WHY WOMEN ARE AT MUCH GREATER RISK OF URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS-UTIs

- Urinary tract infections are most common in women.
This is due to two different aspects of basic human
anatomy:
- First, the urethra is close to the rectum in women.
As a result, it is extremely easy for bacteria from the
rectum to reach the urethra—particularly if you wipe
back to front instead of front to back.
- This is why young girls often get UTIs—they haven’t
mastered the art of wiping just yet.
- Second, in women, the urethra is shorter than men.
- So bacteria have a shorter distance to travel to get
to the bladder, where they can multiply and more
readily cause infection.
There are other lifestyle factors that can put you at
extra risk of developing a chronic UTI.
- For example, using a diaphragm during sex can
cause problems.
- Diaphragms push up against the urethra, making it
harder to fully empty the bladder.
- The urine that is not fully emptied is more likely to
grow bacteria.
- Another example is constantly changing the bacterial
makeup of the vagina.
- If you regularly use antibacterial vaginal douches,
spermicides, and certain oral antibiotics, you basically
are changing your vaginal bacteria regularly.
- This can increase your risk of developing a chronic
UTI.
- Menopause can cause similar problems in some
women. Menopause causes hormone changes that in
turn can cause changes in the vaginal bacteria.
- This can increase the risk for chronic UTIs.