Managing the Symptoms of Non-Specific Urethritis

While it can be asymptomatic, particularly for women, many incidences of non-specific urethritis can cause unpleasant and painful symptoms. These can include a painful burning whilst passing urine, pain at the end of the penis, and the secretion of a discharge from the penis as well. The symptoms can be unpleasant, and management techniques can be key to managing the pain and discomfort of NSU.

Managing symptoms

Ultimately the best course of action to ensure that the symptoms of NSU are resolved is to pursue the correct treatment from your doctor or a GUM (genitourinary medicine) or sexual health clinic. This will usually be a course of antibiotics which should resolve symptoms within 3 weeks at most.


Unfortunately for many people as long as 3 weeks of painful and frequent urination can be extremely discomfiting, which is why management strategies that can accelerate the healing process and alleviate some of the pain of the condition have been explored and developed. These can be particularly important for patients suffering from a relatively common complication of NSU called persistent urethritis, where the infection and symptoms of the condition recur despite treatment.

It is advisable to discuss the management strategies included in this article with your doctor before pursuing them as their effectiveness has yet to be proven conclusively. Ultimately some may work for you, and others may not, and talking to your doctor gives you the benefit of making use of their experience on the subject.

Adjusting your diet can help your body combat infections, and ensuring that you get the right amount of certain nutrients can help alleviate your symptoms more quickly. Eating foods that are rich in antioxidants like certain fruits and vegetables (e.g. blueberries, squash) can provide your body with a class of compounds that combat the cellular damage caused by inflammation. Similarly avoiding food allergens and additives, as well as refined and overly fatty foods, can help your overall health, and therefore your recovery.

Despite the pain of frequent urination, it is important that you keep well hydrated if you are suffering from NSU. Hydration is absolutely vital to good health, and providing getting yourself the right amount of water is extremely important to your recovery and general health. Drinking lots of water also reduces the concentration of your urine, and this dilution can ultimately lessen the pain of urination.

Cranberry juice is often recommended for urinary tract infections, and can help alleviate the symptoms of NSU as well. Some sources suggest that acupuncture can help promote urogenital health and recovery, however the evidence in support of these claims is lacking.

As mentioned above painful and frequent urination and penile pain are some of the more unpleasant symptoms of NSU. Filling a bathtub with enough warm water to cover your genitals can very effectively relieve some of the pain, particularly where urethritis has been caused by exposure to a chemical irritant. You should not use soap or any other chemical in the bath as this can exacerbate the condition.

Your doctor may advise that you take a class of over the counter drugs called NSAIDs or non-steroidal inflammatory drugs. A common example of this is ibuprofen which is readily available across the UK. Paracetamol can also offer pain relief, but it does not alleviate the inflammation behind urethritis.

These are fairly easy and straightforward methods you can pursue to help you cope with the symptoms of urethritis, which should resolve within 2-3 weeks of treatment. During this time it is critical that you avoid sex to help you recover and avoid re-infection.

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