Toys and Infections

Contributor: cherryredhead88 cherryredhead88
Can using certain toys cause UTIs or bladder infections?

I've only really been using silicone or plastic toys and I think I have a bladder infection now. Wondering if it could be from using these toys.

Nothing else has happened that I think could cause this, unless it is just normal sometimes.

I am on the depo shot and I always have really weird menstrual cycles though. I plan on going back on the pill since I no longer have sex with anyone.
08/24/2011
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Contributor: Illusional Illusional
I'm on the depo myself. I use mostly silicone but one of my faves is jelly. I know jelly toys can store bacteria cause they are so pourous but I haven't had an issue with them really.
If you've got a mild UTI, I'd drink cranberry juice, lots of it and lots of water and it should go away. Or that's been my experience.
08/24/2011
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Any activity down there can cause a UTI or bladder infection. The way to prevent them is to urinate before and after activity, especially if you use lube during.
08/24/2011
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
It might not be the material of the toy, but just the way your body is reacting to anything from stimulation to accidental introduction of bacteria to just bad luck. Sometimes UTIs just happen.

Make sure you sanitize your toys, so you don't pass the bacteria back to yourself. I'd use bleach or alcohol, or if it's a boilable toy boil it. Don't give yourself genital stimulation while you are treating the UTI and please see a doctor, have him take a urine culture so you can be properly treated. Make sure your toys are individually wrapped or bagged in separate, clean cloth bags or handkerchiefs (I'm not a fan of plastic bags of any kind for keeping toys clean. Fungus grows in air free plastic as do some bacteria, and cloth is the best way to store toys.) Don't use any toys nor masturbate while your UTI is being treated. It will clear up quickly if there is no stimulation. Don't use harsh soaps, and NO bubble baths at all. They can act like Napalm on the urethra and make it raw enough to let bacteria get a hold. Also, 100% cotton panties will be your best defense against both fungal and bacterial infections.

Untreated UTIs can lead to bleeding into the urine, kidney damage, ureter damage, urethral infections and a LOT of pain and suffering. Get UTIs treated as soon as you think you have one. Good doctors will also do a test for vaginal infections, fungal, parasitic (like Giardia and Tricamonis) and bacterial, and test for STDs and other issues.
08/24/2011
Contributor: Illusional Illusional
Wow, P'Gell I did not know you couldn't take bubble baths.
I mean, I don't have a tub but.. it's nice to know, ya know?
08/24/2011
Contributor: Rossie Rossie
Quote:
Originally posted by Illusional
Wow, P'Gell I did not know you couldn't take bubble baths.
I mean, I don't have a tub but.. it's nice to know, ya know?
Isn't it great to have a health professional on site?
08/24/2011
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Thanks, y'all. Always happy to be of service. Yeah, bubble baths are one of the "hidden" triggers and causes of UTIs and vaginal infections. The soap or detergent can irritate the membranes, break down protective layers and leave the areas open for infection to set in.

As a personal note (I have a lot of UTIs) I had my very first UTI at the tender age of three. The Pediatrician asked if I had been using Bubble Bath, and my mom had to throw out my Mr. Bubble. Only she put it on a shelf, where my little three year old self could not reach it, but could see it. I was very sad. Pretty sure I cried. But, the UTI was horrible, I remember screaming while peeing at a friends' house, and luckily my mom was there. Also, I was bleeding. Horrible. Very scary for a toddler. Seeing blood in your urine is scary for anyone. Even at three I knew it was a bad thing.

Later, when I learned about urinary health professionally, we were taught that any person (especially women, because we have shorter urethrae for irritation and bacteria to move down into the bladder) who is sensitive to UTIs or genital infections needs to cross bubble baths off their list of used products. I haven't had a bubble bath in (mumbles numbers in decades) years..... since I was three.
08/24/2011
Contributor: Rossie Rossie
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
Thanks, y'all. Always happy to be of service. Yeah, bubble baths are one of the "hidden" triggers and causes of UTIs and vaginal infections. The soap or detergent can irritate the membranes, break down protective layers and leave the ... more
Good thing I do showers only!

Thanks for the detailed explanation, P'Gell!
08/24/2011
Contributor: Illusional Illusional
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
Thanks, y'all. Always happy to be of service. Yeah, bubble baths are one of the "hidden" triggers and causes of UTIs and vaginal infections. The soap or detergent can irritate the membranes, break down protective layers and leave the ... more
Wow... I didn't know it could happen that young. I thought it was like.. a sexually active thing.
When I had my first UTI I cried and called my boyfriend, and screamed.
I thought it was like.. an STD.
08/24/2011
Contributor: Starkiller87 Starkiller87
Same as P'Gell I got my first UTI as an infant from bubble baths. I get infections with almost any sort of body soap or wash. Im just really sensitive to things.
08/24/2011
Contributor: Naughty Student Naughty Student
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
It might not be the material of the toy, but just the way your body is reacting to anything from stimulation to accidental introduction of bacteria to just bad luck. Sometimes UTIs just happen.

Make sure you sanitize your toys, so you ... more
Urgh, I hate UTI's!

I used to get them every other week a while back. I am super sensitive to them. Usually I can get rid of it if I catch it right when it starts. I'll drink loads of water and cranberry juice, pee a lot and take some Tylenol/acetaminophen.

Taking a really warm bath helps to decrease the burning sensation a lot for me. I don't put anything in my bath other than a few drops of organic essential oils.
08/24/2011
Contributor: cherryredhead88 cherryredhead88
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
It might not be the material of the toy, but just the way your body is reacting to anything from stimulation to accidental introduction of bacteria to just bad luck. Sometimes UTIs just happen.

Make sure you sanitize your toys, so you ... more
Thanks P'Gell

I have an apt tomorrow morning. I don't usually store my silicone in anything, I have a drawer for the toys but I alwas wash them before and after use.


I have been wondering if I have a cyst or something because I have been getting really bad cramps lately as well.

I do take frequent bubble baths... plus I have been using Sliquid Splash to clean my lady bits. Maybe it's not good for me.

Thanks to everyone else for reading and answering! I knew I could depend on my Eden
08/24/2011
Contributor: cherryredhead88 cherryredhead88
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
Thanks, y'all. Always happy to be of service. Yeah, bubble baths are one of the "hidden" triggers and causes of UTIs and vaginal infections. The soap or detergent can irritate the membranes, break down protective layers and leave the ... more
I don't know if I've ever had a UTI or bladder infection before.

Can boys get it too? My son is almost 2 and I give him bubble baths all the time. I don't want it to happen to him
08/24/2011
Contributor: CSEA CSEA
Quote:
Originally posted by cherryredhead88
Can using certain toys cause UTIs or bladder infections?

I've only really been using silicone or plastic toys and I think I have a bladder infection now. Wondering if it could be from using these toys.

Nothing else has happened ... more
I have gotten infections from a past jelly toy that I used. I would incorrectly clean it and use it which resulted from constant annoying-ness and infections. Threw it out and cleaned everything correctly and havent had an issue since~!
08/24/2011
Contributor: aliceinthehole aliceinthehole
i've been a chronic uti/bladder infection sufferer for years. my older sister too. she eventually had to have surgery to enlarge her ureter which had been short since birth, causing an easy pathway for bacteria.

i've found that as quickly as 10 minutes after a risky act i can experience the onset of symptoms.

good tips are to cut back on sugar and caffeine. avoid them like the plague if you HAVE a uti or bladder infection. as well as alcohol.

always wipe from to back.
use water based lubes.
piss just after intercourse or any play down there.
coach whomever you play with to never ever go from the back door (even touching or licking it can spread germs) to the front
don't use soap down there. unless it's all natural ingredients and white in color, just stear clear of it period. and when you do use soap be sure to rinse well.


good luck!
08/24/2011
Contributor: Petite Valentine Petite Valentine
It it possible to get UTIs from lubricants?
08/24/2011
Contributor: mizzmilla mizzmilla
It's possible to get it from using a toy down there at all. For me, I'm extremely prone to UTI's, even when I take precaution and pee before and after and drink cranberry juice. Don't let it go too long!
08/24/2011
Contributor: Starkiller87 Starkiller87
And always always complete your course of meds for it. I thought i was better and stopped when i was younger once and it stayed around just without major symptoms till months later. And i was peeing blood out of no where one day in intense pain. I went to the dr and she told me it was one of the worst utis she had ever seen. Lesson learned, meds, cranberry juice, probiotics for me and tons and tons of water.
08/24/2011
Contributor: cherryredhead88 cherryredhead88
Quote:
Originally posted by Petite Valentine
It it possible to get UTIs from lubricants?
I am wondering, because I have been using the new lube that I was assigned. ***Shakes at head at new lube and runs back to Liquid Silk***
08/24/2011
Contributor: wetone123 wetone123
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
It might not be the material of the toy, but just the way your body is reacting to anything from stimulation to accidental introduction of bacteria to just bad luck. Sometimes UTIs just happen.

Make sure you sanitize your toys, so you ... more
Wow, thanks for telling us about the plastic bags. I have never heard that! People on Eden regularly recommend storing toys in plastic bags! I'm going to change my whole storage system now. The bubble baths I did not know about either. I had a UTI a few months ago after not having one for years. It was right after using a real feel materialed toy. It like to have killed me, but I went to the Dr. and took my full course of meds and lived to see another day. I've been scared to use that toy again even tho' I love it. Maybe I over used it? Thanks so much P'Gell!
08/24/2011
Contributor: Ryuson Ryuson
I get a TON of UTI's, but anything down there can cause them. My friend once tried blaming it on the girl he had been with, and I had to explain with him that it didn't matter how clean he or the girl was, those things happened randomly.
08/25/2011