When a patient comes to my clinic I usually requests for a urinalysis and part of my treatment aside from prescribing antibiotics is patient education regarding supplementary treatments.
It is important that patient have adequate water intake. Drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day is mandatory for me. It helps dilute the urine. A concentrated urine is a risk for bacterial overgrowth. If the patient has extra budget for Cranberry Juice then so much better. Cranberry Juice has been proven to treat UTI based on a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM, October 8, 1998, Vol. 339, No. 13) mentioning a 1994 research study which validated the claim that cranberry juice prevents UTI's, and clarified that it is not because of the acidic nature of the cranberry juice, nor because of the Vitamin C content. It is in fact due to specific compounds called condensed tannin (specifically proanthocyanidins) in cranberries and other vaccinium fruit species which prevent the attachment of P-Fimbriated E.Coli to the walls of the urinary tract. P-Fimbriated E. Coli bacteria is a major culprit in UTI's.
