In a single year, illnesses brought on by a lack of access to water, basic sanitation, and hygiene killed close to 800,000 women worldwide, causing them to be in the top five causes of death for women. Menstruation emphasizes the importance of having access to clean water, proper sanitation, and good hygiene. Having proper sanitation, and hygiene is important as it has a great impact on health and issues.

Infections of the urinary tract are referred to as UTIs or Bladder Infections. This includes infections in the kidneys, ureter, bladder, and urethra. Women are more likely to get an infection despite – usually – having the same organs in their urinary tract as men. Why? This is because the length of the female urethra is shorter than that of the male urethra. A urethra is found at the end of the urinary tract and is used to discard urine from the body. UTIs occur due to bacteria entering the body through the urethra and eventually infecting organs. Due to the woman’s urethra being shorter, bacteria can infect the body more accessible and in a shorter time, causing approximately 40% of all women to receive UTIs. The lack of access to sanitary menstrual products increases the number of women affected by UTIs due to the dependency on items not meant for menstrual purposes.

The lack of access to resources for sanitation and hygiene, cause individuals to become vulnerable to the spread of any infectious disease. UTIs can cause increased susceptibility to cervical cancer, as well as the impact on women trying to get pregnant.

An informational article on UTI prevention techniques may be found on WebMD. The article shows five methods (which will be summarized below) that can be used in order to help avoid UTIs.

1. Staying hydrated and relieving one’s self.
2. Wipe from front to back.
3. Clean up before and after sexual intercourse.
4. Before purchasing any hygiene products, be sure the components are not unpleasant.
5. Rethink your birth control.