Dr Ayan: Peeing razor blades

Why 'urine infection' symptoms should always be taken seriously in men....

It's one of those things that women get commonly but men should really never get - urine infections. Why? Well, if you think about the urethra which is the tube that leads from your bladder to the outside world, in men it is usually relatively long compared to a woman. This makes it hard for bacteria to travel up it into the male bladder, whereas in a woman, bugs from the back passage have only a small way to travel to get into the bladder. Of course activities like having unprotected anal sex will increase the chance of developing a urine infection.

So what do you do if you get burning on passing urine? What are the possible causes?

Rarely some men are born with abnormalities of the structure of their renal tract, but this is rare.

• If you are over 50, think about your prostate - it could be infected and enlarged...


• It could be a stricture (narrowing of the urethra) which can happen as a result of a sexually transmitted infection, sometimes many years down the line


• It could be a sign that you've caught a sexually transmitted infection


• You could have a bladder or kidney stone
  

So what should you do? Well, either go down to your local sexual health clinic or see your doctor, but do not ignore it. The bottom line is that urine infections in men almost always need checking out... they don't 'just happen' like they do in women.

You can also check any symptoms on NHS Direct, either online, on digital TV, or talking directly on the phone to a nurse 24 hours a day (0845 46 47). They can also give you the address and details of your closest sexual health clinic.