TOO MUCH SEX CAUSES URINARY TRACT INFECTION; EXPERTS
Maybe you're in a brand new relationship, you just went on a romantic trip with your spouse, or you're dating long-distance and finally saw
your partner. Whatever your reason for having a sex-filled weekend, it
can come with one unfortunate side effect: a urinary tract infection.
If
you often get these annoying and painful infections at one of the above
times, you're not alone. In fact, experts even have a colloquial name
for it: honeymoon cystitis. It might sound cute, but it's the same awful
UTI you're used to. Experts just coined this term to explain the
tendency for women to contract the infection after sex—particularly
after a lot of sex.
"The
urethra—the tube that goes from outside up into the bladder—is
literally right next to the vagina," says ob-gyn Mary Jane Minkin, M.D.,
clinical professor at the Yale School of Medicine. When you have sex,
bacteria from the vagina can get rubbed into the urethra, where it
travels up to the bladder. And when you have a lot of sex in a short
period of time, it can make you more susceptible to these infections.
One
common theory is that your body isn't used to the bacteria you're
exposed to from a new partner, but Minkin says that's probably not the
case. In fact, it's usually your own bacteria that cause the infection.
So it's not your new partner that's upsetting your vagina—it's the fact
that you had sex with him three times last night.
So what can you do about it? Minkin suggests plenty of lubrication to
prevent any tears or irritation, which can make infections more likely.
Peeing before and after sex can also help. If you're prone to UTIs,
taking cranberry extract on a regular basis can help. "Cranberry
actually keeps the bacteria from sticking to the wall of the bladder,"
says Minkin. And when they adhere to bladder, that's when you get an
infection. Your doctor may also prescribe an antibiotic that you can
take each time you have sex, which will deliver a high level of
antibodies to the urine (though not to your blood stream, so you won't
get a yeast infection). They could also prescribe you a low-dose of
antibiotics to take on a daily basis for a few months to see if it
changes the flora in your vagina.
But
if you have more than handful of UTIs per year, Minkin suggests
checking in with a urologist to see if there's something going on in
your bladder that's making you more susceptible to infections. Don't
worry—your doctor will have plenty of solutions that are less drastic
than toning down your libido. "If you get frequent UTIs, go to your
doctor—you don't have to stop having sex!" says Minkin
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