Why do I keep getting urinary tract infections?
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS
Anatomy deals women a short urethra, and some people are simply more prone. Common contributors: holding urine long, low fluid intake, sex without urinating afterward, spermicides, and after menopause, thinning tissues from low estrogen.
Prevention with evidence: drink enough to urinate pale several times daily, urinate after sex, and for postmenopausal women, ask about vaginal estrogen, which cuts recurrences substantially. Cranberry helps modestly at best.
Three or more infections a year is the formal definition of recurrent and deserves a strategy visit, sometimes including preventive antibiotics or further tests.
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