Ask the Sexpert: Oct. 21, 2010

Dear Sexpert,

I’m a girl and I think I might have a bladder infection. I looked it up online and I have all the symptoms. A friend mentioned that I probably got it from having sex. Is that true? If so, how does having sex give me a bladder infection? Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening again, or will I always have to worry about this as a possible consequence of sex?

— Pained

Dear Pained,

Let me start by saying that if you’ve been sexually active recently, your friend may be right: Vaginal sex is the cause of the majority of female bladder infections. Bladder infections are not at all uncommon; in fact, at least 20 percent of women will get one over the course of their lifetime. Men are also susceptible to them. However, please remember not to self-diagnose; only a visit to a trained health professional will tell you what’s really going on.

In women, a urinary tract infection — a type of bladder infection — occurs when foreign bacteria that normally live in or around the anus or vagina get into the urethra and enter the bladder. It is not uncommon for this to happen during vaginal intercourse, because sex often facilitates the transfer of bacteria from the anal-vaginal area to the urethra. Sex may also irritate the tissue around the urethra, making it more likely to get infected. Men get UTIs the same way that women do, but since they have longer urethras (male urethrae are roughly 8 inches long, while women’s are only about 1.5 inches long) they have less of a risk: Women get UTIs about eight times as frequently as men do.

There are a few precautions you can take to lower your risk of getting a UTI in the future. Make sure to drink plenty of water before sex so that you can urinate a good amount when you’re done. This will help flush out some of the bacteria that have made their way up the urethra. Washing yourself before and after sex to get rid of some of the bacteria in that area will also help you reduce your chance of getting a UTI.

Not all bladder infections come from sex, however, and thus there are also some non-sex-related precautions you might want to take. These include making sure to wipe front to back when you use the toilet and urinating when you feel like you have to — holding it in can help any bacteria in the urethra turn into a full-fledged infection. Cranberry juice has also been shown to reduce the frequency of UTIs, so you may want to start drinking it if you keep getting them. You can also take cranberry pills, which can be found in the vitamin aisle at supermarkets or pharmacies.

Treatment for UTIs tends to be relatively simple. If the infection has not progressed, three days of an antibiotic course may be given. However, stronger antibiotics taken over a longer period of time may be needed for more complicated infections. It is important to seek help early; an untreated UTI can lead to a kidney infection, which can then lead to all sorts of serious complications.

If you think you may have a UTI, make an appointment at University Health Services with a health professional. I promise, he or she will give you a much more reliable diagnosis than webmd.com.

— The Sexpert

The Sexpert is written by a team of peer sexual health educators and fact-checked by University health professionals. You can submit questions to sexpert@dailyprincetonian.com. Don’t be shy!