Cranberry Juice And Extracts
Who hasnât been told to âdrink cranberry juiceâ to treat a UTI? Itâs probably the most common and poorly understood home remedies to get rid of a UTI without antibiotics. So how do we separate false claims from facts?
Science. That pesky little tool we turn to when Facebook group discussions get really heated. Now not all science is the same.
The most powerful scientific tool is a randomized controlled trial. This is the fancy doctor term for taking two groups of patients and randomly assigning them to a placebo or a treatment. Then let the results speak for themselves.
A 2021 review paper of existing randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of cranberry consumption revealed that cranberry juice has no known benefit, but cranberry extracts may help get rid of a UTI without antibiotics.
If cranberry juices helps then itâs probably a combination of the placebo effect and hydrating . The reasons why cranberry juice is not a great choice?
This is probably why high quality cranberry extracts show more promise in getting rid of a UTI without antibiotics. One great option is from Utiva Health, which loads its supplements with PACs. PACs are the compounds in cranberries which flush out bacteria and keep your bladder healthy.
Will consuming cranberry juice or extracts help you get rid of a UTI without antibiotics?
What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Utis
If you have a urinary tract infection, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:
- Pain or burning when urinating
- The need to urinate more often than usual
- A feeling of urgency when you urinate
- Blood or mucus in the urine
- Cramps or pain in the lower abdomen
- Pain during sexual intercourse
- Chills, fever, sweats, leaking of urine
- Waking up from sleep to urinate
- Change in the amount of urine, either more or less
- Urine that looks cloudy, smells foul or unusually strong
- Pain, pressure, or tenderness in the area of the bladder
- When bacteria spreads to the kidneys you may experience back pain, chills, fever, nausea, and vomiting.
Prepare For Possible Postpartum Utis
In some cases, the risks of developing a UTI increase after you give birth.
Patients who have a C-section or receive an epidural during labor have a catheter inserted into their bladder. This ensures a safer delivery by keeping your bladder empty. But a catheter increases your risk of infection the longer it stays in your body, and its placement provides the perfect track for bacteria to enter your bladder.
To decrease your UTI risk, our goal is to remove your catheter no more than six to eight hours after surgery and even sooner after an epidural. An infection can take days to appear, so watch for symptoms after you leave the hospital and tell your doctor right away if you experience them. We dont perform routine UTI tests after delivery, so its important to alert us to abnormal pain or discomfort.
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With so many new tasks to complete and emotions to experience after bringing your newborn home, it can feel overwhelming to keep track of one more thing but your health remains a priority after the birth of your baby. The more you tell us about how you feel, the more we can do to help you stay healthy.
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How Are Utis Diagnosed
UTIs are diagnosed by taking a urine sample which is checked in a laboratory for bacteria. Your doctor may also perform a physical examination if they think you have an infection.
All pregnant women are offered a urine test, usually at their first antenatal visit or soon after. You may need to repeat the urine test if you have a history of UTIs have symptoms of a UTI have a contaminated sample or if your doctor thinks you are at high risk of developing a UTI. If you have frequent UTIs, you may also need additional tests such as an ultrasound of your kidneys.
Testing For And Treating Gbs In Pregnancy
GBS is one reason why urine tests are a regular part of prenatal care. When bacteriuria shows up on a routine urine test, a urine culture can determine if GBS is the cause. If it is, the UTI should be treated with antibiotics before it progresses to a life-threatening infection.
While the GBS bacteria can infect the urinary tract, these bacteria are more common in the gastrointestinal tract and vagina. During the last weeks of pregnancy, everyone is tested for GBS with a swab inside the vagina. When GBS is found there, antibiotics are automatically given to the parent during delivery to keep the baby from catching GBS.
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Uti Symptoms And Prevention
A urinary tract infection , also called bladder infection, is a bacterial inflammation in the urinary tract. Pregnant women are at increased risk for UTIs starting in week 6 through week 24 because of changes in the urinary tract. The uterus sits directly on top of the bladder. As the uterus grows, its increased weight can block the drainage of urine from the bladder, causing a urinary tract infection during pregnancy.
What Are The Common Causes Of Utis
Your urinary tract is normally free of bacteria. If bacteria enter the tract and multiply, they can cause a UTI. There are several factors that increase the risk of developing an infection:
- Infection with common bacteria in your gut, usually from faeces can contaminate your urinary tract
- Being sexually active increases the risk of bacteria moving around the genital area and entering the urinary tract
- If you have weak pelvic floor muscles your bladder might not empty completely, which can lead to an infection
- Women with diabetes are at increased risk of developing a UTI since the sugar in their urine may cause bacteria to multiply
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How To Treat Utis
If you think you have a UTI, the first thing you should do is schedule an appointment with your OBGYN or primary care physician. Many women will try to self-treat it, or worse, just hope it goes away on its own. And while some minor UTIs do go away on their own, its best to see a doctor and have them diagnose and treat it as the infection can spread to other parts of your body and be dangerous.
Your doctor will take a urine sample which will allow them to diagnose it right then and there, meaning youll leave the office with an answer and a solution! Well choose an antibiotic based on the type of bacteria you have, taking into account other factors like pregnancy, allergies, other medications, and medical history. Now all you have to do is take the full cycle of treatment to make sure the infection is completely gone.
Does Cranberry Juice Cure Utis
Cranberry juice and cranberry extract have been commonly used to treat and prevent UTIs and while cranberry certainly cant hurt and can help, its not a one and done solution for UTIs. There isnt a common consensus on whether or not cranberry actually reduces the number of UTIs a woman gets as studies have shown both that and the opposite. Dont expect that cranberry will cure a UTI without antibiotics. But if the pain is unbearable before you can get to the doctor, it can provide some relief.
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What Is A Uti In Pregnancy
Urinary tract infections affect up to 10% of mothers during pregnancy. Studies show that it is the second most common ailment that occurs in pregnant women.
UTI symptoms can vary from a bit of discomfort to moderate pain. Because of its persistence, getting a UTI can be a frustrating experience. For pregnant women, UTIs should be treated with care. This type of infection is not only more uncomfortable but can cause severe complications for both the mother and the unborn child. All UTIs during pregnancy require medical attention.
Antibiotics are a well-known and common treatment for many UTIs. But because UTIs are often chronic or recurring, antibiotic resistance is a concern when considering treatment plans for UTI patients. Short courses of antibiotics are shown to be safe for the mother-to-be and her baby, but antibiotic use during pregnancy should be handled with care and consistent monitoring by a medical professional.
Always seek medical advice before trying to ease your UTI symptoms with home remedies. Under medical supervision, some at-home treatments may help resolve your UTI.
Symptomatic Urinary Tract Infection
About 1520% of women with pyelonephritis have bacteremia . They may develop various complications, such as acute kidney injury, anemia, hypertension, preeclampsia, sepsis and septic shock, hemolysis, thrombocytopenia, and acute respiratory distress syndrome, particularly if treatment is initiated too late . Although these associations have not always been proved to be causal, most of the complications seem to be due to renal or other tissue damage caused by bacterial endotoxins and a systemic inflammatory response with endothelial injury .
A number of observational studies have demonstrated the relationship between maternal symptomatic UTI and the risk of premature delivery and lower birth weight . The frequency of preterm deliveries in women with acute pyelonephritis is significantly higher than in women free of this complication, and pyelonephritis seems to be an important independent risk factor for delivery before 37 weeks gestation . However, again, a substantial heterogeneity between these studies, together with many possible biases, makes it difficult to establish the overall contribution of UTI to preterm birth . A rare but severe complication is the transmission of the infection onto the newborn baby . Very often the transmitted infection originates from a heavily colonized birth canal, usually with GBS .
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Epidemiology And Risk Factors
Urinary tract infections remain among the most common medical complications during pregnancy. It is estimated that the prevalence of ASB varies between 2% and 1013%, similar to nonpregnant women . There is a scarcity of data concerning acute cystitis in pregnancy according to the available studies it is observed in 14% . The prevalence of acute pyelonephritis in most reports ranges from 0.5% to 2% of pregnancies .
Many women acquire bacteriuria before pregnancy . A large retrospective analysis with logistic regression modeling, embracing 8037 women from North Carolina, revealed that the two strongest predictors of bacteriuria at prenatal care at prenatal care initiation were: UTI prior to prenatal care initiation and a pre-pregnancy history of UTI . In a second analysis, prior antenatal UTI was found to be the strongest predictor of pyelonephritis after 20 weeks gestation . Other suggested risk factors for UTI during pregnancy are lower socioeconomic status, sexual activity, older age, multiparity, anatomical urinary tract abnormalities, sickle cell disease and diabetes, although the significance of some of them remains a matter of controversy .
How To Treat A Urinary Tract Infection During Pregnancy
Pregnancy has its ups and downs, and different women experience different types of problems.
One common problem during pregnancy is urinary tract infections , also known as bladder infections. This type of infection occurs when bacteria causes the urinary tract to become inflamed.
The problem usually starts after the sixth week of pregnancy, occurring as the growing baby puts more pressure on the bladder. The increasing pressure prevents the bladder from emptying completely, which leads to bacteria getting trapped in the urinary tract and ultimately causing an infection.
Apart from the physical changes in your body, several factors can lead to a UTI during pregnancy. Such factors include bacteria from the bowel, intercourse, a history of recurring UTIs, maternal diabetes, sickle cell disease, kidney disease, and previous urinary tract surgery.
When suffering from a UTI during pregnancy, you can experience symptoms like a burning sensation during urination, frequent trips to the bathroom to urinate, an intense urge to urinate while the amount of urine expelled is small, cloudy and smelly urine, a low-grade fever, lower-abdominal pain or discomfort, and nausea, and vomiting.
It is important to treat a UTI right away. An untreated infection could turn into a kidney infection, triggering preterm labor and causing your baby to have a low birth weight.
Apart from antibiotics, there are many things you can do to help treat the infection and ensure a safe pregnancy.
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Urinary Tract Infections During Pregnancy
JOHN E. DELZELL, JR., M.D., and MICHAEL L. LEFEVRE, M.D., M.S.P.H., University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri
Am Fam Physician. 2000 Feb 1 61:713-720.
See related patient information handout on urinary tract infections during pregnancy, written by the authors of this article.
Urinary tract infections are common during pregnancy, and the most common causative organism is Escherichia coli. Asymptomatic bacteriuria can lead to the development of cystitis or pyelonephritis. All pregnant women should be screened for bacteriuria and subsequently treated with antibiotics such as nitrofurantoin, sulfisoxazole or cephalexin. Ampicillin should no longer be used in the treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria because of high rates of resistance. Pyelonephritis can be a life-threatening illness, with increased risk of perinatal and neonatal morbidity. Recurrent infections are common during pregnancy and require prophylactic treatment. Pregnant women with urinary group B streptococcal infection should be treated and should receive intrapartum prophylactic therapy.
Preventing Utis While Pregnant
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How To Prevent Utis
Mentioned below are some tips that can help you prevent a urinary tract infection during pregnancy. Even if you have a urinary tract infection, you can follow these steps to prevent it from worsening.
1. Wear Loose Clothes
Wear light and loose-fitting clothes and innerwear to allow the air to pass and to keep the urethra dry. Also, wipe yourself dry from front to back after any bowel movement to ensure that bacteria dont get into the urethra.
2. Eat Healthy Foods
Eat healthy food and lead a healthy lifestyle. Consult a dietician and ask what you can eat during pregnancy. Avoid eating unhealthy food at all cost.
3. Avoid Using Feminine Hygiene Products
Do not use perfumed products, powders, or douches as these can irritate the already vulnerable area and worsen the condition.
4. Avoid Using Spermicides
Use lubricated condoms which do not have spermicides. The incidence of UTIs is high among women who are sexually active. So if you are having sex with your partner, be careful.
5. Use Lubricants
Use a lubricant while having sex with your partner, as excess friction while having sex can cause micro-trauma to the urethral mucosa and facilitate the ascent of bacteria.
6. Treat Vaginal Infections
Treat vaginal infections effectively as concomitant vaginal infection often precipitates a urinary tract infection. So if you have a vaginal infection, get it treated in time and lower your chances of a UTI.
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Things You Can Do Yourself
To help ease pain:
- takeparacetamolup to 4 times a day to reduce pain and a high temperature for people with a UTI, paracetamol is usually recommended over NSAIDs such as ibuprofen or aspirin
- you can give childrenliquid paracetamol
- rest and drink enough fluids so you pass pale urine regularly during the day, especially during hot weather
It’s important to follow the instructions on the packet so you know how much paracetamol you or your child can take, and how often.
It may also help to avoid having sex until you feel better.
You cannot pass a UTI on to your partner, but sex may be uncomfortable.
Taking cystitis sachets or cranberry products has not been shown to help ease symptoms of UTIs.
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Why Antibiotics Sometimes Dont Work
Most UTIs arent serious. But if left untreated, the infection can spread up to the kidneys and bloodstream and become life threatening. Kidney infections can lead to kidney damage and kidney scarring.
Symptoms of a UTI usually improve within 2 to 3 days after starting antibiotic therapy. Many doctors prescribe an antibiotic for at least 3 days.
While this type of medication is the standard treatment, researchers are noticing that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are reducing the effectiveness of some antibiotics in treating UTIs.
Some UTIs dont clear up after antibiotic therapy. When an antibiotic medication doesnt stop the bacteria from causing an infection, the bacteria continue to multiply.
The overuse or misuse of antibiotics is often the reason for antibiotic resistance. This can happen when the same antibiotic is prescribed over and over again for recurrent UTIs. Because of this risk, experts have been looking for ways to treat UTIs without antibiotics.
Some research has shown that UTIs can be treated without traditional antibiotics by targeting E. colis surface component for adhesion, FimH.
Typically, the urinary tract flushes away bacteria when you urinate. But according to researchers, FimH can cause E. coli to firmly attach to the cells in the urinary tract. And because of this tight grip, its hard for the body to naturally flush the bacteria from the urinary tract.
