Sneaky Causes of UTIs (Urinary Tract Infections) and How to Avoid Them

Getting a urinary tract infection may seem like a matter of bad luck: You’re either susceptible to them or you’re not — and there’s not a heck of a lot you can do to influence what happens one way or the other. But that’s not entirely true because there are actually sneaky causes ofurinary tract infections (UTIs), many of which you can sidestep or mitigate.

Granted, if you’re a woman, gender is one factor you can’t control; your anatomy (namely your relatively short urethra) naturally puts you at increased risk. But there are habits and health conditions you should know about because they could raise your chances of developing one of these infections — andthe burning, pain, and frequent urge to peethat typically come with them. Here are seven surprising things that put you at greater risk:

1. Holding your pee:If you tend to hold in your pee during the day or not empty your bladder completely when you do go to the bathroom, you could end up with high residual urine in your bladder. This can set the stage for bacteria to build up in the stagnant urine, leading to inflammation of the bladder or infection of the urethra, warnsJill Maura Rabin, MD, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine in New Hyde Park, New York, and author ofMind Over Bladder.“It’s better to empty the bladder completely to let it fill up again completely.”

2. Bicycling regularly:你是一个女人骑自行车通勤上班或fr吗equently engages in cycling for recreation orexercise? Take note: Astudy published in the April 2018 issue ofThe Journal of Sexual Medicinefound that women cyclists are more likely to report a history of UTIs than noncyclists are. The exact reason for the connection isn’t known, but one theory is that women’s shorter urethras may be a factor. “The compression with cycling could be contaminating the urethra,” says study lead authorThomas Gaither, MD, a clinical researcher at the University of California in San Francisco. (Note: This is also why being sexually active, especially with lots of intercourse, can increase your risk.) “One thing women can do to protect themselves is make sure they are hydrated before and after cycling,” Dr. Gaither adds. “Drinking lots of water may help prevent UTIs.”

3. Taking certain drugs:As previously mentioned, whenever your bladder holds on to urine, rather than emptying completely when you pee, bacteria have more of a chance to grow and your risk of getting a UTI increases. Some medication — includingantihistamines,antipsychoticdrugs, decongestants, and anticholinergic drugs — can cause you to retain urine. That doesn’t mean you should stop taking them, Dr. Rabin says. Just be aware of the extra risk, drink lots of water, and try to void completely when you visit the restroom.

4. Wiping the wrong way:There’s a reason your mother taught you to wipe from front to back after you pee or have abowel movement. (If she didn’t, she should have.): Going in the opposite direction can help bacteria travel from your anus to your urethra and into your bladder, Rabin says. In fact, when researchers evaluated the behavior patterns of premenopausal women who are susceptible to recurrenturinary tract infections, they found that wiping from back to front increased the risk by 64 percent and that the vast majority of infections (66 percent) were due toE. coli(a bacteria that normally lives in the intestines), according toa study in a 2018 issue of the journalUrologia Internationalis.

5. Going through perimenopause ormenopause:Asestrogen levelsstart to drop with age, midlife women may experience some thinning of the tissues in thevaginaand bladder, and the nerves and muscles may not function as well, which can cause difficulty emptying the bladder fully, Rabin explains. These changes can in turn foster bacterial growth, increasing the risk of UTIs.

6. Having diabetes:Believe it or not, having diabetes can increase your chances of suffering from UTIs. In fact,researchhas found that the frequency of UTIs increases in women withtype 1 diabeteswho have poor blood sugar control. And people, especially older women, with type 2 diabetes who have high levels ofhemoglobin A1C(a marker of average blood sugar levels over the previous three months) have a higher risk of UTIs,researchhas found. Adding insult to misery, UTIs tend to be more common, more severe, and harder to treat in people with type 2 diabetes, partly because higher levels of sugar in the urine can promote the growth of bacteria,experts note.

7. Wearing little lingerie:Wearing a thong, a teddy, or string-bikini underwear may make you feel sexy, but it can trap bacteria in the vaginal area and compress the sensitive tissue down there, making you more susceptible tovaginal infectionsand UTIs. “There are only a couple of inches of space between the openings to the urethra, the vagina, and the rectum,” Rabin notes. “Tight underwear can act as a superhighway for bacteria from the anus to travel to the vaginal area.”

7 Surprising Risk Factors for Urinary Tract Infections