What is painful peeing after sex?
Feeling pain or burning when you pee is known as dysuria. It’s a common symptom among people with a vagina, but it can also affect those with a penis – no matter how old or young you are.
Painful peeing is often a sign of a urinary tract infection (UTI) – an infection in your bladder and/or the tube that carries pee from your bladder (urethra). But if it hurts to pee after you’ve had sex, it may be because the skin around your genitals has been irritated during sex. For example, your skin may have reacted to a lubricant or condom you used or your vagina may not have made enough natural lubrication (fluids), leading to sore skin and a burning sensation after sex.
But sometimes, painful peeing after sex may be a sign of a more serious condition that will need medical attention, like a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
Common causes of burning when peeing after sex
When it hurts to pee after sex, the cause may be external – related to the skin around the opening of your urethra – or it may be internal – caused by a change inside your genitals, bladder, prostate (for people with a penis) or behind your pubic bone.
External causes of painful peeing after sex
Problems with lubrication during sex
If your vagina doesn’t produce enough fluid to lubricate itself, sex may feel painful and leave you feeling sore afterward. This soreness then gets worse when pee passes over your irritated skin.
Having a dry vagina is a common problem that may be caused by:
- not being sexually aroused
- feeling anxious about sex or your relationship with your partner
- hormonal changes – for example, caused by the menopause, giving birth, breastfeeding or having your womb removed (a hysterectomy)
- taking medication, like contraceptive pills or antidepressants, or having cancer treatment, like chemotherapy, which also affects your hormone levels
Having sex that’s rough or goes on for a long time can also hurt the skin around your penis or vagina, causing pain when you pee.
Chemical or medicine sensitivity
If you use lubricants, latex condoms, or contraceptive foams or sponges, your skin may react to the chemicals in these products and get irritated – or even have an allergic reaction. Then when you pee, this inflamed tissue may burn even more.
There are also some medicines, including those used for chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or to treat kidney stones, that can cause swelling in your bladder, making it hurt when you pee.
Skin conditions or inflammation
The symptoms of some skin conditions that affect your vagina or penis can be triggered by sex, leading to pain when you pee after sex. These include:
- eczema, a group of skin conditions that irritate and dry out your skin
- lichen planus, which usually causes shiny, raised red or purple bumps on your skin
- balanitis – this pain or swelling (inflammation) around the penis has many causes, including friction from sex
Internal causes of painful peeing after sex
UTIs
A UTI is the most common cause of burning when you pee after sex. This infection happens when bacteria get into your urinary tract through your urethra and travel up into your bladder – having sex makes this more likely.
UTIs can affect your bladder, kidneys and the tubes connected to them. If you have a penis, they can affect your prostate, testicles (balls) or the tube at the back of the testicles (epididymis). People with a vagina tend to get bladder and kidney infections more often than those with a penis.
STIs
If you’re finding it painful to pee after sex, this may be a symptom of an STI. These are infections that you can get or pass on through unprotected sex (sex without a condom) or genital contact.
These STIs include:
- chlamydia
- genital herpes
- gonorrhoea
- trichomoniasis – in some cases, you won’t get any symptoms from this STI, which is caused by a parasite, but people with a vagina or penis may get burning or pain when peeing, or discharge from their genitals
How long it takes for STI symptoms to appear depends on the type of STI you have. Some STIs cause obvious symptoms, while others don’t cause any symptoms.
Genital infections or conditions
Common infections that may affect your vagina or penis can flare up during sex, causing painful peeing after sex. These genital conditions include:
- thrush (candidiasis) – a usually harmless yeast infection. Read more about thrush in women and thrush in men
- vaginitis – inflammation of your vagina that’s caused by many things, including thrush, STIs, hormonal changes from the menopause, breastfeeding or some kinds of contraceptives
Prostate infection or inflammation (prostatitis)
Prostatitis is inflammation of the prostate gland (a small gland that produces fluid to mix with sperm to make semen). This swelling is usually due to a bacterial infection, but sometimes the cause isn’t clear. It can cause a lot of pain in your penis, testicles, bottom, lower tummy and lower back and when you pee.
For the full article, including additional info on when to see a doctor, your treatment options and the outlook, see the published Livehealthily.com article.
Carla Hüsselmann 