bladder infections due to sex?

[Krystal_Ivy]

so I always heard that you start getting urinary tract infections and bladder infections after sex. Well I just started having sex and got an infection already I pee after sex (which I heard cleans it out) and we use condoms. Is this going to happen often? I had a teacher who said she got one after each time she had intercourse, so her doctor told her to drink cranbewrry juice everyday the rest of her life. Anyone have any advice or opinions?

[hers]

sometimes it just happens to some more than others. it happens to me too, but not after every time...just when i have a new partner or something. just pee before and after ex and keep yourself clean. drink lots of water as well. you dont have to drink cranberry juice every day forever...but it is important to get vitamins and water in your system when you're sexually active so you have "cleaner" urine (that's what my doctor told me way back when i got them often).

[Mythical_Suicide]

could have been from having sex for the first time, I wouldn't start freaking out thinking it will happen everytime. If I go awhile without having sex I get an UTI or if I don't pee before and after I am more prone to getting them.

[annie24]

depends on the person. i agree that cranberry juice can help. you might want to do that. i know other women who get UTIs, take antibiotics, then they wind up with a fungal infection (because the fungi take over when the bacteria aren't there), then they have to take an anti-fungal drug, then the bacteria take over again.... ug, that sucks to be so out of balance!

 

krystal - i hope you get better soon! true, for some women, it is very common, and for others, it doesn't happen too often. good luck.

[rosephase]

I got them ALL the time. Then I started taking Cranactin. It's just cranberry extract. I take one after I have sex. It help raise the ph level of your urine and kill the UTI. It's helped me a ton. I hate cranberry juice, so this was much better. Also cutting down on pop helps.

[Krystal_Ivy]

hmm...thanx. that cranatin pill sounds good, I don't think I can coordiante my pee schedule with sex though.

[Mythical_Suicide]

You don't have to "coordinate" your pee schedule with sex, just go to the bathroom before having sex and if you have to pee, empty your bladder and if you don't then you're good to go.

[_Asti_]

I used to get them very very often when I first started having sex [and then the antibiotics would give me a yeast infection...] it was vicious cycle that I endured for about two years..and now..nothing..I don't know what changed, how, or why...but now its very rare for me to get either of them.

 

I would suggest some cranberry pills or good cranberry juice. Check out health food stores, they have a wide range of cranberry related products.

[just M.E.]

I get UTI's frequently but not through sex. I eat Craisin's and keep up the yogurt to help keep my system balanced. There is a compound within cranberries which prevent the bacteria that create a UTI from adhering to the urinary tract. I didn't make that up, my daughter's getting her master's in microbiology, they study the mechanism of why this works.

[m12988]

When i was in an LDR, my fiance came down to see me for about a week. We had a lot of sex in that time period, sometimes 3 times a day lol. Well, the day before he left, i got a burning sensation when i urinated and all that. I thought it was a UTI but it turns out it was cystitis, and a lot of women get that after having a lot of sex.

[Krystal_Ivy]

When i was in an LDR, my fiance came down to see me for about a week. We had a lot of sex in that time period, sometimes 3 times a day lol. Well, the day before he left, i got a burning sensation when i urinated and all that. I thought it was a UTI but it turns out it was cystitis, and a lot of women get that after having a lot of sex.

really? why? what is it? sounds scary! what happens? how did you found out u had it?

[sophie274]

I'm sorry for the totally off-topic post, but I'm glad the sex is going well! Maybe you could try to get re-fitted for a diaphragm now that you have had sex so you can stop using condoms? If you use it with spermicide it should be quite effective.

 

Again, sorry about the off-topic.

 

About the UTIs, some people are really prone to them. Urinating after sex definitely helps - making sure your fiance is nice and clean before sex and so are you - maybe washing up after sex?

[Krystal_Ivy]

I'm sorry for the totally off-topic post, but I'm glad the sex is going well! Maybe you could try to get re-fitted for a diaphragm now that you have had sex so you can stop using condoms? If you use it with spermicide it should be quite effective.

 

Again, sorry about the off-topic.

 

About the UTIs, some people are really prone to them. Urinating after sex definitely helps - making sure your fiance is nice and clean before sex and so are you - maybe washing up after sex?

sex is getting alot better aqbout the cleaning up, I thought of that even though nothing is really getting inside of me other than a condom. and I went to the doc to get my anti-biotics today and mentioned cranberry juice/pills. he said they are useless, he said unless you were drinking gallons it won't help, but I don't buy that at all...

[Mythical_Suicide]

If he is sweaty before hand or something of the like (Guys sweat alot in that area) maybe he should wash up before sex because that can introduce alot of bacteria as well as fingering. Is this the same doctor you have been seeing?, Every doctor i've ever seen for a UTI has suggested cranberry juice/pills regularly for preventing UTI and kidney stones as it flushes your system out.. I really don't think your doctor knows what he's talking about

[Krystal_Ivy]

he is wearing a condom, so I don't think sweat is the issue. I'm actually confused at how sex with a condom causes a bladder infection. But Yeah it's the same doc. I'm going to continue with the cranberry juice though.

[annie24]

he is wearing a condom, so I don't think sweat is the issue. I'm actually confused at how sex with a condom causes a bladder infection. But Yeah it's the same doc. I'm going to continue with the cranberry juice though.

 

well, it's the matter of bacteria that are on your outsides (on your skin, nearby your vagina) coming in. it's quite normal, obviously, like the others pointed out, it happens. thank goodness we live in the age of antibiotics, i wonder how our great grandmothers dealt. you can imagine even though he's wearing the condom, he's thrusting in, and that can push some stuff thats on the outside of your skin inwards.

[tiredofvampires]

I've gotten these on occasion, and sometimes they lingered painfully.

 

Some antibiotics are more specific for concentration in the bladder, and some are more broad spectrum and it's definitely good to -- if you have to use antibiotics, which I avoid until absolutely necessary with anything -- stick with the narrow spectrum antibiotic if you can. It kills less of the good bacteria.

 

But Cranactin is a great product. I've used it before and I think it's head some incidents off...

 

Some women are structured such that the urethra is closer to the vaginal opening, so it's more likely that bacteria will migrate up easier during sex. I know a woman who gets bladder infections so easily, because of this anatomical disadvantage, she takes an antibiotic prophyllactically each time before sex. I wouldn't say this is your situation by any means! But just to show there's a lot of variation. And taking regular antibiotics is not a good way to go, in my opinion. But she's in the medical profession, so I wouldn't dare to argue that with her.

 

Your best bet is to pee before (if you can) and after sex. You don't have to plan your peeing "schedule", but if I were you, on a hot date I'd drink lots of water at dinner. Just to get it started.

 

I get UTI's frequently but not through sex. I eat Craisin's and keep up the yogurt to help keep my system balanced. There is a compound within cranberries which prevent the bacteria that create a UTI from adhering to the urinary tract. I didn't make that up, my daughter's getting her master's in microbiology, they study the mechanism of why this works.

 

Are you referring to D-Mannose? It's a kind of sugar (not a caloric type that would affect blood sugar or diabetes) that is contained in cranberries and is now believed to be the action of cranberries in helping UTIs. Having more acidic urine (lower the pH) does discourage the proliferation of E. Coli to some extent, and cranberries do have acids in them that lower the urine pH. However, mannose has been identified as coating the mucous membranes in such a way that it prevents the adhesion of bacteria onto the walls of the bladder and urinary tract. It's really the fact that the bacteria gain a toehold on the mucosa that gets the infection going, and the mannose prevents that, according to research.

 

I take mannose myself when I feel I am at risk. It's very safe. You can get it in the healthfood stores (with the Cranactin) in capsules or powder. It dissolves easily in water. Cranactin has many more times the quantity of cranberries concentrated in capsules than you can get in juice. Also, most cranberry juice is loaded with sugar -- which is absolutely the worst thing you can do to undermine the situation (especially if you're on antibiotics and don't want a yeast infection!) Only unsweetened cranberry products should be taken.

Your doctor's not informed about cranberry being useless except if you drink gallons of it. I've drunk pure, unsweetened cranberry juice and it very much acidified my urine (I know because I tested it with pH strips, what a geek). If acid is a factor in this process, then it sure affected my urine.

 

I hope you feel better soon!

[tiredofvampires]

Oh also:

 

Now they are realizing that spermicidal products can be so significantly irritating to some people (and allergenic), that it abrades the skin. In fact, it causes micro breaks in the skin when it irritates it, which is why, as I read, in Africa now there is a campaign to not distribute spermicidally lubricated condoms, since the irritation to the skin can cause an increase in risk of contracting HIV through damaged skin.

 

So if you are easily irritated, avoid spermicidally laced condoms as a start. That rubbing against your urethra could prove inflammatory, which then would give the bacteria an advantage.