Risk Factors for UTIs
You can take steps to reduce your chances of getting a
urinary tract infection (UTI). Knowing how to control
some of your risk factors may help you prevent a UTI.
Risk factors that you can control include:
- Hygiene. After using the bathroom, women should
always wipe themselves from front to back. The most common cause of a UTI is
growth of bacteria in the urinary tract, usually Escherichia coli (E. coli), a type of bacteria commonly found
in the area around the rectum.
- Not drinking enough fluids.
Drinking more fluids causes a person to urinate more frequently, reducing the
levels of bacteria in the urinary tract and bladder.
- Sexual
activity. Urination after sexual intercourse decreases the risk of urinary
tract infections in women.
- Use of a contraceptive diaphragm, which
may cause increased risk of UTIs.
- Use of a spermicide. Studies
have shown that a woman may be 3 times more likely to get a UTI if her sex
partner uses a condom coated with a spermicide.
- Use of feminine
hygiene sprays or frequent douching.
Credits
| By | Healthwise Staff |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine |
| Last Revised | April 12, 2011 |