Can You Get a UTI From Masturbating?

Read on to learn all about the connection between masturbation and UTIs.

How Common Are UTIs?

According to Lucky Sekhon, MD, a fertility specialist and board-certified ob-gyn in New York City, “The female urethra — the passageway that connects the bladder to the outside world and allows for evacuation of urine when you use the bathroom — is short, relative to male anatomy, so bacteria from the skin surrounding the urethra and the outside environment has a shorter distance to travel to get into the bladder and cause infection.”

The Connection Between Masturbation and UTIs

There are many known benefits of masturbating, like better sleep and lower stress, and doing it doesn’t increase your risk of getting a UTI on its own. But many of the actions that are part of sex and masturbation could contribute to UTIs by introducing bacteria that doesn’t belong into the urethra.

“While masturbation itself does not increase the risk of UTIs, certain types of products associated with it, such as lubrication or toys, can,” says Dr. Grover.

For example, she says that lubes can mess with the pH of the urogenital flora, the naturally occurring bacteria in the vagina, which can cause infections.

Additionally, using toys in both the anus and vagina or anal fingering without proper cleanup can “cross-contaminate the urethra with bacteria that is innate to the anorectal region,” she says. (Also the reason that people are taught to wipe front to back when using the bathroom.)

This is why it’s so important to never use anal toys in the vagina, to wash your hands when moving between the front and back door, and to regularly clean your sex toys. “Bacteria from the anus as well as from fingernails or the toys themselves can cause a cross-contamination that can infect the urethra with foreign pathogens,” says Grover.

You could even get a UTI from friction during penetration because the thrusting can push bacteria toward the urethra.

“Keep in mind that during intercourse, thrusting, or manual stimulation, bacteria like E. coli that normally reside near the anal and vaginal openings can migrate toward the urethra,” says ob-gyn Alyssa Dweck, MD. Peeing after sex may help flush out bacteria so it can’t reach the urethra.

Any penetration — whether with a toy, penis, or fingers — can push bacteria closer to the urethra. Grover says, “It’s actually common to get a urinary tract infection while being fingered during sexual activity as well as using toys or a vibrator.”

“When having sex or even when masturbating or using sex toys, there could be transfer of fecal matter residue and associated bacteria frontward, near the urethra,” says Dr. Sekhon. “Therefore, it is possible that any of these acts could increase the risk of a UTI, particularly in women who have other risk factors for developing a UTI.”

If you already have a UTI, masturbating can make it worse, too. Grover says that masturbating can amplify the painful sensations of having a UTI by applying unneeded friction and pressure to an already inflamed and irritated area. So if you have a UTI, it’s best to cool it until you’re healed or try masturbating without touching.

Common Causes of UTIs

Beyond sex, there are many possible causes of UTIs. These include high sugar intake, not drinking enough water, poor hygiene that encourages the spread of bacteria, holding in urine for extended periods of time, certain medications, surgical procedures, birth control, and menopause, says Grover. You could even get a UTI from peeing in a lake or other body of water.

Additionally, Sekhon says that existing medical conditions like diabetes and pregnancy can put people more at risk for getting a UTI because they can “make someone’s immune system less able to fight off infections,” she says.

Symptoms of UTIs

How can you tell if you have a UTI? According to Grover, some of the hallmark symptoms of UTIs include the following:

• A strong need to pee often, even if you’ve gone recently
• Burning sensation while peeing
• Strong-smelling urine
• Cloudy or bloody urine
• Pelvic pain

Grover says that symptoms from UTIs after sex typically present within 48 hours. If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, it’s best to seek treatment right away for your comfort and safety. Symptoms for advanced UTIs, which are infections that have gone untreated for longer, can include “fever, chills, or even altered mental status,” she says.

Treatments and Relief for UTIs

If you find experience pain or discomfort after masturbating or sex, it’s worth checking in with your doctor. Some UTIs clear on their own without further treatment, says Grover, but many UTIs require treatment with antibiotics, so it’s important to see a doctor for guidance.

There are some ways to find relief if you’re waiting for treatment or in the process of being treated. When you have a UTI, Grover says that it’s important to stay hydrated so you can use the bathroom more often and flush bacteria from your urinary tract.

To help relieve pain, Grover recommends over-the-counter medications and using a hot water bottle or heating pad for cramps. In addition to staying hydrated, be sure to get plenty of rest so your body can fight off the infection.

But keep in mind that these methods should never replace doctor-prescribed treatments. If you take these measures and feel better, don’t assume the UTI is gone entirely. “Although it may appear the UTI has resolved, these methods do not treat the bacteria, which can multiply even more and continue to cause further infections of the kidneys or even the blood,” says Grover. Your doctor can test you for specific bacteria and provide treatments to stop their multiplication and clear up the UTI.

UTIs can be extremely dangerous if left untreated. They can cause inflammation of the kidneys and bladder, which can cause “sustained or worsening pain, spillage of blood into the urine, or possibly acute or chronic kidney failure,” says Grover. “Further infection can even cause sepsis, which is an infection of the bloodstream by the same pathogen causing the UTI.”

How to Prevent UTIs

Luckily, there are plenty of things you can do to help reduce the chances of getting a UTI, whether from masturbating or otherwise. In general, Grover recommends peeing after sex, using condoms, and using products without fragrances around the genitals to prevent UTIs from sex.

Sekhon agrees. “One of the ways to reduce the risk of a UTI from sex is to urinate right away after intercourse — this helps flush any bacteria from the urethral opening before it can get into the bladder,” she says. “In theory, urinating after any sexual activity, including masturbation or use of sex toys that could transfer bacteria, dirt, fecal matter from back to front, will help to prevent a UTI.”

Staying hydrated and not holding in your pee — meaning, peeing when you need to — can go a long way toward preventing UTIs by preventing buildup of bacteria in the urethra.

“Bladder infections can also be provoked or induced by lack of hydration flushing the bladder clear periodically and by holding one’s urine too long, which leads to the accumulation of stagnant urine, where bacteria can proliferate,” says Sekhon.

Another important habit? Keeping bacteria from the anus away from the vagina by practicing good hygiene. “One of the ways to prevent UTIs is to ensure that you wipe front to back to avoid spreading fecal matter and the bacteria it contains, such as E. coli, from the anal area to the urethral opening,” says Sekhon.

The Takeaway

• It’s possible to get a UTI from masturbating. But there are multiple ways to prevent them from happening in the first place.
• Symptoms of a UTI include a strong urge to pee despite having recently gone, as well as a burning sensation when you go.
• It’s important to stay hydrated, as a way of both preventing UTIs as well as recovering from them.
• Talk with your doctor about any persistent pain or discomfort.