Medications
Oral antibiotics can treat most bladder
infections and uncomplicated kidney infections successfully. In many cases, if
the symptoms and
suggest a
, you will start taking
antibiotics without waiting for the results of a
urine culture.
The number of days your
doctor will have you take antibiotics depends on your infection and the type of
antibiotic medicine.
Antibiotics for recurrent infections
Doctors
sometimes advise that women with repeat infections use
preventive antibiotic therapy. This may include taking
a small dose of antibiotics daily or on alternate days, taking antibiotics
after sexual intercourse (since sex often triggers UTIs in women with recurrent
infections), or taking antibiotics only when you develop symptoms. Talk with
your doctor about which treatment strategy is right for you.
Medication choices
Medicines used to treat UTIs include:
- to cure the infection. Antibiotics used
for UTIs include sulfonamides with trimethoprim (such as Bactrim).
- (such as Uristat) to
treat the pain and burning of a UTI. Uristat is an example of phenazopyridine
you can buy without a prescription.
- Other
medicines for pain. These include
acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) and
such as
ibuprofen (for example, Advil) and naproxen (for example, Aleve).
Medicines used to prevent recurrent UTIs include:
- , including sulfonamides
with trimethoprim (such as Bactrim).
- Methenamine (such as
Hiprex).
- (such as Premarin) for women who have been through
.
Be sure to tell your doctor if you are or think you may
be pregnant. Some of these medicines are not safe to use if you are
pregnant.
What to think about
These medicines are often
prescribed in a less costly
form rather than under a brand name. A
pharmacist might also decide to give you a generic instead of a brand name
medicine unless the prescription says "no generic."
Take all of
the antibiotics your doctor has prescribed. Most people begin to feel better
soon after they begin the medicine. But if you stop taking the medicine as soon
as you feel better, the infection may return. And not taking the full course of
antibiotics encourages the development of bacteria that are
. This not only makes
antibiotics less effective but also makes bacterial infections harder to
treat.
Many forms of bacteria have become resistant to common
antibiotics designed to destroy them. These are called antibiotic-resistant
bacteria. Antibiotic resistance among bacteria that cause UTIs has increased
steadily in recent decades. You and your doctor may have to try different
antibiotics, and different combinations of antibiotics, to find the right
medicine that will kill the bacteria that is causing your UTI. Before starting
you on a new antibiotic, your doctor may get a urine sample from you. Results
from tests on this sample will help guide the decision on which antibiotic you
take next.