“Toilet infection” is a diagnosis doctors never make. Yet, many women are sure they’ve suffered this affliction at one point in their lives.
It is difficult to define what a toilet infection is. But the term appears to describe a set of genitourinary symptoms ranging from vaginal discharge, genital itching, and painful urination.
The “toilet” in the name suggests that women contract this from a filthy toilet or generally through bad hygiene.
But this is all mostly wrong. While there is no real disease like “toilet infection”, real conditions like sexually transmitted infections (STIs), urinary tract infections (UTIs), pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), and bacterial vaginosis can perfectly explain those common symptoms.
In this article, we will discuss UTIs, reserving the other conditions for later in the series.
What is a UTI?
A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection of any of the organs in the urinary system.
It most commonly involves the bladder and is not usually life-threatening. It may, however, also affect the kidneys, and that can be life-threatening. Other situations also make UTIs very dangerous. We’ll discuss them later in this post.
Who Gets UTIs?
UTIs are one of the commonest infections in the world. Especially in women. In fact, more than half of all women on earth will have at least one episode of UTI in her lifetime.
Risk Factors for UTIs
- Gender – UTIs are commoner in women because they have a short urethra. This allows germs from outside their bodies to quickly migrate into the bladder.
- Hygiene habits – Perhaps only here can we justify the name “toilet infection”. How you clean up after defecation matters. Wiping from back to front risks dragging fecal matter towards your urinary system, which could trigger infection.
- Pregnancy – Pregnant women have UTIs more frequently than the non-pregnant. Pregnancy hormones slow down urine flow, giving bacteria more time to multiply.
- Urinary tract abnormalities – Some women are born with abnormalities that affect urine flow. Diseases like fibroids and cancers can also create blockages that raise infection risk.
- Diabetes – Sugary urine provides the perfect environment for bacterial growth.
- Sexual intercourse – Bacteria can be moved into the urinary system during sex, making UTIs more likely.
Symptoms of UTIs
- Painful urination – Burning or aching sensation while passing urine.
- Frequent urination – More than 8 times in 24 hours.
- Night urination – Waking 3 or more times at night without drinking late fluids.
- Powerful urge to urinate – So urgent that you may barely reach the toilet.
- Tummy pain or loin pain – Lower abdomen or side pain depending on whether the bladder or kidneys are infected.
- Fever, vomiting, headache, body pains, weakness – These are signs of more severe infection.
UTIs are also worse in pregnant women, the elderly, and those with urinary abnormalities.
Also notice that vaginal discharge and itching are not part of UTI symptoms. Those point to another disease process.
Treatment of UTIs
If you have any of these symptoms, see your doctor. He’ll take your history, examine you, and may request blood and urine tests. Based on results, he’ll prescribe the right antibiotics and advise you to drink lots of water to flush out the germs. In severe cases, hospital admission may be needed.
Preventing UTIs
- Wipe from front to back after defecation.
- Urinate after sexual intercourse.
- Don’t hold urine for long—empty your bladder promptly.
- Control your blood sugar if you’re diabetic.
- Attend antenatal visits regularly and have routine urine checks when pregnant.
Conclusion
Do you see that there are better explanations for your symptoms than “toilet infection”? We’ve considered UTIs today. Look out for our next article where we’ll discuss STIs.
See you then!
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