Dealing with a urinary tract infection? Skip the cranberry therapy.
According to a review published in the Cochrane Library, drinking cranberry juice or taking cranberry supplements may do little to prevent a UTI.
Researchers analyzed 24 studies involving a total of 4,473 people to compare the effectiveness of cranberry products against a range of placebos, drug, and non-drug treatments for preventing UTIs.
The results? Women who were opting for cranberry products—think: juice, tablets, or capsules—were shown to have a 14 percent lower risk of UTI. Yet the researchers claim this number isn’t significant enough to be considered a legitimate preventative treatment for those susceptible to recurrent UTIs.
But if it’s not actually solving the issue, why have many of us been on team cranberry for so long? It’s probably because the research often contradicts itself, explains Sara Gottfried, M.D., OB/GYN, author of The Hormone Cure.
For instance, according to the latest review, there’s never been a definitive mechanism for why cranberries are effective for UTI prevention. However there has been plenty of research suggesting that specific substances in cranberries—such as quinic acid, malic acid, and citric acid—prevents bacteria from clinging to the walls of the bladder, says Gottfried.
But the problem is, if you already have a substantial amount of bacteria in your bladder and kidneys, simply drinking cranberry juice won’t be sufficient for cleaning house and kicking the bad bugs out.
Another issue: Typically when people say they’re drinking cranberry juice, they’re not actually drinking the real thing, says Gottfried. Instead, people are consuming some form of juice concentrate that’s loaded with sugars and additional artificial flavorings, which means whatever benefits they are getting from cranberry are seriously diluted.
So what’s a girl to do if she suspects she may be at risk? Abide by the following three steps to get your tract back on track.
1. Stay on the lookout for symptoms
For most women, symptoms for a UTI consist of pain or burning during urination, cloudy or bloody urine, lower abdominal pain in the bladder area, as well as an increase in the frequency of urination.
2. Check in with your doctor
If you’re exhibiting any of the above symptoms, the next step is to schedule an appointment with your doc. “You need to determine that it’s actually a bladder infection and not something else,” says Gottfried. Often women have inflammation in their bladder—which can cause similar discomfort—but it’s not really a UTI, she explains.
And as for testing for a UTI, simply provide your caregiver with sample of urine and they’ll take care of the rest.
3. Get on a proper prescription
UTIs can typically be solved with antibiotics. And whether its Cipro, Levaquin, Septra, or Furadantin—all common prescriptions for UTIs—it takes roughly 2 to 3 days to see full relief of symptoms. And since there are many strands of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, it makes seeing your doctor that much more beneficial, says Gottfriend. Considering your clinician will now have a better idea of what antibiotic to put you on.
Image: Hemera/Thinkstock
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