cranberry and urine infections

Turning_into_scrooge

purple1 wrote:

what are the syptoms of a UTI?

does having to go to the loo every few minutes count?

I'm not a doctor but i have just had a really bad do which needed to take cefadroxil 500mg. My symptoms were burning when passing water but painful as well, soreness, not being able to hold it but only passing a drip, low pain in stomach. It progressed into my back and moved up to my kidneys thts why i was on such a high dose. I felt a bit sicky too and hot and shivery but i left it rather too long before i went to the doc, tried to get rid of it myself, wont do that again :rolleyes:

EDIT: nipping to the loo evry couple of mins can be a sign but check with your gp if unsure.

pavlovs_dog

i was under the impression that cranberry juice encourages good health in the urinary tract, and can alleviate symptoms for UTI sufferers but will not cure any infections

jesster_2

I'm no doctor, and of course this isn't medical advice, but...

My sister and I are prone to UTIs. Both of us keep a stock of cranberry juice in the house in case one flares up. I think the jist is that if you catch it early while the infection hasn't taken too much hold, it works. But if the infection gets to your kidneys then it won't do any good. My doc told me it works by stopping bacteria adhering to the bladder, which is why it works (and helps prevent) bladder infections and cystitis but not for kidneys, which need proper treatment.

I was recommended two things though: check the ingredients: choose the cranberry juice with NO citric or ascorbic acid in (some have it in as preservative). And also you have to drink quite a lot of it, not just a couple of glasses... and you MUST continue to drink a LOT of water otherwise the acidity in the juice can aggrevate the discomfort, even though the anti-bacterial thing is working.

I'm sure it's a chance of try it and see, will work for some in some cases and not for others in others, but it's the first thing i do and it usually hits the spot within a couple of hours - but if it hasn't worked fairly rapidly then head straight for the docs.

SammyD_2

I had years of UTI's and was under the care of a specialist - cranberry did not work for me - as jesster says, the acidity of cranberry can make it worse. The only things that helped were copious glasses of water (if I felt the symptoms getting worse I would start drinking about 5 glasses every hour) and also caffeine - even though it is an irritant, I found that it would stimulate things enough so that everything passed through quicker, if you see what I mean. So I would also drink tea. I know that standard advice is to avoid caffeine with a UTI, but after being in pain every day for two years with chronic infection and taking prophylactic antibiotics for over 9 months, I had to find my own solutions!

Turning_into_scrooge

pavlovs_dog wrote:

i was under the impression that cranberry juice encourages good health in the urinary tract, and can alleviate symptoms for UTI sufferers but will not cure any infections

It is supposed to do so but its a funny area as it gives me the infection. I did discuss this with the paharmasist and he siad it doesn't suit everyone, for some like me it triggers it off. Otherwise id use it all the time as i'm so prone to infections.

Turning_into_scrooge

Can i just clarify here that i tried to get rid of my infection by using bicarb in water and by drinking a bottle of diluted lemon barley water which is supposed to be fine for mild attacks but the infection i had i hadn't properly got rid of it since last October so i now have to see a consultant at the local hospital to find out the cause and get it sorted.

tesuhoha

i suffer from regular attacks of cystitis and do tend to rely on cranberry juice to help ease the symptoms. It has been known to clear them completely on occasion if i use it soon enough. i read somewhere that if you dont want to use antibiotics there is also a herbal remedy called uva ursi. i have bought some of these tablets from holland & barrett but dont know if it works yet as touch wood, touch wood, touch wood, touch wood, i havent had an attack recently but i will certainly try them if i have to.

Weymouth_Man

I recently read that you have be very careful if you are currently taking Warfarin, as cranberry juice may affect the INR levels, if this level is too high it can cause problems, worth checking out with your doctor first.