Does Cranberry Juice Prevent A Uti
Some patients may want to use cranberry or cranberry juice as a home remedy to treat a UTI. Cranberry juice has not been shown to cure an ongoing bacterial infection in the bladder or kidney.
Cranberry has been studied as a preventive maintenance agent for UTIs. Studies are mixed on whether cranberry can really prevent a UTI. Cranberry may work by preventing bacteria from sticking to the inside of the bladder however, it would take a large amount of cranberry juice to prevent bacterial adhesion. More recent research suggests cranberries may have no effect on preventing a UTI
- According to one expert, the active ingredient in cranberries — A-type proanthocyanidins — are effective against UTI-causing bacteria, but is only in highly concentrated cranberry capsules, not in cranberry juice.
- However, cranberry was not proven to prevent recurrent UTIs in several well-controlled studies, as seen in a 2012 meta-analysis of 24 trials published by the Cochrane group.
- While studies are not conclusive, there is no harm in drinking cranberry juice. However, if you develop symptoms, see your doctor. Some people find large quantities of cranberry juice upsetting to the stomach.
Increasing fluid intake like water, avoiding use of spermicides, and urinating after intercourse may be helpful in preventing UTIs, although limited data is available.
Dont Rush To Antibiotics
The sinuses are small, hollow spaces inside the head. They drain into the nose. The sinuses often cause problems after a cold. They can also cause problems if they get blocked up from hay fever and other allergies. The medical name for sinus problems is sinusitis.
Sinus problems can be very uncomfortable. You may feel stuffed up. You may have yellow, green, or gray mucus. And you may feel pain or pressure around your eyes, cheeks, forehead, or teeth.
Each year, millions of people use antibiotic drugs to treat sinus problems. However, they usually do not need antibiotics. Heres why:
How To Tell When You Need Antibiotics For An Ear Infection
Earaches are the most common reason why parents bring their children to the doctors. In fact, before the age of three, 5 out of 6 kids will experience an earache.
Because kids ears dont drain as well as adults, it is much more common for kids to get ear infections. But adults can get them as well.
If youre having severe pain in your ear that lasts for days, you may need medical attention. Heres how to tell if you need antibiotics for an ear infection.
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Ear Infections: Why Kids May Not Need 10 Days Of Antibiotics
Imagine for a moment that youve been up all night with your sickkindergartener. For some of us, this is not hard to imagine! He has been holding his right earand crying in pain. Youve been through this before, and you suspect he has another earinfection. After his pediatrician examines him and confirms your suspicion, you head to thepharmacy to pick up the antibiotic that will help his body fight the bacterial ear infection. Butwait – you know that you are sleep-deprived, but when you look at the medication instructions, itsays to take the medicine for only seven days. In the past, hes always had antibiotics for TENdays and isnt it bad not to take a full round of antibiotics?
Seattle Children’s Urgent Care Locations
If your childs illness or injury is life-threatening, call 911.
Treatment for an Ear Infection
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What About Antibiotic Resistance
Resistance rates for antibiotics are always variable based on local patterns in the community and specific risk factors for patients, such as recent antibiotic use, hospital stay or travel. If you have taken an antibiotic in the last 3 months or traveled internationally, be sure to tell your doctor.
High rates of antibiotic resistance are being seen with both ampicillin and amoxicillin for cystitis , although amoxicillin/clavulanate may still be an option. Other oral treatments with reported increasing rates of resistance include sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim and the fluoroquinolones. Resistance rates for the oral cephalosporins and amoxicillin/clavulanate are still usually less than 10 percent.
Always finish taking your entire course of antibiotic unless your doctor tells you to stop. Keep taking your antibiotic even if you feel better and you think you don’t need your antibiotic anymore.
If you stop your treatment early, your infection may return quickly and you can develop resistance to the antibiotic you were using previously. Your antibiotic may not work as well the next time you use it.
Sinus Infection Treatment In Children
Sinus infections affect children similarly.
If your child has a sinus infection, the aforementioned home remedies may help, but make sure to follow your pediatricians recommendations to treat your childs illness.
Note that various over-the-counter medications may not be suitable for your child:
- Babies 6 months old or younger should only receive acetaminophen for pain relief
- Children older than 6 months can receive acetaminophen or ibuprofen
- Children should never receive aspirin and teenagers recovering from chicken pox or flu-like symptoms should not take aspirin because of the risk of a rare and severe illness called Reyeâs syndrome
Children younger than 4 years should not receive cough or cold products unless directed by a pediatrician .
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What Are The Harms Of Fluid Buildup In Your Ears Or Repeated Or Ongoing Ear Infections
Most ear infections dont cause long-term problems, but when they do happen, complications can include:
- Loss of hearing: Some mild, temporary hearing loss usually occurs during an ear infection. Ongoing infections, infections that repeatedly occur, damage to internal structures in the ear from a buildup of fluid can cause more significant hearing loss.
- Delayed speech and language development: Children need to hear to learn language and develop speech. Muffled hearing for any length of time or loss of hearing can significantly delay or hamper development.
- Tear in the eardrum: A tear can develop in the eardrum from pressure from the long-lasting presence of fluid in the middle ear. About 5% to 10% of children with an ear infection develop a small tear in their eardrum. If the tear doesnt heal on its own, surgery may be needed. If you have drainage/discharge from your ear, do not place anything into your ear canal. Doing so can be dangerous if there is an accident with the item touching the ear drum.
- Spread of the infection: Infection that doesnt go away on its own, is untreated or is not fully resolved with treatment may spread beyond the ear. Infection can damage the nearby mastoid bone . On rare occasions, infection can spread to the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord and cause meningitis.
Antibiotics And Alternatives For Ear Infections
December 3, 2012 –
Slowly but surely, things are getting back to normal around here.
That is, if you count still laying on the couch as much as possible with a sore girly-parts normal.
Normal last week also included a toddler that came across pink eye.
And ear infections.
Greeeeeeeat.
Since Owen had his one week check up last week, I had the Pediatrician check Georgia out too. Sure enough, she was prescribed antibiotics.
Daaaaaangit.
I didn’t mind using antibiotic drops for her pink eye, since it was causing her such discomfort. What’s great about the drops is that they are just topical simply killing off the bacteria on the surface.
But the oral antibiotics she was prescribed for her ear infectionswell, I just wasn’t ready for that.
We’ve been blessed to date, Georgia has never had to be on antibiotics. In fact, this was her very first sick doctor visit. She’s a very healthy girl and for that, I am very thankful.
The entire way back from the Pediatricians office, I meddled with what I should do. Surely, I didn’t want her to be in pain. I also didn’t want the infection to get worse. But she wasn’t acting like her ears hurt they weren’t red or irritated looking and she wasn’t pulling or scratching at them.
Would I be labeled a terrible mother if I didn’t give her the antibiotics?
What sort of price would we pay in her future health if we did give them to her?
Oh, the challenge of difficult decisions!
Why garlic oil, you ask?
I am praying that is the case.
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Diagnosis And Treatment Of Otitis Media
KALYANAKRISHNAN RAMAKRISHNAN, MD, FRCSE RHONDA A. SPARKS, MD and WAYNE E. BERRYHILL, MD
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Am Fam Physician. 2007 Dec 1 76:1650-1658.
Patient information: See related handout on ear infections in children, written by the authors of this article.
Acute otitis media, a viral or bacterial infection of the middle ear, is the most common infection for which antibiotics are prescribed for children in the United States.1,2 Direct and indirect costs of treatment and time lost from school and work because of acute otitis media totaled nearly $3 billion in 1995.3 Acute otitis media is most common between six and 24 months of age by age three, more than 80 percent of children have been diagnosed.4
Otitis media with effusion is middle ear effusion in the absence of acute infection. About 2.2 million cases of otitis media with effusion occur annually in the United States.5 Chronic suppurative otitis media is persistent infection and resultant perforation of the tympanic membrane.6 This article will review recent evidence, including the evidence-based guideline from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians, about the diagnosis and treatment of acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion.1,5
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One customer says Please retain this position for about 5. . A few say that the oil may be cleaned with a soft earbud, it dissolves wax and other impurities.
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How Do You Prevent Ear Infections
You may be able to prevent ear some ear infections if you:
- Use earplugs when swimming or diving
- Dry ears thoroughly after swimming
- Never use cotton swabs inside the ear canal
- Wash hands properly to prevent the spread of viruses
- Use soap and warm water and wash for at least 20 seconds
Why Do Kids Get Ear Infections
Kids get ear infections more than adults do for several reasons:
- Their shorter, more horizontal eustachian tubes let bacteria and viruses find their way into the middle ear more easily. The tubes are also narrower, so more likely to get blocked.
- Their adenoids, gland-like structures at the back of the throat, are larger and can interfere with the opening of the eustachian tubes.
Other things that can put kids at risk include secondhand smoke, bottle-feeding, and being around other kids in childcare. Ear infections are more common in boys than girls.
Ear infections are not contagious, but the colds that sometimes cause them can be. Infections are common during winter weather, when many people get upper respiratory tract infections or colds .
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Common Types Of Ear Infections
The two most common types of ear infections are in the middle ear or the outer ear.
An infection in the middle ear often follows a cold or respiratory problem. The infection moves to the ears through the eustachian tubes causing them to swell.
Infections in the outer ear sometimes referred to as swimmers ear are usually caused by an outside source such as water. If water sits in the ear for too long, it can cause the skin to break down and become a breeding ground for bacteria.
Seek medical attention immediately if you have nausea, dizziness, or vomiting along with ear pain. You may have a more serious issue with your inner ear.
Dosage Intervals Of Amoxicillin For The Treatment Of Acute Middle Ear Infection
Acute middle ear infection is a very common disease in children and may cause pain and hearing loss. Delayed or ineffective treatment may lead to serious complications such as ear drum perforation, sensorineural hearing loss or the disease becoming chronic. Amoxicillin, with or without clavulanate, is the most commonly used antibiotic for treating acute otitis media. Currently, a reduction in the dosing interval to one or two daily doses is being used, in preference to the conventional three or four daily doses, to aid compliance.
We identified five randomised clinical studies with 1601 children comparing two dosing schedules. Participants were aged 12 years or younger with AOM. The primary outcome was clinical cure rate in terms of resolution of otalgia and fever at the end of antibiotic therapy . The secondary outcomes were clinical cure rate in terms of middle ear effusion during therapy, clinical cure rate post-treatment in terms of resolution of middle ear infection, AOM complications and adverse events to medication. The results showed that treating acute middle ear infection with either once/twice daily or three times daily amoxicillin, with or without clavulanate, has the same results using our outcome measures, including adverse events such as diarrhoea and skin reactions.
The evidence is current to March 2013.
We searched CENTRAL 2013, Issue 2, MEDLINE , EMBASE and the Science Citation Index .
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What Are The Symptoms Of An Ear Infection
There are three main types of ear infections. Each has a different combination of symptoms.
- Acute otitis media is the most common ear infection. Parts of the middle ear are infected and swollen and fluid is trapped behind the eardrum. This causes pain in the earcommonly called an earache. Your child might also have a fever.
- Otitis media with effusion sometimes happens after an ear infection has run its course and fluid stays trapped behind the eardrum. A child with OME may have no symptoms, but a doctor will be able to see the fluid behind the eardrum with a special instrument.
- Chronic otitis media with effusion happens when fluid remains in the middle ear for a long time or returns over and over again, even though there is no infection. COME makes it harder for children to fight new infections and also can affect their hearing.
When Should I Return To My Healthcare Provider For A Follow
Your healthcare provider will let you know when you need to return for a follow-up visit. At that visit, you or your childs eardrum will be examined to be certain that the infection is going away. Your healthcare provider may also want to test you or your child’s hearing.
Follow-up exams are very important, especially if the infection has caused a hole in the eardrum.
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What If I Have Frequent Recurring Utis
Within a year of havig a UTI infection, roughy one-quarter to one-half of women will have another UTI. For these women antibiotic prophylaxis may be recommended by her health care provider. With a recurrent course of UTIs, a urine culture or imaging tests may be required for further analysis.
For recurrent UTIs, there are several antibiotic options for prevention:
- A shorter course of antibiotics at the first sign of UTI symptoms a prescription may be given to you to keep at home.
- A longer course of low-dose antibiotic therapy.
- Take a single dose of an antibiotic after sexual intercourse.
The choice of antibiotic is based on previous UTIs, effectiveness, and patient-specific factors such as allergies and cost. Antibiotics commonly used for recurrent UTIs can include sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, nitrofurantoin, cefaclor, or cephalexin.
In postmenopausal women with vaginal dryness that may be leading to recurrent UTIs, vaginal estrogen may be an effective treatment. Treatment options your doctor might recommend include: Estring, Vagifem , or vaginal estrogen creams .
