First Are Antibiotics Necessary
Taking antibiotics should not be treated lightly, especially given the increased risk of developing multi-drug resistant bacteria like ESBL E.coli, for which we are running out of treatments.
- While burning when you pee and the urge to urinate, are common UTI symptoms, they are not always indicative of a urinary tract infection.
- Antibiotics alone are not as effective against mature bacterial biofilms.
- An incomplete course or prophylactic antibiotics can actually promote the growth of bacterial biofilms.
- Antioxidants, available in N-acetylcysteine supplements can increase the effectiveness of antibiotics and help you fight mature bacterial biofilms.
- Natural supplements like D-Mannose can be effective at the first sign of a UTI and dont come with the extensive side effect profile of many antibiotics
Therefore, you and your physician should ensure that necessary testing is done before prescribing antibiotics. This includes analyzing accurate local antibiotic resistance data to make sure you get the best empirical antibiotics until more data is available.
Common Side Effects With Antibiotic Use
Each antibiotic is responsible for its own unique list of side effects, and the list is usually extensive. Be sure to discuss your individual antibiotic side effects with your healthcare provider. However, there are side effects that are common to most antibiotics, regardless of class or drug:
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What Is A Uti
Before we talk about the antibiotics that treat UTIs, lets discuss what the medications are targeting.
Urinary tract infections, or UTIs, refer to a group of infections that can happen anywhere along the urinary tract, which includes the kidneys, ureters, bladders, and urethra. Antibiotics are used to treat UTIs because bacteria often cause themEscherichia coli is the type of bacteria notoriously famous for causing most UTIs.
Most germs that cause these infections typically live on the skin in unharmful numbers, especially in areas like the vaginal folds. However, once in the urinary tract, they can multiply to unsafe colony numbers and cause symptoms .
UTI symptoms include: burning during urination, needing to pee frequently, lower abdominal pain or cramping, blood in your urine, and feeling the need to urinate even if you just went to the bathroom.
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What Antibiotics Are Prescribed For Utis
Most UTIs are categorized as being uncomplicated in nature. This basically means that the infection is only in the bladder and there are no other worrisome symptoms like a fever, chills or flank and back pain that could indicate a more serious infection. In these cases, the antibiotics Macrobid or Keflex are commonly prescribed.
Antiseptic Drug As Good As Antibiotics For Preventing Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections
And may also help tackle antibiotic resistance, say researchers
The antiseptic drug methenamine hippurate is as good as antibiotics for preventing recurrent urinary tract infections in women, finds a trial published by The BMJ today.
Its use as an alternative to antibiotics may also help tackle the global burden of antibiotic resistance, say the researchers.
Over half of women have at least one urinary tract infection in their lifetime, and recurrence occurs in about a quarter of women who have one episode.
Current guidelines recommend daily low dose antibiotics as the standard preventive treatment for recurrent UTI. But such long term use of antibiotics has been linked to antibiotic resistance, so research into non-antibiotic alternatives is urgently needed.
Methenamine hippurate is a drug that sterilises urine, stopping the growth of certain bacteria. Previous studies have shown that it could be effective in preventing UTIs, but the evidence is inconclusive and further randomised trials are needed.
So a team of UK researchers, led by clinicians and scientists from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, set out to test if methenamine hippurate is an effective alternative to standard antibiotic treatment for preventing recurrent UTI in women.
Their findings are based on 240 women with recurrent urinary tract infections requiring prophylactic treatment. On average before trial entry these women experienced over six UTI episodes per year.
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Q: What Is A Single Dose Antibiotic
A: Single dose antibiotic treatments have emerged in response to the dangers of overprescribed and improperly used standard antibiotics. Instead of taking an antibiotic twice a day for 10 days, the patient is given a single, large antibiotic dose that undermines the activity of the bacteria and brings an immediate halt to the infection. Many doctors are now transitioning to single dose antibiotic treatment for uncomplicated UTIs .
How Often Are Utis Resistant
The majority of urinary tract infections are now resistant to one or more antibiotics. The drug ampicillin, once a common treatment, has been largely abandoned because most U.T.I.s are now resistant to it.
The most important question isnt whether an infection is resistant to any drug, but whether it is resistant to the drugs that are commonly used to treat your particular infection.
When experts in the field think about resistant U.T.I.s, they say that resistance depends on the bug and the drug. What that means is that they try to figure out which particular germs are resistant to specific medications.
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Antibiotics Used For Uncomplicated Utis
If you are a healthy individual whose urinary tract is anatomically and functionally normal and you have no known heightened UTI susceptibility youve got whats dubbed an uncomplicated UTI, according to guidelines published in August 2019 in the Journal of Urology. For these individuals, antibiotics are considered the first-line of treatment.
The type of antibiotics you are prescribed and for how long is contingent on the type of bacteria detected in your urine, your current health status, and whether your UTI is uncomplicated or complicated. Depending on which antibiotic your doctor prescribes, women may need a single dose or up to a five-day course. For men, antibiotics are usually given for a slightly longer period of time, notes UpToDate.
Typically, if you are diagnosed with an uncomplicated UTI, one of the following will be prescribed as first-line treatment:
The following antibiotics are considered second-line treatments for UTI. They are generally chosen because of resistance patterns or allergy considerations:
The 5 Best Antibiotics For Uti Take This Not That
What are the best antibiotics for your urinary tract infection ? When you are sick with a UTI, you need a quick and effective treatment and this will often mean a course of antibiotics.
Sometimes you are so overwhelmed with UTI symptoms, that youll take any antibiotic you can get. However, it is important to be careful and informed about the different treatment options.
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What Is Antibiotic Resistance
When an antibiotic is no longer effective against bacteria it would normally treat, we call that bacteria antibiotic-resistant. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria could be resistant to one specific antibiotic or to multiple antibiotics. The more antibiotics a bacteria is resistant to, the more dangerous and difficult to treat that bacteria becomes.
Specific Risk Factors In Women
Structure of the Female Urinary Tract
The female and male urinary tracts are similar except for the length of the urethra.
Sexual Activity
Frequent or recent sexual activity is the most important risk factor for UTIs in young women. Nearly 80% of all UTIs in premenopausal women occur within 24 hours of intercourse. UTIs are very rare in celibate women. However, UTIs are not sexually transmitted infections.
In general, it is the physical act of intercourse itself that produces conditions that increase susceptibility to the UTI bacteria, with some factors increasing the risk. For example, women having sex for the first time or who have intense or frequent sex are at risk for a condition called honeymoon cystitis.
Certain types of contraceptives can also increase the risk of UTIs. In particular, women who use diaphragms tend to develop UTIs. The spring-rim of the diaphragm can bruise the area near the bladder, making it susceptible to bacteria. Spermicidal foam or gel used with diaphragms, and spermicidal-coated condoms, also increase susceptibility to UTIs. Most spermicides contain nonoxynol-9, a chemical that is associated with increased UTI risk.
Pregnancy
Antibiotic Use
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What Antibiotics Are Commonly Used To Treat Urinary Tract Infections
A handful of antibiotics are used to treat the most common urinary tract infections . In 75-95% of these cases, the infection is caused by bacteria called Escherichia coli , so experts know which antibiotics work well against the infection. These antibiotics are called first-line antibiotics.
They are given orally and include:
Amoxicillin and ampicillin are no longer used because of a high level of antibiotic resistance.
Other Ways To Prevent Recurring Utis
If you have more than 3 UTIs in 1 year, or 2 UTIs in 6 months, there are other things that may help prevent UTIs.
There is some evidence that women under 65 years old who keep getting UTIs may find it helpful to take:
- a supplement called D-mannose this is not recommended for pregnant women
- cranberry products, such as juice or tablets
Speak to your doctor before taking any of these during pregnancy.
Be aware that D-mannose and cranberry products can contain a lot of sugar.
Page last reviewed: 18 November 2020 Next review due: 18 November 2023
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Antibiotics For Uti: Whatre Your Options
Urinary tract infections begin when microbes enter the urinary system, overcome the bodys natural defense mechanisms, and multiply.
For many patients, these infections can be uncomfortable.
Although fungi or viruses can cause some UTIs, bacterial microbes are the primary cause behind most infections.
The best way to treat a bacterial UTI is to kill the germs causing the condition with antibiotics. Patients who take antibiotics for UTIs often report experiencing relief within just a few days.
Lets take a closer look at the different antibiotic options for UTI treatment.
What If I Dont Go To The Doctor
What happens when UTIs are left untreated? Contrary to popular belief, your immune system is often able to clear a UTI on its own. Studies have found that 25-42% of women are able to recover from an uncomplicated UTI without antibiotics.
But that means a majority of UTIs do not go away on their own. If left untreated, they can lead to continued discomfort and other more serious health issues, such as kidney damage or a severe infection. Therefore, treatment is recommended.
Physicians tailor care plans to each patient, and there is no sole treatment for everyone, says Stanford physician Kim Chiang, MD. During your visit, feel free to ask in-depth questions, particularly if a non-recommended antibiotic is prescribed.
This is the fifth post in the seriesUnderstanding UTIs. The goal of this seven-part series is to provide easy-to-understand, scientifically grounded information about UTIs. Patients referenced are composites, compiled from actual patient experiences.Data on medications used for UTIs were extracted from the National Disease and Therapeutic Index, a nationally representative physician survey produced by IQVIA.
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What Are The Types Of Utis
UTIs are categorized into two types.
Complicated UTIs refer to infections associated with another condition. Often, that underlying condition makes the UTI worse because it may involve pre-existing kidney or bladder problems. If left untreated, complicated UTIs can lead to severe, permanent kidney damage.
The other category of UTIs is an uncomplicated UTI. These occur in individuals who are otherwise healthy and do not have abnormalities in their urinary tract. Uncomplicated UTIs tend to be recurring. They are categorized based on where the infection develops along the urinary tract. If it develops in the bladder, its called cystitis if it grows in the kidney, its called pyelonephritis .
What Should I Know About Storage And Disposal Of This Medication
Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Store it at room temperature and away from excess heat and moisture .
Unneeded medications should be disposed of in special ways to ensure that pets, children, and other people cannot consume them. However, you should not flush this medication down the toilet. Instead, the best way to dispose of your medication is through a medicine take-back program. Talk to your pharmacist or contact your local garbage/recycling department to learn about take-back programs in your community. See the FDA’s Safe Disposal of Medicines website for more information if you do not have access to a take-back program.
It is important to keep all medication out of sight and reach of children as many containers are not child-resistant and young children can open them easily. To protect young children from poisoning, always lock safety caps and immediately place the medication in a safe location â one that is up and away and out of their sight and reach.
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Get Your Prescription Filled Right Away
Once you are done with your appointment and have received a prescription for an antibiotic, its important you get it filled at a pharmacy as soon as possible. The faster you start taking your medication, the faster your UTI will be gone.
If you usually use next-day prescription delivery or a mail order pharmacy, this is one time when you should avoid doing this. These options can cause a delay by anywhere from 1 day to 1 week . Youre better off using a local pharmacy in this case.
If going into the pharmacy is a concern due to COVID-19, many pharmacies have added options to help minimize the amount of time you are inside the building. Some options to ask about at your pharmacy include:
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Same-day delivery through services like Instacart
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Using the pharmacys drive-thru pick-up window
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Curbside pick-up
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Paying ahead of time through the pharmacys smartphone app to make your time spent at the checkout counter faster
Every pharmacy is different, so make sure to ask your personal pharmacy if these options are available at your location.
Who Needs Antibiotics For Uti
While the question seems like it answers itself, treatment of UTIs is not always a straightforward affair. There are different bacteria involved, infections are discovered at different points in their pathology, and different people respond to antibiotics differently. So, while anyone suffering from a UTI will probably need to consider antibiotics, which one is the right one will vary from case to case and from person to person.
How the antibiotic is administered will also need to be determined on a case by case basis. As will the duration of treatment. These days, single-dose antibiotic treatment may also be a viable alternative.
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What Is The Most Effective Antibiotic For Uti
While mild UTIs usually go away on their own with sufficient hydration, most cases of moderate or recurrent UTIs may require medical treatment involving antibiotics and painkillers.
In order to determine what type of antibiotic you need, a urine sample is needed to identify the type of bacteria infecting your urinary tract. A urine culture is conducted on the sample, examining it for antibiotic sensitivity and specificity. It may take 3-4 days to get the results.
Doctors do not recommend taking a broad-spectrum antibiotic without a urine culture because doing so may contribute to antibiotic resistance, where the germ becomes stronger than the antibiotic.
Once the culture results are back, depending on the sensitivity, your doctor may prescribe the following:
- Cephalexin or Ceftriaxone
- Doxycycline and tetracyclines
- Injectable antibiotics such as tobramycin, amikacin and gentamicin
Can Uti Symptoms Linger After I Take Antibiotics
Since UTI symptoms usually improve just a few days after starting antibiotics, youll want to talk to your healthcare provider if you notice that UTI symptoms are still hanging around after finishing your antibiotics.
Theres no need to panic, but you and your healthcare provider will want to make sure the antibiotics actually worked against your UTI. To do this, they may take another sample of your urine to see if the bacteria are still there or not. If the infection is cured, youll want to be sure there isnt a different issue thats causing similar symptoms.
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Why Should I Take The Full Dose
Antibiotics work well against UTIs. You might start to feel better after being on the medicine for just a few days.
But even so, keep taking your medicine. If you stop your antibiotics too soon, you wonât kill all the bacteria in your urinary tract.
These germs can become resistant to antibiotics. That means the meds will no longer kill these bugs in the future. So if you get another UTI, the medication you take might not treat it. Take the full course of your medicine to make sure all the bacteria are dead.
Q: What Are Some Symptoms Of A Urinary Tract Infection
A: Most urinary tract infections manifest in the urethra and bladder. In those cases, symptoms may include a burning sensation when urinating, blood in the urine, pain in the lower abdomen, as well as pelvic pain in women. If the infection has spread to the kidneys, there may be nausea, vomiting, shaking, chills, a fever, and pain in the kidney area. If you believe an infection has moved to your kidneys, it is imperative you seek immediate medical assistance.
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Antibiotics For Uti In Cats
Antibiotics for UTI need to be chosen carefully. If your pet is affected by a urinary tract infection, antibiotics are the treatment of choice. If the antibiotic you administer to your cat is not designed to attack the specific bacteria causing the infection, the treatment might only strengthen the resistance of the bacteria and worsen your cats condition. Antibiotics can also trigger allergies or have side effects. Therefore, it is important to consult your veterinarian and have your cats infection diagnosed correctly.
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