Can Yeast Infection Cause an Urge to Urinate?

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Key points:

Yeast infection can cause a frequent urge to urinate and burning urination.

Urinary tract symptoms are common in patients with vaginal yeast infections.
Fungal UTIs can cause UTI symptoms, including a frequent urge to urinate.
UTI and yeast infection can occur at the same time.

Fungal UTI risk factors include diabetes, older age, and being hospitalized.
Frequent urge to urinate can also be caused by other conditions such as overactive bladder, interstitial cystitis, and bladder cancer.

[1] Can a vulvovaginal yeast infection cause an urge to urinate?

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (the most common form of vaginal yeast infection) can cause a frequent urge to urine and burning urination.

According to a 2022 review study, 25% to 50% of patients with vaginal yeast infections have urinary tract symptoms, including urgency.

It is possible to have the urge to urinate without having a concomitant UTI. However, the second possibility is having both yeast and UTI infections simultaneously.

Sexually active women are at high risk of both diseases. So, having both vulvovaginal candidiasis and UTI (cystitis) is possible.

Urinary symptoms such as burning urination (dysuria) and frequent urge to pee a lot are due to external inflammation of the area around the urethra or the outer part of the female urethra (reference).

The only way to differentiate between the two possibilities is by performing a urine analysis and culture to exclude or confirm concomitant UTIs.

So, it is important to report any urinary symptoms with a yeast infection to your doctor, such as:

Urge to urinate (urgency).
Peeing more often (frequency).
Burning sensation during urination (dysuria).

Lower abdominal pain.
Turbid urine.
Blood or blood clots in urine.

[2] Can Fungal (yeast) UTI cause an urge to urinate?

Urinary tract infections are common among females due to shorter and wider urethra. Infections of the urinary bladder (cystitis) and the kidney (pyelonephritis) are mainly bacterial.

Fungal infections of the urinary tract (bladder and kidney) are rare and predominantly affect people in hospitals, intensive care units, and those with chronic diseases.

Fungal UTIs can also cause a frequent urge to urinate in people with active infections. However, many cases of yeast in urine have no symptoms (funguria).

Risk factors of fungal UTI include:

Diabetes mellitus (especially in uncontrolled).
Older ages.

Indwelling urinary catheters.
Recent antibiotic use.
Being hospitalized.

Fungal UTIs (yeast infections of the urinary bladder or kidneys) can cause UTI symptoms, including a frequent urge to urinate.

The symptoms include:

Burning urination.

Frequent urge to pee.
Turbid urine.
White clumps or strings in urine.

Sometimes, blood is in the urine.
Peeing more frequently
lower abdominal or loin (flank and back) pain.

Fever.
Anorexia, nausea, or vomiting.

[3] UTI or yeast infection (vulvovaginal candidiasis): what is the difference?

As I explained above, yeast in urine can result from fungal UTI (mainly due to candida infection) or fungal vaginal infection.

Both conditions may cause a frequent urge to pee and burning urination. The table below illustrates the differences between fungal UTI and vaginal yeast infection as a cause of frequent urge to urinate.

ITEM	UTI	Vaginal Yeast Infection
Prevalence	Very common in women	The second most common cause of vaginitis
Main Cause	Bacteria (E. Coli)	Fungi (Candida species).
Risk Factors	Being sexually active, spermicide-coated condoms, diaphragms, diabetes, and urinary catheters.	Being sexually active, having diabetes, or using oral contraceptive pills
Most Distressing symptoms	Burning urination and frequent urge to pee	Vaginal Secretions (white and cheesy).
Frequent urge to pee	Very common	It can occur, but less common.
Tubrid urine M	Maybe present	not present
Bloody urine	May be present	Not present
Vaginal secretions	Not present	Present
Redness and edema in the vulvovaginal region	Not present	Usually present
Diagnosis	Urine analysis, culture, and sensitivity	microscopic examination of vaginal swabs or fungal culture.

[4] Other possible causes of Frequent urge to urinate

If the frequent urge to pee is persistent over a long period or recurrent (comes and goes), you should talk with your doctor about the possible causes.

The possible causes of frequent urge to urinate include (reference):