In this article, we are going discuss the possibility of a urinary tract infection transmitted from one human being to the other.
whether it was due to sex or anything else, can the UTI be transmitted from one person to the other?
that’s what we are going to discuss in this article. to clear the things first we want to make certain of some point.
UTI is not considered a sexually transmitted disease.
but what is a sexually transmitted disease?
a sexually transmitted disease is a disease that can be transmitted from one partner who carries the disease to the other partner who does not carry the disease through sex.
in that sense, a uti cannot be considered a sexually transmitted disease.
many diseases are considered sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS, hepatitis, etc… and also many infections are considered sexually transmitted infections like Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections, Trichomoniasis, herpes, syphilis, chlamydia, and others.
but as far as we are concerned in this article, the uti is not one of them.
but also keep in mind that a person who has one of these infections are more prone to having a UTI than others.
especially if he or she has a Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection, Trichomoniasis, or chlamydia because these infections happen in areas near the urinary tract.
many of the uti cases are associated with one of these infections.
It’s very rare for a healthy person to have a UTI transmitted to him from his or her partner directly. But why is it considered that the possibility of the UTI increases during sex?
Well, there is a strong reason for that.
And that reason is that many of us have the bacteria that causes the uti in or on our own bodies.
the most common organism that causes the uti is called the E. coli bacteria.
This bacteria can come from the intestines to the anus and then to the urethra causing a UTI.
now when they go to the anus they go on the outside near the anus and try to wait for a chance to invade the urethra.
ps: the urethra is the first part of the urinary tract from the downward direction.
when having sex these bacteria can go on your partner’s genitals or hands or mouth or body or anything. from your partner’s genitals, hands, or whatever they can go to your urethra.
this can happen to women a lot as they may be having some E. coli bacteria around the anus area.
the risk for women
these bacteria can go to the penis of their male partner’s and then enter the urethra through the act of sex.
because the urethra is located just right above the vagina so when the penis of the male partner enters the vagina, it will be very easy for the E. coli bacteria to go to the urethra from there.
also during sex, the penis of the male can touch different parts of the female. like it can touch or go near the area of the anus and from there the E. coli bacteria can go onto the penis.
and also the penis can or surely will touch or go near the urethra area, and the E. coli on it can go to the urethra when the penis is touching or around that area.
so the male genitals can bring the bacteria from the anus of the female to the urethra and that’s can increase the possibility of the UTI.
so this is one way in which the possibility of the UTI can be increased. so it’s not transmitted from the male partner to the female partner.
but rather the male partner has helped the female’s own bacteria reach its destination.
also, the bacteria can go on to the bedsheets and then to the male’s genitals and then to the urethra of the female. or it can go directly from the bedsheets to the urethra of the female.
Also, the use of sex toys can increase the possibility of the uti especially if they were not too much clean.
Because the E. coli bacteria can also use them as a means for transportation to the urethra. So there are many scenarios in which the bacteria can reach the urethra of the female through sex.
What increases the possibility of UTI for the females is the anatomy of the female genitals. In females, the urethra is much shorter than the urethra in males.
So once the bacteria reach the urethra in females it will be easy for them to reach the bladder and cause a urinary tract infection (UTI) because they will have to cut a short distance.
so in this case what has caused the UTI is not the bacteria that have come from the male but the female’s own bacteria using the male or other things like the bedsheets or the sex toys as a means of transportation.
In one case the male can transmit a sexually transmitted infection to the female like gonorrhea infection or chlamydia infection or others. The uti can happen to the female as a result of these infections.
But these infections are not UTI.
For example, a male transmits the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria to his female partner. The female will have a Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection in the urethra and the infection will stay there.
The Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria cannot or do not prefer to climb up the urethra to reach the bladder so they will stay in the urethra.
Now the turn comes to the E. coli bacteria which takes advantage of the situation. The immune system is now busy fighting the Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection so when the E. coli bacteria comes to the urethra it will find less resistance from the immune system.
Also, there are some good bacteria living in the urethra and other parts of the urinary tract. These bacteria in healthy people will prevent the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria and the E. coli bacteria from invading the urinary tract.
But when the Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection is transmitted through sex it will fight with these good bacteria and if the Neisseria gonorrhoeae wins there will be an infection.
So during the Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection or any other sexually transmitted infection the immune system will be weaker and also the good bacteria which protect the urinary tract are less.
So this can make the job easier for the E. coli bacteria to cause a urinary tract infection. there are many cases in which a UTI has been associated with a sexually transmitted infection.
either the UTI was caused by a sexually transmitted infection or the sexually transmitted infection has exacerbated the UTI or vice versa. another thing that can increase the UTI risk is:
practicing both anal and vaginal sex at the same time, this can bring some of the bacteria from the anus to the vagina and the near urethra which can cause a UTI.
but if the woman didn’t have any of the uti causing bacteria on her…
can the uti be transmitted to the woman form her male partner?
well, if the male had some of the UTI causing bacteria like the E. coli in or on his penis, then he can transport some of that bacteria to his female partner.
note: the bacteria on the male’s penis can come from the female’s body as well as from the male’s own body. keep in mind that he did not transmit the uti because even if the bacteria have reached the woman’s vagina or urethra the infection still didn’t happen.
a man may transport some bacteria to his female partner but it could be flushed out with urination before it reaches the bladder. or it could be killed by the female’s immune system or by the good bacteria living in the female’s urinary tract.
if there are bacteria in the male’s urethra (in the penis) he may feel a burning sensation with urination. so if your partner is experiencing that feeling you should refrain from sex until you know what’s happening with him.
in most cases the interplay of exchanging bacteria and germs between you and your partner is what will cause the UTI.
not just the bacteria from your partner if he has any. that’s why the uti is not considered a sexually transmitted infection. having a weak immune system in the first place can be a contributing factor to you getting a UTI or an STD that will furthermore weaken your immune system.
even if you eat healthily, our food does not contain all the necessary amounts of vitamins and minerals to keep our immune system going with full strength.
so every once in a while we will need to take vitamins and minerals supplements to replenish our body’s store of vitamins.
this will reduce the chance of you having a UTI or an STD and if you already have one this will definitely aid in the treatment process.
centrum and centrum silver for elderly people can be the best supplements choice to achieve that goal, check their prices on amazon.
take centrum or centrum silver once daily after meal.
some tips for you:
_ keeping everything clean will surely decrease the possibility of a uti.
_ whipping from front to back after sex or at any time can reduce the possibility of the uti.
_ making sure that your partner doesn’t carry a sexually transmitted infection or disease is vital.
_ keeping the bedsheets, sex toys, and the surrounding environment clean will decrease the possibility of a UTI.
_ taking a shower before and after intercourse is also important.
_ urinating after the intercourse immediately can flush out the bacteria that have been recently introduced to your urethra if there is any.
_ taking a pill (or a capsule) or a short course of an antibiotic after sex for prophylaxis can be helpful for you but you will need to consult the doctor first before you do that.
_ refraining from practicing anal sex can reduce the possibility of the uti by a large margin.
_ going back and forth from anal sex to vaginal sex can be very dangerous so be very careful from that. these tips can be applied for both men and women
the risk for men
now, what about men? do they carry the same risk of having a uti because of the sexual activity?
well, men have a lesser probability of having a UTI than women in general. and they have a lesser probability of having a UTI due to the sexual activity.
but the risk is still there.
men anatomically have a longer urethra than women.
that means that for any bacteria that want to reach the bladder through the urethra they will have to cut a longer distance.
most of the time a man will feel the urge to urinate after sex. so if there are any bacteria in his urethra it will be flushed out before it reaches the bladder.
even if we take time before we go to the bathroom the long urethra that we have will decrease the possibility of a UTI. so the possibility of a man getting UTI directly because of sex is low.
but sex cannot just increase the possibility of the uti only.
sex can increase the possibility or transmit to you a sexually transmitted infection or disease.
making sure that your partner is clear of any of those is very important. or you could just use a condom.
if a man gets a sexually transmitted infection from his partner, which is a thing that can happen, the UTI can occur as a result of that.
and just like women if men get a sexually transmitted infection his immune system will be very busy fighting that infection. also, the normal flora (the good bacteria) in his urinary tract will be less due to the war going on between them and the bad bacteria.
this will attract the UTI bacteria to the urinary tract and cause a UTI in addition to the sexually transmitted infection.
many men have a UTI that occurred as a result of a sexually transmitted infection. and this is actually more common than a man getting a UTI directly from his partner.
so can a uti be transmitted from a woman to man?
the possibility for that is very low in fact it’s considered a very rare thing. however, a sexually transmitted infection can be transmitted from a woman to a man and the UTI can happen secondary to that as we have explained earlier.
toilet seats
now let’s move to another question for many people who use public bathrooms they will have this question.
is uti contagious through toilet seats?
the answer is it could happen but the likelihood of such a thing happening is very low.
first, the surface of the toilet seats is not quite the surface that the bacteria prefer to live on. and if there were bacteria living on it, it will be hard for them to go to your buttocks and from there to your genitals area.
and even if some bacteria reach your urethra through that route, they will not be in enough amounts to cause a UTI. just make sure that your toilet paper hasn’t touched the water in the toilet and that will be enough.
but if you already have a UTI this will be another case.
in that case, you must take extra precaution because you already have a UTI bacteria in your urinary tract. so any possibility of introducing new bacteria to your urinary tract even in small amounts is dangerous.
for more information on this subject check out this article.
oral sex
a question that comes to the minds of people is: is uti contagious through giving oral sex?
the answer is no. even if the penis of the male has some bacteria on it or in it, and even if the vagina of the female has some bacteria in it or around it. and even if that bacteria reaches the mouth of the person giving oral. it will then go to his or her stomach.
in the stomach no matter how strong the bacteria is, it will be killed by the high acidity in the stomach. bacteria can’t live in highly acidic conditions. 99,99% of the time the bacteria will be killed by the acidity of the stomach.
only if you got some hell of a bacteria in there which is a case very rare to happen. but it can happen. and if bacteria can endure high acidic conditions or if it was in high amounts that some of it managed to get out of the stomach alive then some problems in the intestines might occur.
and if that bacteria was an E. coli bacteria they can travel from the intestines to the urethra via the anus causing a UTI. but keep in mind that this scenario is very rare to happen.
even if the person giving oral swallows the seminal fluid of his partner and that seminal fluid contains bacteria, even in that case you will have to swallow a very large amount of it to be at risk.
so, no, uti is not contagious through giving oral sex. on the other hand, there is another question. is uti contagious through receiving oral sex?
the answer is yes. uti is contagious through receiving oral sex big time.
while your partner’s mouth can be clean and do not have pathological bacteria, but, the very act of putting the tongue on the vagina or on the penis especially around the vagina can bring some of the bacteria from the surroundings and put it in the urethra.
if there are some bacteria around the penis, receiving oral sex can bring some of that bacteria to the penis opening and then to the urethra.
if the bacteria entered the penis in high amounts they will cause a UTI. for women, it’s even more dangerous.
if there were some bacteria around the vagina and the urethra area, receiving oral sex can bring some of it to the urethra opening and cause a UTI if the bacteria were in high amounts.
what increases that possibility is the near anus which can have bacteria around it. so the tongue and mouth activity can bring some bacteria from there to the urethra.
make sure that your partner doesn’t have any ENT (ear-nose-throat) problems
problems like sore throat, common cold, flu, and others.
as the people having those problems may have bacteria in their mouths. these bacteria can be transported from your partner’s mouth to your genital through receiving oral sex.
so be careful from that.
you will find more information about this subject in this article.
so moving on to another related topic which is:
the contagiousness of the different types of uti.
people may ask is kidney infections (upper uti) contagious?
to answer this question we must know the two types of uti and they are:
1) lower uti, which includes urethra infection and bladder infection
2) upper uti which includes ureter infection and kidney infection.
from their name kidney infections are part of the upper uti.
a kidney infection means that there are bacteria in the kidneys. but it doesn’t mean necessarily mean that there are bacteria in the bladder or in the urethra.
if there was a urethra infection or a bladder infection especially if there was a urethra infection then it could be contagious although as we said it’s rare.
but just a kidney infection alone cannot be contagious.
because the bacteria is up there in the kidney so they can’t go down to the urethra and from there to the outside world and to your partners genitals to cause the uti.
this scenario almost doesn’t happen. but only the urethra or bladder infection can sometimes be contagious to your partner on rare occasions.
kidney infections are very serious conditions even if they are not contagious. more information about them is in the kidney infection article.
what you need to fear the most is the interchange or interplay of bacteria between you and your partner.
most of the time if your partner had some kind of UTI he or she will have some bacteria on the areas around his genitals. like around the anus and the urethra and vagina or penis area.
because these bacteria are what most likely that have caused the uti in the first place. even if your partner didn’t have any kind of uti, bacteria around these areas could be present.
so what you need to fear the most is those bacteria and the bacteria around your anus and genitals also. because as we said earlier they could be passed on your partner’s genitals and then to you.
so the bacteria around your intimates and around your partner’s intimates is what increases the possibility of the uti after sex.
while you can fear less from the bacteria inside your partner’s urethra unless it was bacteria of a sexually transmitted infection then that’s another case.
one of the things you can do is take a shower before and after sex to wash out those bacteria. or wipe from the front to back using a sterilized tissue like a baby wipe or something.
so is the uti contagious?
the answer is no. meaning that it’s not a sexually transmitted disease. and it’s very hard to pass on the bacteria of the UTI from an infected person to the other.
but the sex action can increase the possibility of the UTI. as we have explained earlier.
that’s why many people around the world especially women suffer from UTI after sex.
in fact, sex in all of its forms is the cause of the most UTI cases around the world. there is even a name for it it’s called “honeymoon cystitis”
note: cystitis is a condition related to the UTI if you wanna know more about check out this article.
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so thank you for reading this article to the end, I hope that you have found it useful. please do not hesitate to check out the other articles on this website as they have the best information about the uti on the internet.
so thank you, and, bye-bye.