UTI in Men: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment and Prostate Signs

Medically reviewed by Dr. Nathan Harvey Fischman, MD - Urology & Nephrology

Yes, men get UTIs, though far less often than women, and mostly after age 50. Symptoms include burning when you pee, urgency, peeing often and at night, and cloudy or bloody urine. An enlarged prostate, kidney stones and catheters are common causes; in younger men, an STI is often behind the burning. A bladder infection without fever is usually treated with about 7 days of antibiotics after a urine culture. Fever, chills or back pain need same-day care.

Men are often surprised to get a UTI, and doctors take one more seriously in a man because it can point to a problem in the prostate, bladder or kidneys. This guide covers the symptoms, why men get UTIs, how to tell a UTI from prostatitis or an STI, which tests and antibiotics make sense and what to do if infections keep coming back. For UTIs in both sexes, see our main guide to UTI symptoms, causes and treatment.

Can men get UTIs? How common they are

Men can get UTIs at any age, but the risk is low until later in life. The male urethra, the tube that carries urine out through the penis, is about 8 inches long, compared with about 1.5 inches in women. Bacteria have much farther to travel to reach the bladder. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) says men under 50 rarely get bladder infections.

Age changes that. A large Dutch primary care study of 6,903 men found about 11 UTIs per 1,000 men each year under age 65, rising to about 174 per 1,000 in men 85 and older. The main reason is the prostate, which grows with age and can stop the bladder from emptying fully.

Types of UTI in men

“UTI” covers infections in several places, and in men the location changes the treatment.

Type	Where it is	Key sign
Urethritis	Urethra	Burning at the tip of the penis, often with discharge; in men it’s almost always an STI, per Harvard Health
Cystitis (bladder infection)	Bladder	Burning, urgency, frequent peeing, pressure low in the belly
Prostatitis	Prostate	Fever, chills, pain between the legs or in the rectum, trouble peeing
Epididymitis	Tube behind the testicle	Pain and swelling in one testicle
Pyelonephritis (kidney infection)	Kidney	Fever, back or side pain, nausea, vomiting

Are UTIs in men always complicated?

For years, doctors called every UTI in a man “complicated,” which usually meant longer antibiotic courses and more tests. Many websites still say this. The 2025 Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) guideline on complicated UTIs changed it. It states that uncomplicated UTI can happen in men as well as women.

Under the new guideline, a UTI is complicated when it comes with fever, chills, back or side pain, a blockage, a catheter or a stent. A man with a simple bladder infection and none of those features can be treated much like a woman, though doctors still send a urine culture and look harder for a cause.

UTI symptoms in men

UTI symptoms in men are mostly the same as in women. You may have one or several of these:

Burning, stinging or pain while peeing or just after
Peeing more often than usual, or feeling you have to go right away
Waking up at night to pee
Feeling your bladder isn’t empty after you go
Cloudy, dark or strong-smelling urine
Blood in your urine
Pain or pressure low in the belly, above the pubic bone
Bedwetting in a man who’s usually dry at night

What does a UTI feel like for a man? Many describe a constant urge with only a little urine coming out, plus burning along the penis and a dull ache above the pubic bone. The CDC’s list of five warning signs, covered in our UTI guide, applies to men too.

Older men may not have the usual symptoms. Harvard Health notes that in older men the only sign may be fever or confusion. The reverse also happens: bacteria often show up in the urine of older men who feel fine, and that usually doesn’t need antibiotics. Our guide to UTIs without pain explains the difference.

Where you feel it	What it can point to
Tip of the penis, with discharge	Urethritis, usually an STI
Low belly, above the pubic bone	Bladder infection
Between the scrotum and anus, or in the rectum	Prostatitis
One testicle, swollen and sore	Epididymitis, or torsion if sudden and severe
Back or side, under the ribs	Kidney infection or a kidney stone

Signs it has spread to the prostate or kidneys

Get care the same day if burning or urgency comes with any of these:

Fever or chills
Pain in your back or side, just under the ribs
Nausea or vomiting
Pain between your legs, in your rectum or deep in the pelvis
Trouble starting your stream, or a weak, stop-and-start stream that’s new
Feeling sick all over, fast heartbeat or dizziness

These can mean acute prostatitis or a kidney infection, both of which can spread to the blood and cause sepsis.

What causes a UTI in men?

Most UTIs start when bacteria from the bowel, most often E. coli, get into the urethra and travel up to the bladder. In men, something usually helps them along. Here is how the common causes change with age.

Age group	Common causes
Younger men (under about 50)	STIs (chlamydia, gonorrhea, Mycoplasma genitalium) causing urethritis; insertive anal sex without a condom; kidney stones; a narrowed urethra; recent catheter or scope
Men over 50	Enlarged prostate (BPH) leaving urine behind; prostatitis; kidney and bladder stones; catheters; recent prostate biopsy or surgery; diabetes

Other risk factors listed by WebMD, Harvard Health and urology groups include:

Diabetes or a weak immune system
A urinary catheter, in the hospital or at home
Recent urology procedures, such as cystoscopy or a prostate biopsy
A previous UTI
Not drinking enough, which makes urine concentrated and means you pee less often
Anything that blocks urine flow, such as a stone or a narrowing of the urethra (urethral stricture)

In younger men with a normal urinary tract, a true bladder infection is unusual. That’s why a doctor may test for an STI first or look for a hidden problem, such as a stone or a blockage.

Can a woman give a man a UTI?

No. A UTI isn’t contagious, and the CDC doesn’t count it as a sexually transmitted infection. You can’t catch one from a partner the way you catch a cold. Sex can still push bacteria that already live on your own skin toward the urethra, and insertive anal sex without a condom exposes the urethra to E. coli from the bowel. The CDC lists that as a cause of epididymitis.

What does pass between partners is an STI. Chlamydia and gonorrhea cause burning that feels like a UTI and are the most common reason a sexually active younger man has painful urination. Both partners need testing and treatment. Our guide to UTI vs STD explains how to tell them apart.

Prostatitis: when the infection is in the prostate

The prostate sits just below the bladder and wraps around the urethra, so bacteria can settle there. A 2024 review in American Family Physician (AAFP) says prostatitis affects about 10% to 15% of men, but only about 1 in 10 cases is a bacterial infection. There are four types:

Type	What it is	Treatment
Acute bacterial prostatitis	A sudden infection with fever, chills, painful or difficult peeing and pain in the pelvis or rectum	Antibiotics for at least 14 days (AAFP); 10 to 14 days (IDSA); IV antibiotics if seriously ill
Chronic bacterial prostatitis	Bacteria that stay in the prostate and cause repeat UTIs with the same germ	4 weeks of a fluoroquinolone, or 6 weeks of another antibiotic
Chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS)	Long-lasting pelvic pain, urinary symptoms and sexual problems with no infection	No antibiotics; a mix of non-antibiotic treatments
Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis	Inflammation found on a test, with no symptoms	Usually none

CP/CPPS is the most common type, and it’s often mistaken for a UTI. Urine cultures keep coming back negative, and rounds of antibiotics don’t help. If that sounds familiar, ask your doctor or a urologist about it.

What else feels like a UTI in men?

Condition	Clues	Next step
STI urethritis	Discharge, itching inside the penis, a new partner	STI test (urine NAAT)
CP/CPPS	Pelvic or perineal pain for months, negative urine cultures	Urologist
Epididymitis	One sore, swollen testicle, sometimes fever	Same-day visit
Testicular torsion	Sudden, severe pain in one testicle, often in teens and young men	Emergency room right away
Kidney stone	Waves of sharp side or back pain spreading to the groin, often with blood	Same-day care
Enlarged prostate (BPH)	Weak stream, dribbling, getting up at night, no burning	Doctor visit
Urethral stricture	Slow or spraying stream, straining, past injury or catheter	Urologist
Bladder cancer	Painless blood in the urine, often in smokers over 50	Full workup
Bowel-to-bladder fistula	Air bubbles or stool in the urine, repeat UTIs, a history of diverticulitis	Doctor visit

The last one is rare but worth knowing. The Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine notes that diverticular disease causes most bowel-to-bladder connections (colovesical fistulas) in men, and that passing air or stool in the urine is a telltale sign. A urologist at Atlantic Health puts it simply: a UTI in a man raises suspicion of an enlarged prostate, kidney stones or even a colon infection.

For more conditions that cause burning, see why it burns when you pee. If you see blood, our guide to blood in urine explains what it can mean.

How doctors diagnose a UTI in men

Expect more testing than a woman with a simple bladder infection might get.

History and symptoms. Your doctor will ask about fever, pain location, how you’re peeing, past infections, catheters or procedures, and your sexual history, including new partners, condom use and anal sex.
Urinalysis and urine culture. A clean-catch sample is checked for white blood cells, bacteria and blood. Ireland’s Health Service Executive (HSE) advises sending a urine culture for every man before antibiotics start, so the drug can be matched to the bacteria. Our guide to urinalysis results explains each part of the report, and our leukocytes guide covers white cells with no bacteria.
STI testing, with a urine NAAT for chlamydia and gonorrhea, above all in younger or sexually active men.
A prostate exam. A gentle rectal exam checks the size and tenderness of the prostate. The AAFP advises against prostate massage when acute prostatitis is suspected.
A bladder scan to measure how much urine stays behind after you pee (post-void residual).
Imaging or a scope when needed: a kidney ultrasound or CT scan for fever that doesn’t settle, stones, blood or repeat infections, and cystoscopy to look inside the urethra, prostate and bladder.

About PSA tests: A UTI or prostatitis can raise your prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level for weeks. NHS guidance for doctors advises retesting PSA 6 to 8 weeks after the infection rather than acting on a high reading taken during or right after it.

UTI treatment for men

Antibiotics cure bacterial UTIs in men. The drug and the length of treatment depend on where the infection is.

Type of infection	Usual length
Bladder infection, no fever	7 days
Kidney infection	5 to 7 days of a fluoroquinolone, or 7 days of another antibiotic
Fever with suspected acute prostatitis	10 to 14 days, or at least 14 days
Chronic bacterial prostatitis	4 to 6 weeks
STI urethritis, or epididymitis from an STI	The STI treatment, with your partner treated too

The 7-day rule comes from a 2021 trial in JAMA of 272 men without fever. Symptoms cleared in 93.1% of men given 7 days and 90.2% given 14, so the extra week added side effects without adding benefit. Kidney courses are shorter than they used to be too: the 2025 IDSA guideline prefers 5 to 7 days for most kidney infections in people who are improving.

Which antibiotics work best for men?

Doctors usually pick a drug that reaches both the urine and the prostate, then adjust it once the urine culture is back.

TMP-SMX (Bactrim) and fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin) reach prostate tissue, so they’re common choices when the prostate might be involved. Fluoroquinolones carry FDA warnings about tendon, nerve and other side effects, so they’re used with care.
Cephalosporins such as cephalexin are another option for a simple bladder infection.
Nitrofurantoin (Macrobid) works only in the bladder. Ireland’s HSE still lists it first for men with a simple bladder infection, for 7 days, but says not to use it if prostatitis is suspected. In the Dutch study of male UTIs, nitrofurantoin failed in 25% of courses, rising from 13% in men aged 18 to 39 to 29% in men 80 and older. Ciprofloxacin failed in 10% and TMP-SMX in 14%.
Fosfomycin, the single-dose packet used for women, isn’t licensed for men, according to the HSE.

For doses, side effects and drug interactions, see our guide to antibiotics for a UTI.

How long until you feel better?

Harvard Health says most simple UTIs start to improve within 1 to 2 days of the right antibiotic. Finish every dose even after you feel fine. Call your doctor if you’re not better after 2 days, if symptoms return after you finish, or if you get a rash or fever. Men with severe kidney or prostate infections, or vomiting that won’t let them keep pills down, may need IV antibiotics in the hospital. Our guide to how long a UTI lasts has the day-by-day timeline.

Fixing the cause

In men, curing the infection is only half the job. If an enlarged prostate is leaving urine behind, medicines that relax or shrink the prostate, or surgery, can improve flow and cut the risk of more infections, per Harvard Health. Stones may need to be removed, a narrowed urethra widened, and a long-term catheter changed or replaced with another option.

Will a UTI in men go away on its own?

Don’t count on it. Some UTIs in women clear without antibiotics, but there’s little evidence that the same is true for men, and a male UTI is more likely to reach the prostate or kidneys if you wait. Drinking more water helps you pee more often and can ease symptoms, but it doesn’t reliably “flush out” an infection. See a doctor within a day or two of symptoms, and the same day if you have fever or back pain.

Pain relief can help while the antibiotic starts working. Phenazopyridine (AZO) eases burning for up to 2 days but turns urine orange and doesn’t kill bacteria, so give your urine sample first. Skip baking soda: some websites say it helps, but it makes urine less acidic, not more, and taking too much can be dangerous, according to MedlinePlus.

Recurrent UTIs in men

Two or more UTIs in a man is a signal to look for a cause, not to keep refilling antibiotics. The HSE advises referring men with recurrent UTIs to a specialist. Common reasons infections come back:

Chronic bacterial prostatitis, where bacteria hide in the prostate and return after each short course
Urine left behind from an enlarged prostate, a stricture or a nerve problem
Stones that hold bacteria
A catheter
Rarely, a bowel-to-bladder fistula or a bladder tumor

A urologist can measure how well you empty, image the kidneys and look inside the bladder. If the same germ keeps returning, a longer course aimed at the prostate is often the fix. Our guide on why UTIs keep coming back covers the wider causes and prevention options.

How men can lower their UTI risk

You can’t prevent every UTI, but these steps help:

Drink enough water that your urine stays pale yellow.
Pee when you feel the urge, and before bed. Don’t hold it for hours.
Get prostate symptoms checked early. Harvard Health advises men approaching 50 to see a doctor for a weaker stream, trouble starting, dribbling or a feeling of not emptying.
Use condoms with new partners, and always for insertive anal sex.
Keep diabetes under control.
If you use a catheter, wash your hands before touching it, keep the bag below your bladder and follow your care team’s cleaning steps.

UTIs in boys

Boys get UTIs too, mostly as babies. By age 7, about 2% of boys have had one, according to the NIDDK, and in the first year of life boys get more UTIs than girls, with uncircumcised baby boys at higher risk. A baby or child with a fever and no clear cause, or who pees with pain, should see a doctor the same day. Our UTI guide covers UTIs in children.

When to see a doctor or go to the ER

See a doctor within a day or two for any burning, urgency or frequent peeing, even if it’s mild. In a man, a UTI is a reason to get checked, not to wait it out.

Get care the same day for fever, chills, back or side pain, pain in the rectum or between your legs, nausea or blood in your urine.

Call 911 or go to the ER if you:

Can’t pee at all, or only a few drops come out
Have sudden, severe pain in a testicle
Have a high fever with shaking chills, confusion, a racing heart or dizziness
Are vomiting and can’t keep antibiotics down

The bottom line

Men get UTIs less often than women, mostly after 50, when an enlarged prostate stops the bladder from emptying. In younger men, burning when you pee is often an STI rather than a bladder infection. A simple bladder infection without fever is now treated for about 7 days after a urine culture, while prostate infections need 2 weeks or more. Fever, back pain or testicle pain need same-day care, and repeat infections deserve a urology workup to find and fix the cause.

Frequently asked questions

What should a man drink when he has a UTI?

Water is best. Alberta Health advises skipping caffeine and fizzy drinks, which can irritate the bladder, and alcohol is worth avoiding too. Cranberry juice hasn’t been shown to treat an infection that’s already there.

Can a UTI come on suddenly in men?

Yes. Burning and urgency can start within hours. Acute bacterial prostatitis can also come on fast, with high fever, chills and pelvic pain, and needs same-day care.

Can dehydration cause a UTI in men?

It can raise the risk. When you don’t drink enough, urine gets concentrated and you pee less often, so bacteria have more time to grow in the bladder. Drinking enough water helps but doesn’t replace antibiotics.

Can a man have sex while he has a UTI?

It’s best to wait until treatment is finished and symptoms are gone, since sex can worsen irritation. If the cause is an STI, the CDC advises waiting at least 7 days after treatment and until your partner is treated.

Can a UTI affect erections or ejaculation?

A simple bladder infection isn’t known to cause erection problems. Prostatitis is different: chronic pelvic pain syndrome, its most common form, can bring sexual problems along with pelvic pain, according to the AAFP. A urologist can help.

Do condoms lower a man’s UTI risk?

They lower the risk of STIs that cause urethritis, and they reduce exposure to bowel bacteria during anal sex. They don’t prevent UTIs caused by an enlarged prostate or stones.

Sources

Disclaimer

This blog is for informational and educational purposes only, and does not intend to substitute any professional medical advice or consultation. For any health related concerns, please consult with your physician, or call 911.

UTI in Men: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment and When It’s Really the Prostate