It burns! It burns!: The agony of bladder infections and UTIs

Glamour Magazine

Most sexually active women will at some point experience the agony of a bladder infection, or UTI. It's one of nature's missteps that our urethra (the short tube going into the bladder) is located so close to our vagina, making it easy for bacteria to be pushed north and cause a UTI. But the unluckiest among us seem to get this problem a lot. Several things can cause recurrent UTIs:

  • Frequent intercourse

  • Chemical irritation to the urethral opening, from douches, deodorant sprays, or spermicides

  • Using a diaphragm

  • Not drinking enough fluids

  • A weakened immune system

  • Menopause, with the thinning of the skin of the vulva and vagina


But sometimes it's bad luck in the genetic lottery, and your bladder is more prone to bacterial invasion. If general methods of prevention don't work, and you experience 2 UTIs within six months or 3 UTIs in a year, you might want to consider prophylactic antibiotics.

Your gyno can prescribe a daily dose of antibiotic that you take for six months to two years. It may sound extreme, but so is the pain of a UTI--so gynos will only recommend this for women who are frequently affected. Have any of you been hit with multiple UTIs in a short time period?



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