Snow

Sitting in the snow will give you a urinary tract infection

One of our colleagues is from Sweden, and she swears to us that this is a popular myth over there, which proves two things: first, that no country is immune from believing medical myths, and second, that some health myths are regional. We have found no evidence that this myth is true (or even that it has been studied), and, guess what: it’s just not true. You can’t catch a urinary tract infection from sitting in the snow.

As long as we have your attention, though, we might as well talk to you about the other myths and truths about urinary tract infections. First off, they are very common. They account for more than eight million visits to the doctor each year, and about 20 percent of women will have at least one over the course of their lives. Urinary tract infections in children are not rare. By the time they are five, almost one in ten girls will have had a urinary tract infection, and 1 to 2 percent of boys will have had one as well.

So what does make you more likely to have a urinary tract infection? The biggest risk factor, by far, is being female. Why? Well, that is simply because it’s much harder for bacteria to get into a male’s bladder than a woman’s. We’ll give you a minute to picture the different anatomy and imagine why that’s so. See? The penis has so many uses. There is a much longer distance from the tip of a penis to a male’s bladder than from the vagina to a female’s bladder. Urinary tract infections are pretty uncommon in males, but when they occur they are often serious and an indication that something else is wrong.

Sexual activity increases the risk of a urinary tract infection, as do certain types of birth control, such as diaphragms and spermicidal agents. This is likely due to the fact that you’re putting foreign objects close to the urethra, and, well, bacteria on them might infect you. Sorry, but it’s true.

Women who have gone through menopause are at increased risk for urinary tract infections because low estrogen levels change the urinary tract in ways that leave it more likely to be infected. People with diabetes or other disorders that can reduce the effectiveness of the immune system can also be at increased risk. Children who have physical abnormalities of the urinary tract are much more likely to develop urinary tract infections.

Now on to things that are not risk factors. Studies have shown that pregnant women are no more likely to get urinary tract infections than women who are not pregnant. However, urinary tract infections in pregnant women, when they do occur, can be more serious as bacteria more often move up to the kidneys from the bladder. This may be due to hormonal changes that occur in pregnancy that make it easier for the bacteria to move.

Another thing that gets a bad rap is bubble baths for children. Pediatricians like us often tell parents not to let children sit in bubble baths because it increases the risk of urinary tract infections in children. However, a good review of the literature found that, while bubble baths might cause some external irritation in the vagina, there is no link proving that they increase urinary tract infections. And kids love bubble baths. So it’s just as likely that depriving them of the bubble baths will decrease the likelihood that they might bathe. We want children to bathe!

To recap: anatomical abnormalities, menopause, sex, and being a woman make you more likely to get a urinary tract infection. Pregnancy doesn’t make them more common, but does make them more serious. And bubble baths are unfairly maligned. Oh, and by the way, snow has nothing to do with them at all. Sorry, Sweden.