Women’s Susceptibility to Urinary Tract Infections
Every year, 10% of women develop a urinary tract infection (UTI). One in every five women will suffer from UTI at least once in their life.
Symptoms of UTI include a burning sensation or pain during urination, and a frequent need to urinate with very little urine each time. If you suspect you have UTI, go to a doctor for tests. A lot of white blood cells in the urine indicate that there is inflammation of the urinary system.
According to statistics, the chances of women suffering from UTI are 10 times higher than that of men. This is because the female urethra is shorter than men’s, usually only 4cm long, and the outer mouth is near the vagina and anus, which are more likely to be contaminated by bacterial contamination. Coupled with the folds of the female external genitalia near the urethra, it is vulnerable to bacteria and infection. If the body’s defenses are weakened, the bacteria will take advantage of it.
Women are particularly susceptible to urinary tract infection during the below:
Menstrual period
Bacteria breeds very easily in the blood, which then contaminates the urethra. During menstruation, the body’s resistance also decreases, further increasing the opportunity for infection. The use of tampons may disturb the normal vaginal defense mechanisms, so women who use tampons have a greater chance of disease than women who use sanitary napkins!
Wedding period
In virgin women, the urethra is covered by the labia majora and labia minora, so it is not in direct contact with the outside world and thus relatively clean. After the onset of sexual life, this natural barrier is damaged. During the wedding period, frequent sex brings the male and female sexual organs in close contact and friction, which opens the door to bacterial invasion. Women who do not pay attention to sexual hygiene are more susceptible to disease. Diaphragms and spermicide can disrupt the balance of bacteria in the vagina, reduce the protective bacteria, and allow harmful bacteria the opportunity to attack. Also, busy wedding preparations and honeymoon excitement can result in emotional and physical fatigue, which decreases the body’s resistance.
Pregnancy
After a few months of pregnancy, the urine voiding response may slow. Sometimes women do not feel the need to urinate for three to four hours, but there is a large amount of urine when they go to the toilet. This is because during pregnancy, the large uterus squeezes the bladder and urethra, so the urine stays in the bladder easily. Bacteria can easily grow in the urine, so the chances of infection will greatly increase.
Menopause
Decreased levels of estrogen lead to the occurrence of degenerative changes in the urethral mucosa, reduced immunoglobulin and organic acid content, decreased local resistance, and thus the peak of susceptibility to UTI. According to statistics, after menopause, the chance of UTI increases 1% to 2% every 10 years.
UTI is a very easy-to-recur disease, with the likelihood of recurrence within two years at up to 80%! So, it is important not to take it lightly, and to get thorough treatment.
UTI is common and not a serious disease, treatment will soon make it better; so many people do not attach importance to it and stop taking medication after a few days, when they feel better. But this makes it easy for a small number of pathogenic bacteria to escape the attack of antibiotics, and survived till the appropriate time when they can come back and cause a relapse. At this time, the bacteria will have developed resistance, making future treatment more difficult.