6 Things You Should NEVER Do When You Have a UTI

6 Things You Should NEVER Do When You Have a UTI



If you’ve ever had a urinary tract infection, you know they are their own special kind of hell. And considering one in five women gets a UTI at least once in her life, according to the National Kidney Foundation, chances are your ticket will get punched if it hasn’t already. An infection happens when bacteria sneak into your bladder through your urethra (what your pee comes out of) and multiply, causing the lining of your urinary tract to swell up. This leads to symptoms like frequent urges to urinate, a burning sensation while you pee, pelvic pain, and more.

That’s why “it’s important to avoid certain activities, to give the area time to heal, flush out bacteria, and not worsen symptoms or cause irritation to the vaginal area,” says Bilal Chugtai, M.D., urologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian. So, to help keep your bathroom from turning into an all-out torture chamber, here’s a roundup of the poorest decisions you could possibly make when you have a UTI … and what you should do instead.