Ph. Abbas – Page 16 – KNOW & TREAT UTI

Masturbation is a physiological or biological act that humans perform to relieve themselves and give themselves sexual orgasm or excitement. it is a completely healthy and normal part of sexual enjoyment. Usually, in my experience, I was getting a burning sensation always after I masturbate, I was a 24-year-old male and I was masturbating most of the time in a clean environment. I thought that masturbating many times may get me into some problems, and yes I had some problems after many years of masturbating. I now have UTI and kidney stones, but were these caused by masturbation? Scientifically speaking in men there is no direct link between masturbating and getting a urinary tract infection (UTI) or a kidney stone until now at least. Well with kidney stones there is evidence that masturbation may improve that condition actually. I have searched for scientific studies that may link UTI with masturbation but I didn’t come up with something although there is a clear link between irritation of the genitals (which can be caused by masturbation) and Urethritis, which is something related to UTI. see this study for more information For women, the situation is a little different. Most doctors say that women can get a uti from masturbating because of the anatomy of the female genitals, and we all know that the urethra in women is much shorter than in men. This makes women more vulnerable to bacteria climbing the bladder and then UTI happens. But in men, the urethra (the tube that carries the urine from the urinary bladder and carries it through the penis or the vagina and gets the urine out) is long, so the possibility of having some sort of bacteria climbing it towards the bladder is low that's why doctors don't agree with someone saying that masturbation can cause UTI in men. But why was I so sure that my UTI was caused by my masturbation at that time, was I mistaken in my conclusion? what were the doctors missing when they reached this conclusion that is if they were missing something? Well if they were missing something it was what about the people who masturbate a lot, the people who masturbate from their early teenage years all the way till they reach 25 years of age more or less. Does masturbating many times a day or once a day or once every week for long periods of time makes you more vulnerable to getting a UTI along the way? Some doctors included this possibility in their calculations and said that masturbating a lot irritates the genitals and causes a urinary tract infection. Many young people complain about getting a burning sensation when they pee right after masturbating, and that's what makes this theory pretty more believable because getting a burning sensation when someone urinates is likely a sign of bacteria in your urethra. But, I also want to emphasize that bacteria in the urethra means Urethritis and not necessarily UTI, although those two are somewhat correlated. Here you can find information about how men get urinary tract infections. So why deny that masturbation can cause UTI? many other doctors support this theory like doctor Arti Sharma who said: "Masturbation can cause UTI only when infective organisms are introduced into the urethra through aseptic methods. The common organisms causing UTI is E.Coli. Consult a urologist and get a urine routine examination and culture examination done. UTI must be treated according to the organism identified and may need antibiotics to cure infection." However, there are some other theories about this subject. One of these theories is suggesting some indirect relationship between masturbation and UTI. This theory says that masturbation can cause gastric upset and constipation, and these two problems are heavily linked with UTI because most of the time when people have a UTI they have pain in the lower abdominal area due to the gastric upset and constipation accompanying the UTI or may be happening before the UTI. So these two problems (UTI and gastric upset) are correlated and UTI is associated with gastric upset according to the theory. But, how can masturbating cause gastric upset and constipation? That’s what the theory doesn’t explain, and I don't think it will. Another theory carried by Cliche Wynter suggests that masturbation can be good for urinary tract infections and advice women to masturbate when having a UTI because as she says it will rid the body of the bad bacteria and allow good bacteria to come to the cervix thus preventing urinary tract infection, she even goes to the point that instead of drinking cranberry juice you can masturbate. Honestly am not in favor of this theory either, I find that it has a lot of holes in it besides the lack of scientific evidence that supports the claim that masturbation opens the cervix to good bacteria and allows them to come in. Because if the cervix was open, it will open to all kinds of bacteria, not just the good ones. My advice for women is to always stay away from the urethra opening and try not to irritate it because irritating the urethra may open a path for the bacteria to enter and cause UTI. Also with the ladies, some theories suggest that the use of sex toys ( dildos and vibration) especially if they are not clean may cause UTI. But, what if they are clean? Well the possibility of a UTI is still present but it's much less than if the toys were unclean or somewhat dirty. Another question asked by women is can masturbation with a showerhead cause a UTI? Well, it's a matter of is the water entering the vagina? if it is then that could be dangerous because water contains germs that can cause a UTI or irritation. Also, the pushed water can reach deep into the vagina and reach the cervix or even further to the uterus, and that will cause problems so thrusting the water very hard is not advisable. So, females must try not too far with the water pressure and make sure that the water doesn't enter the vagina. So, if you want to have "aquatic sex" you must try to spray the vagina with water just for the purpose of stimulating it with water pressure, also it is much safer to have aquatic sexual activity in the shower than in bathtubs, Jacuzzis, pools, etc. I don't believe that masturbating with a showerhead will expose you to high risks of internal organ damage or an infection, but it is still a problem that should be considered, especially if you have a UTI and masturbate with a showerhead at the same time. Keep your hands and fingers clean while masturbating and cut your fingernails because the bacteria under them may increase the possibility of you getting a UTI, and if you already have a urinary tract infection it may worsen the case especially if you touch the rectum area first then you touch your urethra opening then this will increase the possibility of a UTI. To summarize Masturbating in a clean environment or in the shower is much less dangerous than masturbating in unclean surroundings or using tools even if your hands were not dirty. Masturbating too many times even if everything was clean could also get you in some trouble. Also, the type of lubricant you use (that is if you use a lubricant) may affect this condition. Always make sure that you use a good lubricant made by a good company. Also, make sure that you pee right after you masturbate that is to wash the bacteria right out of the urethra if there are any. Usually, a burning sensation after masturbating is normal, but if you have a strong or a stronger than usual burning sensation after masturbating, that may be a warning sign for possible urethritis or in rare cases UTI. Try to take a little break from masturbating for the time being, and drink a lot of water, and if the burning sensation persists, which is unlikely, report to your doctor. If you already have a UTI, masturbation can worsen the condition. So, my advice for you is to stop masturbation temporarily while the UTI is being treated, but it's not like you can never masturbate when you have a UTI. You can relieve on yourself every now and then but make sure that you make everything nice and clean when you masturbate. Make sure that you wash your penis or vagina with soap or something to clean the area from anything that might enter your urethra. Not ejaculating on purpose or semen retention or deliberate retrograde ejaculation and its effects on UTI It's important to note that withholding sperm, semen retention or deliberately not ejaculating while masturbating or having sex is a bad practice in general and might cause a lot of problems. I do not recommend this for UTI prone people. Many medical professionals would agree with me. this study even points out one of the harmful effects of semen retention or not ejaculating on purpose. Retrograde ejaculation and delayed ejaculation and their relationship with UTI For people who have retrograde ejaculation or delayed ejaculation, these problems need to be addressed separately with a urologist or a fertility specialist of course. Can these problems directly cause a UTI? If a patient has an infection in their semen, then retrograde ejaculation might transmit this infection to the bladder but as I said this is not highly likely and needs to be supported by more scientific evidence. The main fear with retrograde ejaculation is that it might cause infertility, and that's why you should address this problem with a urologist and not leave it alone. Mayoclinic has done an article on this you should check it out. Treatment for such problems usually depends on the underlying cause. You will need to discuss with your doctor how to navigate these problems and continue with your sex life without having complications, and we will do a separate article for them in the future from our part. Is UTI contagious? General note If you want to be more immune to diseases like UTI whether you have sex, masturbate or anything, you should aim for multivitamins and multimineral supplements. Many times people get infected with UTI because of their weak immune system and they think it's due to their masturbation or sexual activity, while in fact they can take vitamins and minerals supplements and continue their sexual life without always having to worry about UTI. Centrum contains almost all the vitamins and minerals that are needed by your immune system to do its job at full capacity which is to prevent infections like UTI.