For women: 5 washroom habits to prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs)

In fact, some health experts rank your lifetime risk of getting one as high as 1 in 2, with many women having repeat infections, sometimes for years on end.

Research has shown that women are far more prone to catching these infections than men.

These infections cause frequent and urgent urination, pelvic pain, a burning sensation when peeing and sometimes, even blood in your pee.

These infections are caused when harmful microbes travel up your urethra to your bladder.

The infection can even reach your kidneys causing fever, vomiting, and back pain. Do get in touch with your doc immediately if you experience any of these symptoms.

While getting a UTI is never quite in your control, you could reduce your chances of contracting an infection by developing these bathroom habits:

Don’t hold your pee

Don’t hold back your urine for long hours. Drink plenty of water and pee as often as possible because it is important to flush out your bladder. Your urine should be a pale yellow; if it is darker, it means that your fluid intake needs to be upped. You could also drink cranberry juice which is said to help prevent urinary tract infections.

Urinate after sex

Make sure that you urinate right after sex so that UTI-causing bacteria are washed out and do not get a chance to enter the urinary tract. Women with recurrent UTIs are often advised by docs to take antibiotics post intercourse.

Wipe from front to back

This simple anal hygiene habit could help you stave off UTIs. When you wipe from back to front you risk transporting harmful bacteria from the anal region into your urinary tract.

Avoid taking long soaks

Bubble baths are a decadence that most of us can’t resist. However, if you are prone to getting UTIs, you should give this a miss. Soaking for a long time in sudsy water can cause urethral irritation.

Change your sanitary napkins at regular intervals

A warm, moist pad is a breeding ground for microorganisms. Change your pad at least once in six hours so that these microorganisms do not multiply and give you a bad UTI.