Cranberry juice WON’T cure a UTI like cystitis – despite what you’ve heard
DRINKING cranberry juice doesn't clear up painful urinary tract infections, health officials have warned.
Although some studies have claimed it may help, new guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) say there is not enough evidence to recommend it as a treatment.
Instead, if you have a urinary tract infection (UTI) you should drink plenty of water and take painkillers to manage the symptoms.
If it does not clear up speak to your GP who can provide antibiotics to treat the infection.
Professor Mark Baker, director for the centre of guidelines at Nice, said: "We recognise that the majority of UTIs will require antibiotic treatment, but we need to be smarter with our use of these medicines.
“Our new guidance will help healthcare professionals to optimise their use of antibiotics. This will help to protect these vital medicines and ensure that no one experiences side effects from a treatment they do not need.”
Dr Susan Hopkins from Public Health England said: "Our surveillance shows that more than a third of laboratory confirmed E.coli UTIs display resistance to key antibiotics.
"We are therefore urging GP practices and hospitals to follow the new guidelines so they can prescribe antibiotics appropriately to their patients.
";This will preserve our antibiotics so that they not only save lives today but can continue to save lives tomorrow."
Around one in every two women will suffer a urinary tract infection at some point in their lifetime.
And of those one in four will suffer a recurrent infection within six months of the first.
Cystitis is a type of urinary tract infection and is very common but can cause extreme discomfort to sufferers.
It is an inflammation of the bladder which is typically caused by a bladder infection.
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UTIs happen when the urinary tract becomes infected, usually by bacteria.
Anyone can get a UTI, but they’re particularly common in women, and especially common after sex.
A typical case of cystitis starts when a woman finds she needs to wee more than usual, and that going for a wee is difficult – it is slow to start and the stream is reduced.
As the infection progresses, it can lead to pain and burning when going for a wee and a general feeling of discomfort around the bladder.
If you have a UTI you may experience:
- Pain, burning or stinging when you urinate
- Needing to go more often and urgently than normal
- Urine that's dark, cloudy or strong smelling
- Pain low down in your tummy
- Feeling generally unwell, achy, sick and tired
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Women don’t always need to go to the doctors if they have cystitis, as cases typically clear up by themselves after a few days.
When antibiotics are needed doctors are advised to prescribe the shortest course to prevent the infection becoming drug resistant in the future.
It may be a good idea to get a back-up prescription to use if your symptoms do not clear up within 48 hours or get worse.
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