Ciprofloxacin (I think) is a broad based antibiotic. It is what I take on holiday when I'm in East Africa for when I have a dose of the squits and always does the trick (for me).
Ciprofloxacin is pretty much a restricted anti biotic in hospitals these days, due to its association with c-difficle infections which were running rampant through hospitals a few years ago. It may well sort out your dose of the squits, but will also kill off all your native gut bacteria and allow it to get colonised with something much worse. Most cases of dIaorrhea do not require anti-biotics. Good hydration and letting it run its course are the natural cures. Since the restriction of anti-biotics in the hospital I work at, C-Diff infections are now thankfully very rare.
Cipro is not now generally used as a first line traetment for urinary infections either (unless you are penicillan allergic), though they have been in the past.
It is probably worth making some distinctions between different types of urinary infections as well. You can have cysititis, which is an irritation/inflamation of the bladder and can cause urinary urgency and discomfort when peeing. I developed that whilst doing JOGLE and caused me some problems, not least of which was trying to find a bush to pee behind in the middle of Liverpool! I have never had it before or since and so I put it down to long hours in the saddle. At the end of the day sitting on any saddle is going to put some pressure through your pelvic floor and onto your urinary tract. This will generally clear up unaided with hydration and avioding things that may irritate your bladder further, it should not normally require anti-biotics. I drink cranberry juice myself, but I am not sure that there is a lot of science to back it up however I am sure it does not do you any harm!
Full blown urinary infections will make you feel very ill. You will have a raging fever, pain, nausea, sometimes blood in your urine and may well require a hospital admission for some intra venous anti-biotics. Urinary infections are far more common in women than men, especialy at the younger end of the age spectrum. They are mostly caused by ascending infections and female anatomy makes that far more likely.
Benign enlarged prostate glands in men as wel get older is natures way of sharing the pain between the sexes! The inability to emtpy your bladder properly, as has already been said, can be a breeding ground for an infection. This is generally likely to be an afliction of older age than middle age and it becomes more and more common as you move through your sixties, seventies and eighties. An awful lot of us will have to go an face the dreaded Trans urethral resection of prostate at some point in our lives!
If you are having any urinary symptoms at a younger age do get them checked out. It is not normal, even for cyclists who spend a long time sitting on a delicate part of their anatomy!
