Why is it painful to urinate?

Symptoms:

You have pain in your pelvis every time you pass urine, you’re going to the loo more often, you have a new partner and you’ve been having frequent sex.

You have pain and a burning sensation when you pass urine, you have difficulty starting and you dribble afterwards, you need to get up at night to pass urine.

You have pain when passing urine and you have itchy, sore areas on your genitals which form from small blisters that burst and weep.

It could be:

Honeymoon cystitis

inflammation and bruising of the bladder due to frequent and passionate sex.

Prostatitis, inflammation and swelling of the prostate gland which tends to be more common in men aged under 50. Sometimes the cause isn’t identified. It might get better on its own without treatment but sometimes it lasts for months and keeps occurring.

Genital herpes which you have contracted through sexual contact. It’s caused by the herpes simplex virus, and because there’s no cure you have the virus for life.

Stop it:

Drink lots of liquid, refrain from sex, take a urinary antiseptic from the pharmacy, if it doesn’t get better in three to four days see your doctor.

See your doctor or go to your nearest STI clinic. If prostatitis is caused by a bacterial infection it will be treated with antibiotics.

See your doctor or STI clinic for antiviral agents which can ease the symptoms and reduce the risk of infecting others. Refrain from sex till the blisters are gone. Use condoms to prevent the spread of genital herpes.