Do You Really Need To Go For A Wee Straight After Sex?

Sex myth or sex fact? We’ve long been told that the secret to avoiding a urinary tract infection is to hotfoot it straight to the loo right after doing the deed, which means after every sex sesh we’ve been making a mad dash to the bathroom before we’ve barely had a chance to get our breath back, believing that unless we wee right.this.second we’ll be stuck with a nasty bout of cystitis.

On the flipside, loadsa gals reckon that you need to relieve yourself before you do the deed to avoid a UTI.

So what’s the deal? Do we really need to be, er, relieving ourselves the second sex finishes, should we be doing it beforehand, or does it simply not make a toot of a difference when we pee?

Thankfully, urologist David Kaufman MD has shed some light on the situation. Speaking to Yahoo News he explains that after sex is the optimum time to pee and it’s actually super important that you do.

It’s all down to vaginal bacteria, you see. During sex this bacteria (which has the potential to cause a UTI, FYI) gets pushed back up into your urethra. By going for a wee as soon as possible after sex, you remove that bacteria, hence reducing your risk of contracting an infection.

And just in case you needed more convincing, along with making sure you wipe front to back when you’re using the loo and not using condoms coated in spermicide, WebMD actually recommends weeing straight after sex as the best protection against UTIs.

So there you have it; unless you want to be stuck to the loo for the next week and drinking cranberry juice by the gallon, better get straight to the bathroom the second after you’ve done the deed.

• health
• Sex
• Women's Health