A third of women 'wipe the wrong way' – increasing their chance of a UTI

Learning how to wipe yourself after going to the toilet is something we generally get to grips with pretty early in life.

So it might come as a shock to learn that one in three women are wiping incorrectly after using the loo – and they’re putting themselves at risk of infection.

According to a new study conducted by Tap Warehouse, 33% of women admit to wiping ‘back to front’ post-toilet.

But this could actually be dangerous.

According to Dr Luke Powles from Bupa UK, ‘a woman’s urethra and anus are quite closely located, so it’s best practice to wipe from front to back.’

Otherwise you could be ‘spreading faeces from the anus to the urethra. Spreading bacteria to the urethra can lead to a urinary tract infection.’

Luckily, almost 70% of women are wiping the correct way – front to back – but that is still a really large proportion of women who are inadvertently putting their health at risk.

So if you’re in the back to front camp it’s definitely time to change your toilet habits.

The study also found that Brits love to peek-a-poo – to catch a glimpse of the toilet bowl before flushing. Two out of three people surveyed admitted to doing this.

Taking a cheeky peek is actually a good habit to ensure your bowels are healthy.

So, what should you be looking out for?

‘Anything that’s more solid and difficult to pass suggests constipation, whereas a poo that’s more liquidy and passes really quickly indicates a lack of fibre in your diet or a period of illness,’ reveals Dr Luke Powles.

If you do spot anything unusual like ‘the colour of your bowel movements being anything other than browny-green, and you’ve not eaten anything recently that’s an obvious cause of the colour change, this could be a sign of problems elsewhere in the body.’

Always talk to a GP if you have concerns.

‘If there are spontaneous, persistent changes in your stool, such as its consistency – how soft or hard it is, the number of times that you go to the toilet, or if you see blood in your stool,’ you should see a GP within two weeks.

While talking about your bowels might be a bit embarrassing, it’s worth a red face if it could protect you from a serious condition. So swallow your pride and get talking.

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