Antibiotics were better than cranberry capsules, when it comes to prevent recurrent urinary tract infections, shows a new study of women In Netherland who suffered from recurrent infections. Women taking antibiotics had less UTIs over the next year in comparison to those taking cranberry capsules.
However, those women also developed a resistance to antibiotics, meant their body might not respond to the drugs if they required them to treat another infection. About three in ten women suffer from recurring UTIs at some point in their lives. The infections frequently go together with a strong urge to urinate often plus a burning sensation during urination.
In a study team led by Dr Marielle Beerepoot of Amsterdam’s Academic Medical Center arbitrarily assigned more than two hundred premenopausal women reported having at least three UTIs, in the previous year to take cranberry capsules each day. After one year there were more than twice as many UTIs in the group treated with cranberry, in comparison to those received antibiotics.
After one month, though eighty-six percent of the E coli samples from the antibiotic treated group were showing resistance to the medications. It is compared to twenty-four percent from women treated with cranberry supplementations. On average, women got their first new infection eight months after starting the drug treatment versus four months into taking cranberry capsules.
According to Betsy Foxman, an epidemiologist at the University Of Michigan School Of Public Health, when it comes to antibiotics for UTIs, there is a really significant need to search for alternatives and to reassess both what they have done in terms of treatment and prophylaxis. Women with recurrent UTIs should have a conversation with their doctor about preventing the infections.
There are women who would prefer to take something natural with a lower risk of side effects, even if they know that they’ll have slightly increased risk of a urinary tract infection, explained Dr Megan Schimpf, an assistant clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvan.
The take-home message of the study is that cranberries are less effective than the antibiotics in treating UTIs, but antibiotic resistance is a big problem, added Dr Beerepoot.