- Hey y'all! Welcome back.
I'm Mama Doctor Jones,
a board certified OB-GYN, a mom to four.
And today, we're busting five myths about UTIs
that you probably still believe.
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"Hey, I'll just film a video while we're at it."
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(gentle music)
And before we can go over five myths about UTIs
that you probably still believe,
it might make sense if we just said what a UTI is.
UTI stands for urinary tract infection.
This is an infection in the bladder,
it can also extend up into the kidneys in some cases,
and it's more common in people who were born with a uterus.
The reason for that is that the urethra tends to be shorter.
Meaning, bacteria from the outside can get into the urethra
and bladder more easily, but it can happen in anyone.
The most common cause of a UTI is something called E. coli
which is a bacteria,
but there's a lot of other things that can cause it as well.
It usually presents with dysuria
which is a fancy word for pain when you pee;
and sometimes urgency,
meaning you're feeling like you're needing to go
to the bathroom immediately and you may not make it;
and frequency, meaning you're going
to the bathroom all the time,
but you're not letting out large amounts of urine
with any of those trips;
and sometimes just general pelvic pain;
some people may also occasionally have a fever,
especially if they've had the UTI a little bit longer.
We diagnose this in the clinic with a urinalysis
which looks at the composition of your urine
and some of the different things in your urine,
and a urine culture which puts some of that urine
onto a Petri dish to see what grows.
It can also just be diagnosed clinically with symptoms
and people who have had urinary tract infections before,
because usually if you've had it before,
you can identify that it's happening again.
However, if you're having UTIs frequently,
especially if you're getting treated for them frequently,
it probably makes sense to go ahead
and getting urinalysis and a urine culture
just to make sure we're not treating the wrong thing.
Now, let's jump in to those five myths
that we need to bust today.
Number one, bad hygiene causes UTIs.
This is so far from the truth.
You cannot give yourself a UTI from bad hygiene.
UTIs are most often caused by bacteria
that is supposed to be on your skin,
that means it normally lives there.
And different factors like your hormones,
your general body makeup, and all kinds of other things
can contribute to getting a UTI,
but how often do you bathe or how hygienic you are
is definitely not one of those.
If you've had a UTI before,
please, please, please,
don't feel like this is related to hygiene,
some people are just more prone to them than others.
And it's not anything to be ashamed about,
you just need to let your doctor
or advanced practice provider know,
so we can get you taken care of.
It's also not an STD,
that's not one of the five myths,
but it's one I thought I would throw in.
It's not a sexually transmitted infection.
Myth number two, UTIs are caused from bubble baths.
This is definitely not true,
but let's talk a little bit about bubble baths
while we're at it.
Sometimes bubble baths can be irritating
to the skin around the vulva.
That's really sensitive skin,
especially the labia minora
and the entrance into the vagina,
and that's really close to where the urethra sits.
So, sometimes people who have sensitive skin
will get lots of irritation and itching and redness
from taking bubble baths.
This is really common in young kids as well.
And actually, one of my daughters had super sensitive skin
and couldn't take bubble baths,
and my son also has super sensitive skin
and can't take bubble baths
because they just end up with redness and itching
and it's no good.
So, if you or someone you know,
is frequently having these symptoms after bubble baths,
it may be the soap that's in that bubble bath.
It also could be related to things like bath bombs
that people like to use to relax in the bathtub.
So usually what I tell my patients is,
if you're having the sensitivity,
then try to avoid taking bubble baths.
But if you still want the nice smell
and relaxation of the bath bomb,
a nice alternative option
is to put it in the base of your shower
and let it fill the shower.
It's not a perfect substitute for a bubble bath
if you're the type of person that likes to take them,
but I promise your vulva will be so much more happy
if you are not exposing it to those harsh chemicals
that are causing sensitivity.
If you'd like to take bubble baths and they don't bother you
or make your vulva red or itchy, then that's totally fine.
You can take bubble baths.
It doesn't cause UTIs or other problems.
Number three, everything painful with peeing is a UTI.
Totally, totally not the truth
which is why I added in earlier that if you're having UTIs
and you're getting treated and they're not getting better,
we need to make sure it's not something else.
Other things that can cause pain with urination or dysuria
are sexually transmitted infections.
Things like gonorrhea and chlamydia or even herpes
which can cause ulcers on the skin
that burn when urine touches them,
vaginitis which is an infection inside the vagina,
other things like interstitial cystitis or even dermatologic
or skin conditions.
So, everything that causes burning with peeing is not a UTI.
If you're getting treated and it's not getting better,
that's worth going to the doctor
or advanced practice provider and getting that checked out.
That was definitely not an exhaustive list of everything
that can cause pain with peeing,
but it is some of the more common things that we see.
Number four, cranberry juice or A-Z-O
which is sold over-the-counter in stores will cure a UTI.
This is unfortunately not true.
There is some literature that's not great,
but okay, about cranberry juice in the prevention of UTIs,
but there's also a lot of literature
that says it doesn't actually work.
It's probably not harmful.
So if you get frequent UTIs
and you wanna try increasing your cranberry juice intake,
it might help.
However, I want to be very clear here
that nothing you can buy over-the-counter
including cranberry juice or AZO,
which is sold over-the-counter in stores,
will cure a UTI.
A-Z-O or AZO will make the pain of a UTI a little bit less,
but it doesn't get rid of actual bacteria
if it has gotten into the bladder and urethra
and cause an infection.
UTIs can only be treated if they're actually UTIs
with antibiotics.
So there's no harm in taking these things
if they make you feel better,
but you still probably need to get real treatment
if you have a UTI.
And again, the cranberry juice thing
is more that maybe it works as a preventative,
but it's definitely not going
to cure an active urinary tract infection.
And number five, UTIs are caused from sex.
This one is not true, but has a relationship.
So, having sex does not automatically cause a UTI.
However, people who are prone to UTIs
might see an increased incidents or an
increased frequency of them having UTIs around the time
that they become sexually active.
And if they are sexually active frequently,
they may see more and more UTI start to happen.
So, why is this?
If sex doesn't cause UTIs, why will you see this?
Sex doesn't cause UTIs in the way
that everybody doesn't get a UTI if they have sex,
but if you're having vaginal penetrative intercourse
that moves the bacteria around
and makes it more likely to get up close to the urethra.
So, ways to decrease this are urinating after having sex.
So if you are having vaginal intercourse, when you finish,
go ahead and go to the bathroom and go pee.
This may not always solve that in every case
and sometimes we will actually give people antibiotics
that they will take preventatively
after they have intercourse
if they have proven urinary tract infections
that are definitely related to sexual intercourse.
So, this is one of those half-truths.
People sometimes think like, "Oh my gosh,
"I'm having sex now, I'll start getting UTIs."
That's definitely not the case for most people.
However, some people who are already prone to UTIs
may notice that they start having them
or they get them more frequently,
once they become sexually active.
I hope that you learned something today,
leave a like on this video if you learned something,
tell me down in the comments what you learned
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Be kind to yourself, to each other, to me.
In the comments, be kind.
And I will see you next Monday.
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