UTIs-Natural Solutions For Prevention

UTIs affect millions of men and women impacting their quality of life and may even affect their kidneys. Fortunately, most of these infections are uncomfortable with symptoms of burning on urination, frequency of urination, and back and pelvic pain. This article will discuss the usefulness of cranberry juice which may serve as an effective treatment to prevent recurrent UTIs.

A recent study reported in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aug. 2015 showed that cranberry pills (two capsules twice daily, equivalent to two 8-ounce servings of cranberry juice daily) cut the rate of UTIs in half.

Also there is supplement, D-mannose, can also help to reduce recurrent UTIs. Another study found good results from a combination of cranberry and d-mannose.

D-mannose is filtered through your kidneys and concentrated in your bladder and coats the bacteria causing the infections and renders them unable to stay in your urinary tract.

More than 90 percent of all UTIs are caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli), which is normally found in your intestinal tract. Problems only arise when this ordinary bacterium is present in high numbers in places where it shouldn’t be—like your urinary system.

Although antibiotics are an effective means of eradicating bacteria within the urinary tract, antibiotics need to be used with caution. Antibiotics are not selective and they kill the pathogenic bacteria in the urinary tract but also kill the good bacteria within the gastrointestinal tract. As a result, the bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics and with the removal of bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract there is a risk of other infections such as vaginal infections, fungal infections and side effects like diarrhea.

Bottom Line: UTIs are so very common and affect millions of American men and women. Cranberry juice and D-mannose may be a solution to preventing recurrent infections. If you have any questions about recurrent UTIs, speak to your physician.

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in Women

Perhaps one of the most common infections in all women and young girls are UTIs.  Nearly 50% of all women will experience a UTI during their lifetime.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are very common in the U.S. In fact, UTIs are the second most common type of infection in the body and are the reason for more than 8 million visits to the doctor each year. About 50% of all women will develop at UTI during their lifetime.

Most UTIs involve the bladder (cystitis) are not serious, but some can lead to serious problems like kidney infections. The most common care or treatment for a UTI is antibiotics. Signs of a UTI involve pain or burning when you pass urine, urine that looks cloudy or smells bad, pressure in your lower abdomen, and an urge to go to the bathroom often. You can get a UTI at any age, but there are peak times in life when they are more common.

Many women report UTIs following sexual activity. Another peak time for UTIs in women is after menopause. This is because of lower vaginal estrogen levels. Lower estrogen levels make it easier for bacteria to grow. A woman’s urethra or the tube from the bladder to the outside of the body is very short, about two inches in length compared to man’s urethra which is 8-10 inches long. This short length makes it easy for bacteria to enter a woman’s bladder. The opening of a woman’s urethra is near the rectum and vagina which happen to be two common places where bacteria dwell.

Prevention of UTIs in women may be as simple as instructing women to wipe from front to back following urination and bowel movements. This helps cut the chance of spreading bacteria from the anus to the urethra.

For women who notice more UTIs after sexual activity, I will often recommend that women take a low dose antibiotic shortly before or right after sexual activity.

Bottom Line: UTIs are common in women.  Most of these infections are not serious and can be treated with a short course of antibiotics.  For women with chronic or repeated infections, low dose antibiotics may be helpful.

Using Hormone Therapy To Reduce Recurrent UTIs in Women

Women often experience recurrent UTIs after menopause. The cause is often a result of reduced estrogen levels that is so common after menopause. This blog will discuss the use of topical estrogens to reduce the frequency to recurrent urinary tract infections.

Topical hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was associated with a lower incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) compared with both oral HRT or even no HRT.

UTIs are a frequent problem among postmenopausal women necessitating antimicrobial use, and resistance is increasing. Every year, 8–10% of postmenopausal women have 1 episode of a urinary tract infection; of these, 5% will have a recurrence in the next year.

Studies have demonstrated use of oral estrogens does not reduce the incidence of UTIs, but topical HRT reduced the number of UTIs in two small studies.

To determine whether a difference existed in incidence of UTIs in women 60–75 years of age, a study compared the number of UTIs per patient per year over 1 year in 3 groups of postmenopausal women: topical HRT, systemic HRT, and control (n=75 per group).
Women aged 60–75 years with a history of UTI (n=448) were identified from retrospective charts (2011–2013). Patients were excluded if they were taking antibiotics for UTI prophylaxis, treated with antibiotics for reasons other than UTI for 2 or more weeks, were on both topical and systemic HRT, or on chronic methenamine hippurate.
The number of UTIs per patient per year was significantly different among the 3 groups. There was a significant difference between topical HRT and systemic HRT, and topical HRT and control, but not systemic HRT and control. The control group had an average of 1.24 UTIs per patient per year, compared with 1.01 in the systemic group and 0.65 in the women who used topical estrogen replacement.

Bottom Line: Topical estrogens may be beneficial when other preferred agents cannot be utilized.

Probiotics and Urinary Tract Infections

Bacteria have a reputation for causing disease, so the idea of tossing down a few billion a day for your health might seem — literally and figuratively — hard to swallow. But a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that you can treat and even prevent some illnesses with foods and supplements containing certain kinds of live bacteria. Northern Europeans consume a lot of these beneficial microorganisms, called probiotics (from pro and biota, meaning “for life”), because of their tradition of eating foods fermented with bacteria, such as yogurt.

Enthusiasm for such foods has lagged in the United States, but interest in probiotic supplements is on the rise. Since the mid-1990s, clinical studies have established that probiotic therapy can help treat and prevent vaginal and urinary infections in women.

Probiotics may also be of use in maintaining health of the urinary tract. Like the intestinal tract, the vagina is a finely balanced ecosystem. The dominant Lactobacilli strains normally make it too acidic for harmful microorganisms to survive. But the system can be thrown out of balance by a number of factors, including antibiotics, spermicides, and birth control pills. Probiotic treatment that restores the balance of microflora may be helpful for such common female urogenital problems as bacterial vaginosis, yeast infection, and urinary tract infection.

Oral administration of Lactobacilli may help in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis, although there isn’t enough evidence yet to recommend it over conventional approaches. Probiotic treatment of urinary tract infections is under study.

Health benefits are strain-specific, and not all strains are necessarily useful, so you may want to consult a practitioner familiar with probiotics to discuss your options. As always, let your primary care provider know what you’re doing.

Do’s and Don’ts of Douching-It May Cause Your UTI

I am 56 y\o female with recurrent urinary tract infections. I have been douching for many years and I was told by my urologist that the douching may be the culprit of my UTIs. Is that true?

Douching clears out the normal good bacteria of the vagina, which can upset the balance of bacteria in the vaginal area and make it easier to get UTIs. Allowing that bacteria to stay inside the vagina is a natural way to protect yourself from UTIs. Therefore, if you are prone to recurrent UTIs, then I suggest you deep six the douching.

What can you do to prevent UTIs?

Keep yourself hydrated. One of the best ways for preventing UTIs is to stay well hydrated, Drinking water can flush out bacteria from your bladder and lower your chances of getting a UTI.

I recommend urinating after sexual intimacy. Sexual activity may massage bacteria from the vagina into the urethra, the tube from the bladder to the outside of the body, which can then multiply and create an infection. Urinating after sex will expel the bacteria in the urethra and prevent the bacteria’s access to the bladder.

Drinking cranberry juice also seems to make it harder for bacteria to infect the urinary tract. Cranberry juice contains active compounds that are not destroyed by the digestive system after people drink them, but instead work to fight against bacteria, including E. coli, which is the most common bacteria causing UTIs. It appears that cranberry juice seems to prevent bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall.
Urinate frequently as holding urine probably can increase risk of having UTIs.

Wear cotton underwear. Bacteria grows in a moist, warm environment, so it’s a good idea to wear cotton underwear and clothes that aren’t too tight to allow air to flow and to keep the area dry. Avoid tight fitting jeans and exercise clothing.
See a doctor for persistent symptoms. If you don’t get better quickly with these non-medical suggestions or you have more than 3-4 infections per year, then it is time to obtain a medical opinion.

Bottom Line:
UTIs are a common malady affecting nearly every woman at some time during her adult life. There are several suggestions provided in this blog that you can do to decrease your likelihood of recurrences.

Urinary Tract Infections-Help Without Medication

Urinary Tract Infections Are One of the Most Common Maladies affecting women and is a source of pain, discomfort, and inconvenience. There are several action steps that most women can take to help reduce the frequency of these infections.
There are several simple, do-it-yourself techniques that may prevent a urinary tract infection. Some may work some of the time, or only in some women. But, because they carry no side effects, they certainly are worth trying to prevent the often painful and bothersome symptoms the infection can bring.
Here are some steps you might consider if you have more than 3-4 infections a year.

• Drink plenty of fluids – the equivalent of six to eight 8-ounce glasses of liquids – every day to flush bacteria out of your urinary system.
• Make sure you’re getting vitamin C in your diet, either through food or supplements. Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, makes your urine acidic, which discourages the growth of bacteria.
• Drinking cranberry juice may also produce the same effect. Cranberry tablets are a more concentrated form of cranberry juice without the sugar content.
• Urinate every two to three hours whether you have the urge or not. Keeping urine in your bladder for long periods gives bacteria an opportunity to grow.
• Avoid using feminine hygiene sprays and scented douches. They also may irritate the urethra.
If you suffer from urinary tract infections more than three times a year, your health care professional may suggest one of the following therapies to try to prevent another recurrence:
• See you doctor about a low dosage of an antibiotic medication, such as trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole or nitrofurantoin, taken daily for six months or longer
• If you infections occur after sexual intimacy, a single dose of an antibiotic medication taken after sexual intercourse.
Bottom Line: Recurrent urinary tract infections impact millions of American women. A few of these steps can probably reduce the frequency of these infections. If you have any questions, check with your doctor.

Deciding Upon the Prime Cut- The Circumcision Decision

No descriptor required!

Parents often ruminate about the decision to circumcise their young baby boys. Certainly if you are of the Jewish faith, there is no question that you will consider cicrcumcision for your new baby boy. For non-Jews, and non-Moslems, the decision is much more difficult.

New evidence is out that circumcision reduces the risk of sexually transmitted diseases. A review of current medical research points out that the medical benefits of circumcision outweigh the risk of the procedure. Circumcised infants are 90
% less liekly than uncircumcised infants to develop urinary tract infections. Later in life, the circumcised boys are at a lower risk of contracting HIV, herpes, penile cancer, and human papilomavirus, which when passed to female partners, can cause cervical cancer. The serious complicaitons occur in only about 0.2 percent of baby boys who under the operation.

Bottom Line: The circumcision decision is often difficult for most parents to make. I suggest you speak to your pediatrician and obstetrician about the “prime cut.”

A Burn In the Urine-Managing Urinary Tract Infections (UTI)

One of the most common afflictions affecting most women and many men are urinary tract infections. UTIs are eight times more common in women than men. Initial symptoms typically include burning at the time of urination, frequent and intense urge to urinate, with discoloration of the urine ranging from cloudy to even bloody.

A bacteria, E. Coli, is responsible for 75% to 90% cases of acute uncomplicated cystitis. UTIs can also be caused by sexually transmitted disease (STD) such as Chlamydia and Mycoplasma. Other possibilities of painful urination include pelvic inflammatory disease, radiation cystitis, and hemorrhagic cystitis.

E. Coli bacteria – common cause of urinary tract infections

Your doctor can make a presumptive UTI diagnosis in symptomatic women if there is either burning with urination and frequency without vaginal symptoms. The diagnosis can be confirmed with urinalysis showing positive nitrite or positive leukocyte esterase. The ultimate diagnosis is based on urine culture which grows out the bacteria and tells the doctor the best drug or antibiotic for treating the infection.

Uncomplicated cystitis does not cause fever. If a patient has a fever the UTI may have spread to the kidneys. A bacterial infection of the kidney is referred to as pyelonephritis and the symptoms often include pain in the back or side below the ribs, nausea and vomiting.

Urinary tract infections in men are often the result of an obstruction or blockage of the urinary tract — for example, a urinary stone or enlarged prostate — or from a catheter used during a medical procedure.

Optimal empiric therapy for nonpregnant women with uncomplicated UTI is with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ, Bactrim, Septra) 160 mg/800 mg orally b.i.d. for three days. Other antibiotic options include ciprofloxacin (Cipro), levofloxacin Levaquin), or nitrofurantoin (Macrodantin).

Cranbeery juice and supplements are thought to be a good alternative preventive treatment for recurrent UTIs. Rich in vitamins C and E, antioxidants and anthocyanins, cranberry may help prevent E. coli from attaching to the bladder wall as well as bladder stone formation, and provide symptom relief for cystitis.

Bottom Line: UTIs are common in both men and women and can be easily diagnosed with a history, physical exam, and examinatioin of the urine. Treatment is effective with antibiotics. If it burns when you urine, call your doctor.

When Thongs May Be Wrong

The underwear de jure for many women is a thong. However, thongs may lead to unwanted urinary tract infections. Let me explain why. Bladder infections in many women are caused by the movement of bacteria from the rectum to the vagina and then they can’t easily gain access to the urinary tract through the short urethra which is the tube that transports urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. Wearing thongs can contribute the spread of bacteria. Thong panties can cause bladder infections and may even be a cause of very dangerous kidney infections. These conditions can be very painful for women and worsen if not treated. Thongs can also aid in the distribution of bacteria from one area to another. The small string on a thong allows the anus and vagina to be connected with each other through the small cloth the bridge on the thong. There is no separation between the two orifices which will allow fecal bacteria to get into the vagina and subsequently gain access to the lower urinary tract.
If you are at risk or have recurrent urinary tract infections, I recommend not wearing a thong. However if you insist in wearing a thong, I suggest you purchase a thong made of 100% cotton and avoid purchasing a thong made of nylon or made from spandex. Another advice for women who have urinary tract infections is not to wear the thong for prolonged periods of time and certainly do not where the thong overnight. Sleeping in a thong provides bacteria ample time for bacteria to migrate from the rectum on the string- like material to the vagina.
Bottom line: Care and attention must be practice when choosing to wear a thong. You might also consider going “commando” and going buff and not wear any panties at all. Britney Spears did!

Frequent Urinary Tract Infections? Pee Your Way to Fewer Infections!

UTIs (urinary tract infections) are one of the most common infections in women. Women with UTIs complain of frequency of urination, burning on urination, and getting up at night to urinate. These are the hallmark symptoms of UTIs. That’s the bad news. The good news that UTIs are one of the easiest to prevent. These infections usually occur as bacteria from the rectum migrate to the vagina and then enter the urethra or the tube that transports urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. This is why your doctor will advise you to wipe from the front of your vagina towards the rectum as this will decrease the bacteria that may enter your urethra.

If you are affected with recurrent UTIs, 3 or more per year, then you will want to drink lots of water to flush out your kidneys and bladder to help keep them clear of bacteria. Since bacteria can be massaged into the urethra from the vagina during sexual intimacy, it is important to urinate immediately after sex. Urination after intercourse washes out those unwanted bacteria that enter the urethra during intimacy.
Some women are able to control their frequency of infections by taking a low dose antibiotic such as Macrodantin or a half a tablet of Bactrim right after sexual intimacy. The use of antibiotics after sexual intimacy is especially helpful for those women who develop urinary symptoms shortly after engaging in sexual intimacy.

Bottom Line: UTIs affect millions of women. These infections impact a women’s quality of life. However, a few simple steps like urinating after sexual intimacy is an example of good vaginal hygiene that can reduce the frequency of those bothersome infections.