plus nearly 4,000 mg of sodium.

Ridiculously Healthy: Our take on spaghetti Bolognese is made with "no-salt" tomato sauce, cutting the sodium to only about 150 mg per serving.


2. Ridiculous: Lasagna With its

Believing popular misconceptions can keep you from taking the right course of action to reach your goals, says Julia Valentour, MS, program coordinator and media spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise. Blaming a plateau (or a gain) on any of these half-truths will keep you stuck in your rut and derail your motivation. Here, 10 of the most pervasive diet-related rumors and the real scoop on how to hit your goal weight for good.

Get dozens of ideas that make weight loss easy here!


1. "Strength training will bulk me up."
First, let's tackle the myth that a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat. A pound is a pound is a pound-whether it's made up of muscle or fat. That said, muscle is denser than fat and takes up less room, so two women who weigh the same can look much different if one has a higher ratio of lean muscle mass to fat, says Valentour. "Muscle weight is a good weight because you look firmer, smaller, and more fit. It's also more metabolically