Hymen-Related Recurrent UTI's and How to Cope

What is the Hymen? Put simply, according to www.Answers.Ask.com, the hymen is "In females, there will be thin layer of skin inside the vagina. This is called as hymen. It blocks the entrance of the vagina but it might get broken during sports activities or when she have sex for the first time." Because, as you can imagine, the hymen is directly linked with the urethral opening, problems can occur.

What is a Bladder Infection or UTI? A UTI is "an infection that can occur anywhere along the urinary tract", according to Healthline.com, and a bladder infection is centered more in the bladder and often the urethra as well. The urine is actually a sterile liquid, but when bacteria is pushed up through the urethra during sexual activity or other things (perhaps insufficient hygiene, or wiping back to front instead of front to back), infection develops.

How can your hymen cause an infection? You may be asking this, especially if you are a sufferer or persistent, recurrent bladder infections or UTI's. Perhaps you have tried various methods to keep the infections at bay... without prevailing. So, you may want to consider your hymen as the issue. Ask and examine yourself: is your hymen intact at all anymore? If so, how does it look inside your vagina - is it red and swollen? It may be a good idea to examine it immediately following a session of intercourse. Is it still attached somehow? Some women have a condition that is actually called "urethral-hymenal fusion" or sometimes also called an "imperforate hymen" where an unbreakable piece of flesh actually stretches across part of the opening to the vagina - whereby causing the urethra to "open wide" when the woman's vagina is penetrated. This, in turn, allows all kinds of bacteria to enter and multiply where it should not.

What can be done? If a reputable doctor diagnoses your recurrent bladder infections or UTI's as having a cause associated with your hymen, you have one of two options (if you continue to engage in sexual activity, which you probably will): one, you can have a simple procedure done that is called a "hymenectomy" in which the hymen is either removed or the opening is made larger - you can read about it on www.OurGyn.com; or two, you can be on preventative antibiotics for the rest of your sexual life! The choice is yours, and no one should pressure you in any way. Take some time to think about it, discuss it with your mate, and weigh the two options. You can get control over this condition!