Doctors say that urinary tract infections are common in women

Urinary tract infections are more common in women, with one in three having an episode before the age of 25. Contrary to the belief that dirty toilets cause UTIs, doctors say that women who do not empty their bladders from time to time get the infection.

Physiologically, women have a shorter urethra. About 18% of pregnant women experience UTIs, and postmenopausal women develop the infection due to lack of estrogen, said doctors participating in a webinar on “Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections in Women – Management and Prevention” held on Sunday (December 22, 2024). by Hindu and Naruvi Hospital, Vellore, as part of its series on “Prevent Disease, Promote Wellness”.

Consultant urologist Rohit Sethi said sexual intercourse, change of sex partner, use of spermicide, previous history or history of UTI in mother and sister and childhood history of infection can lead to UTI.

Nitin Kekre, head of the department of urology at Naruvi Hospital, said recurrent UTIs in healthy, pregnant non-pregnant women are the most common and complicated. In Tamil Nadu, it is common for women with UTI to be diagnosed with diabetes, he added. Doctors should explain to patients the correct way to collect urine for laboratory tests, he said.

Ganesh Gopalakrishnan of Vedanayagam Hospital, Coimbatore, said that patients who resort to hospital hopping and use too many antibiotics or have uncontrolled diabetes are more likely to develop complicated UTIs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the misuse of antibiotics caused serious problems. Sometimes the infection can reach the kidneys, requiring hospitalization, sometimes for up to a fortnight, he said.

Manish Sinha, consultant urologist at Naruvi Hospital, Bangalore, said it is common for gynecologists to look for bacterial infections during pregnancy. Doctors do this to prevent kidney infection. He said that because the enlarged uterus does not allow the urine to go down, infection can occur from the bladder to the kidney.

The webinar is available at https://bit.ly/4iNbOSK.