Can Stress Affect My Urological Health? | Tennessee Valley Urology Center

It’s safe to say that stress has been ever-present for many of us since March of 2020. While occasional occurrences of stress (stress before a performance, test or a job interview) probably won’t hurt your health, chronic stress will.

Chronic stress can change how the body functions and can cause complications like headaches, digestive problems and anxiety.

But does chronic stress affect your urinary health? While experts say that chronic stress won’t directly cause UTIs, it can lower the effectiveness of your body’s natural resistance to infection and illness. Read on as our team at Tennessee Valley Urology Center further explains.

Ways Stress Affects Your Urological Health

When you experience stress, your body produces a hormone called cortisol. If too much cortisol is present for too long, your body can’t fight infection or lower inflammation as well as it usually does. A damaged immune system can lead to chronic infections.

  • Stress can induce UTIs. As we said before, stress isn’t the direct cause of a urinary tract infection, but it can reduce the effect of the immune system. Additionally, stress can distract someone from paying enough attention to other important factors like proper hygiene habits, which can trigger a UTI.

  • Stress and urinary incontinence are closely related. Studies discovered that adults with higher anxiety levels had more frequent urinary patterns than those who did not. Furthermore, those that experience frequent urination become even more stressed that they may not be able to make it to the bathroom in time. As a result, this additional stress makes your bladder even more reactive, causing a cycle of stress and urinary incontinence.

  • Stress can induce Interstitial Cystitis (IC). IC is a chronic condition that causes bladder pressure, pain and sometimes pelvic pain. As it is with UTIs, stress isn’t the direct cause of this condition, but it can trigger a flare-up. If you struggle with IC and experience a flareup of the condition, stress only prolongs it and increases the intensity of the pain. Reducing stress is the best way to limit IC flares and their severity.

Stress is the silent trigger for many health problems. If you have any questions or urinary health concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at Tennessee Valley Urology Center today!