there is an old wise saying that in order to defeat your enemy you must know your enemy. well that could never be more true, in order for you to prevent the UTI you must know what caused the UTI in the first place, you must know the roots of the problem and tear it from the ground so that it will never come back again.
so what really causes a UTI or what are the causes of UTI? that’s what we will discuss in this article.
here are the 15 most common causes of uti in a quick list:
1_ having problems like diarrhea and constipation
2_ the sex partner
3_ the use of sex toys
4_ you have a kidney stone
5_ holding the urine in
6_ sugar
7_ urinary catheterization
8_ the misuse of antibiotics
9_ unhealthy lifestyle
10_ pregnancy
11_ not taking care of your personal hygiene
12_ birth control
13_ weak immune system
14_ menopause
15_ high levels of progesterone hormone
it’s worth to mention that some of these causes are more common than the others, some others are causes of causes… etc, but we shall explain each one of them in its section.
here are the two major types of uti with the organisms that cause them.
community-acquired UTI now the primary organisms that cause a UTI are bacteria especially the (Escherichia coli) bacteria, this strain of bacteria are responsible for about 80% of the cases of the community-acquired UTI throughout the world followed by the (Staphylococcus saprophyticus) bacteria which are responsible for about 5 to 10% OF the cases.
now, these bacteria travel from the gut to the urethra and then to the bladder to cause the UTI.
healthcare-associated UTI while other bacteria is responsible for another type of UTI which is called healthcare-associated UTI, it’s mostly when people use urinary catheters and these catheters are not very much hygeinated so they get infected with bacteria. these bacteria other than E coli are mostly Klebsiella and Pseudomonas bacteria with the fungi Candida albicans, and Enterococcus are also responsible for some number of cases.
it’s worth to mention that women are usually more prone to UTI than men because of the anatomy of the female, in men the urethra goes through the penis then to the bladder so the bacteria will have to travel a long distance before reaching the bladder, while in women the urethra is much shorter so the bacteria will have to travel a shorter distance before reaching the bladder.
now, what are the most common causes that can bring those bacteria to our urinary tract and cause a UTI?
1_ having problems like diarrhea and constipation:
the most common path that the bacteria take to cause uti is through the colon, then to the anus then out of the body then to the urethra and then to the bladder having problems like diarrhea or constipation or both in many cases means that you have bacteria in your large intestine especially in the colon. having bad bacteria in your colon will increase the chance of them traveling to your urethra in the future so you must always make sure that your colon is healthy and you are not having trouble when you go to the bathroom.
if you are always bloating, having diarrhea, or constipated that can mean that you are having problems down in your large intestine (colon) area. most probably the probiotic bacteria (the good bacteria) in your large intestine are getting decreased in their numbers, this will give the chance to the bad bacteria to invade your large intestines and cause these problems and others.
as we said earlier these problems can be a predisposing factor for UTI.
taking probiotic supplements like this 60 Billion CFU probiotic supplement (available on Amazon) can be the solution to these problems.
take one capsule once daily with or without food.
consult your doctor before use if you are taking any other medications or have any other underlying condition.
for more information about this subject please visit the probiotics for UTI article.
2_ the sex partner:
whether you are a man or a woman, if you have a sex partner who does not take his personal hygiene very well, this person can cause problems to you, and one of these problems is UTI.
if you are a woman most likely your partner can transmit to you many vaginal infections as well as UTI, the same thing applies for men, women can also transmit to them many sexual diseases in addition to the UTI. so be careful about your personal hygiene as well as your partner’s hygiene.
3_ the use of sex toys:
sex toys can be a medium for a lot of bacteria and microorganisms to gather on them, so they can cause you a lot of trouble if you don’t clean them very well. so consider the hygiene of your sex toys if you use any.
4_ you have kidney stones:
if you have kidney stones then it will not be a surprise that you have a UTI, kidney stones scratch and wound the inner walls of the urinary tract as they move along the way from the kidney to the ureter and then to the bladder, so as they move through all these parts they will cause scratches and wounds to them.
these scratches and wounds can be a source of attraction to the bacteria so bacteria will gather around them and cause infections, in addition, the stones in themselves can attract bacteria.
so kidney stones are a major risk factor for uti.
if you have UTI and you suffer from a pain in the lower back or flank region that radiates to the groin or inner thigh region then you probably have kidney stones in addition to the UTI or maybe the kidney stones are causing the UTI so make sure that your treatment is focused on both problems not just the UTI.
5_ holding the urine in:
keeping the urine in and not going to the bathroom as soon as you can increase the chance of you having a UTI.
when the bladder gets fulled by urine it stretches out so that it can take more urine, so when you keep the urine in it for a long period of time the bladder will be stretched out for a long period of time so with time if you keep on doing this bad habit the bladder when it returns back to its normal shape it will have areas that are more stretched than the others.
the urine will accumulate in these areas and it will be a source of attraction for a lot of bacteria and germs.
On the other hand, keeping the bladder full for a long time will make it easier for the bacteria to invade the urine that is stored in it between voids while it’s full.
holding it in will cause you other problems like the bladder will be having incontinence problems and many other problems besides the UTI.
on the contrary, it will be better if you urinate more often, in this way the bladder muscles will have more time to rest.
6_ sugar:
yup it’s right, sugar can make you have a UTI, not just UTI, other infections as well can be caused by sugar, as it runs through the blood and then to the organs of our body then finally to the urinary tract where it can be disposed through the urine, sugar can be a source of food for the bacteria, so it will attract the bacteria to the urinary tract first then the bacteria will feed on it and use the energy it gives to replicate and spread in the urinary tract to cause UTI.
this especially applies for people who suffer from diabetes or at risk of diabetes, but it’s also applied for healthy people as well because your body will take time before it can metabolize all the amount of sugar that you have taken and during that time sugar (especially the fortified sugar) can expose you to many infections including the UTI.
also, there are many studies suggesting that the sugar (especially the fortified sugar) has a negative effect on the immune system and the sugar will make the body’s defense against the bacteria and infections weaker.
so only consume medium amounts of sugar even if you are not diabetic to lower the risks of infections that you might get.
7_ urinary catheterization:
urinary catheterization is the process of inserting a thin medical tube (a catheter) into the bladder of a patient through the urethra.
if the catheter is not very well sterilized or if the person inserting the catheter is not very much experienced it can cause a UTI. make sure that the urine is drained to a closed bag and there are no obstructions of the urine drainage.
8_ the misuse of antibiotics:
using antibiotics to treat your UTI and then disposing of it immediately or shortly after the symptoms go will make the remaining bacteria that haven’t been killed make reinfection only it will be harder to fight them this time and will need maybe a stronger antibiotic to fight them this time.
you will not benefit from taking antibiotics for prevention (prophylaxis) purposes many studies and researches have found that doing this will only increase the problem of bacterial resistance and may lead to a stronger UTI in the future.
also, antibiotics can kill the normal flora (the good bacteria) in your bowel which can open the way for the bad bacteria to come in.
9_ unhealthy lifestyle:
not exercising, eating fast food all the time staying in your room for too long, not going out and breathing fresh air every once in a while, not being able to deal with the stresses of life or having an unhealthy lifestyle, in general, can have a negative impact on your immune system making it less capable of fighting the bacterial infections like UTI or any other infections.
when being stressed out your body will release the cortisol hormone which has many effects and one of them is that it weakens the immune system so being exposed to this hormone for a long period of time will have a significant impact on your immune system and its ability to fight infections like the UTI.
10_ pregnancy:
during pregnancy, your body will go through a lot of hormonal changes and that can affect your urinary tract making it more susceptible to infections.
also, the growing fetus will put some pressure on the bladder making it harder to release the urine, if some urine remains in the bladder for enough period of time it can attract some bacteria and cause infections.
so, if you are pregnant then you must take some precautionary measures like drinking a lot of water and going to the bathroom more often, and if you feel any pain with urination or if you feel the need to urinate even if your bladder is empty or any other symptoms of the UTI make sure to report them to the doctor immediately.
11_ not taking care of your personal hygiene:
people who do not take care of their own personal hygiene are more exposed to infections like the UTI and other similar infections.
not cleaning the area around your genitals very well after sex or not taking a shower too often and for women not wiping from the front to back can expose your genitals to different sorts of infections including the UTI (because from the area around your genitals if there are any bacteria they can enter the urethra easily and cause a UTI).
so keep clean and always make sure that you shower after having sex and in the shower, you must clean the area around the genitals very well.
12_ birth control:
birth control can take many shapes and forms from birth control pills to vaginal rings and spermicide and others.
now as for the orally taken birth control pills which are based on the estrogen hormone I didn’t find any evidence linking them to UTI, while as for the vaginal rings or spermicide or other similar measures they can carry some of the bacteria from the outside to the vagina and cause a UTI.
however, I think that birth control pills which are based on the progesterone hormone may have something to do with causing UTI, although more researches should be done on this subject in any case you should not take any of the birth control pills without consulting the doctor first.
ps: a recent study has found that estrogen therapy ( estrogen is one of the female sex hormones which has a wide range of biological functions related to the building of the inner lining of the uterus and is used also in the birth control pills) this estrogen therapy can prevent uti.
13_ weak immune system:
if you have for any reason a weak immune system then you are more susceptible to infections than other people and for that you must pay extra attention to your personal hygiene and to the food that you eat and to the hygiene of your room and surrounding environment and other stuff.
people can have weak immune systems because of medications they take like steroids or because of some diseases like diabetes or because of a deficiency to certain vitamins or mineral-like vitamin D or vitamin C or vitamin A or zinc or because of an unhealthy lifestyle.
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.
centrum and centrum silver for elderly people can be the best supplements to achieve that goal, check their prices on amazon.
take centrum or centrum silver once daily after meal.
14_ menopause:
women who have reached menopause will experience a lot of hormonal changes, these hormonal changes can make them vulnerable to many diseases like the UTI and also other diseases as well mostly osteoporosis.
so, women around the age of menopause and postmenopausal women should resort to taking supplements that contain a wide range of vitamins and minerals that is to improve their immunity against the UTI or other infections or diseases and for there overall health in general.
15_ high levels of the progesterone hormone:
high levels of the progesterone hormone is associated with weakness of the muscles of the bladder and ureters which can be responsible of a reflux of urine back to the kidneys which is very dangerous. also the adhesion of the bacteria to those weak bladder and ureters will be easier which will increase the chance of infection.
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in the end, I would like to advise you and my self to avoid those things that cause the UTI, so keep healthy and goodbye. also, I’m not a native English speaker so excuse me if I do any mistakes, thank you.