A urinary infection originates from self-contamination of the individual due to the rise of bacteria from the digestive sphere to the urinary sphere. Toilets, swimming pool, report… An update on the possible causes of contamination.
Is a urinary tract infection contagious?
A urinary infection is not contagious, because it is the individual himself who becomes self-contaminated. It is important to distinguish urinary infections in women from those in men: “the very short distance between the rectum and the urinary meatus in women will more easily promote the rise of bacteria from one to the other. Bacteria from the digestive tract can travel to a woman’s urinary system and back up to the bladder to infect it. While in men, this distance is greater, the risk of urinary infection is lower and most often due to problems with the functioning of the prostate.specifies Stéphanie Haim-Boukobza, biologist and medical director of Cerballiance laboratories.
Can you be infected via toilets (WC)?
There does not exist no link between urinary tract infection and toilet use, because the origin of urinary infections comes from colonization of the bladder by bacteria from an individual. “This is a received idea.”notes Stéphanie Haim-Boukobza.
Can you get infected at the swimming pool?
There is also no link between a UTI and a pool infection. Since it is a sanitized environment where bacteria are normally non-existent in the pool, due to water treatment with chlorine. On the other hand, in some women, there may be more often the appearance of vaginal yeast infections due to a “stripping” of the protective vaginal flora. “In fact, women who very often go to the swimming pool may have an imbalance in the bacterial flora and therefore a more sensitive genital mucosa to the development of vaginal mycoses. On the other hand, there is no direct link with an increased development of urinary infections“, she adds.
Can it be transmitted during sexual intercourse?
Urinary infection cannot be transmitted during sexual intercourse. Even if the bacterial flora are in contact, the urinary infection is located at the level of the bladder and/or the prostate and in no case at the level of the sexual organs, unlike sexually transmitted infections which are linked to other micro- organisms that cause urinary infections.
Thanks to Stéphanie Haim Boukobza, biologist and medical director of Cerballiance laboratories