Native Americans have used cranberries to treat urinary tract infections for hundreds of years, according to "Science Daily." Native to North America, the cranberry plant is a woody, vine-like shrub with long runners that grows in bogs. Upright stems sprout from the runners, producing curved pink or white flowers that look like the heads of cranes; Professor Arthur C. Gibson at UCLA notes that "cranberries" is a shortened form of the original name, "crane berries." The fruit is a very sour, round red berry, loaded with vitamin C and antioxidants.
UTI Symptoms
The most common symptom of a urinary tract infection, or UTI, is painful burning with urination. Urine may be bloody. Spasms and cramping in the bladder area sometimes add to the discomfort. Urgency, the sensation of urgently needing to urinate, is common, but frequently only a tiny bit of urine trickles out, or no urine at all.
Causes
UTIs happen when bacteria, most often E. coli, get into the bladder via the urethra, a tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body. More women than men get UTIs because women have shorter urethras, making it easier for bacteria to reach the bladder. Frequent sexual intercourse can cause bacteria to travel up the urethra, and irritating substances such as spermicidal foams and jellies, as well as diaphragm use, also increase the chance of getting a UTI. Poor hygiene and wiping from back to front are risk factors. In men, an enlarged prostate results in bladder outlet obstruction, blocking urine stream and making it hard to clear out infected urine from the bladder, giving the bacteria more time to multiply. UTIs are also very common in patients with a urinary catheter.
Treatment
After testing urine for bacteria, your doctor will prescribe a course of antibiotics for a week or 10 days. Drinking cranberry juice during treatment also helps get rid of the bacteria infecting the urinary tract, and drinking it often may help prevent getting a UTI.
How Cranberry Juice Works
Cranberries contain tannins, called proanthocyanidins, which prevent bacteria from sticking to the lining of the bladder and urethra. "Chemical and Engineering News" describes a study by Terri Camesano, Ph.D., associate professor of chemical engineering at Worcester Polytechic Institute. She used probes to test bacteria in urine from people who drank cranberry juice cocktail, as well as from people who drank only water. After exposure to cranberry juice, the bacteria could no longer stick to the probe, while there was no effect on the bacteria with urine from people who drank just water.
Warning
If UTI symptoms do not improve with treatment, call your physician. The University of Maryland Medical Center warns that bladder infections can spread to the kidneys and into the bloodstream, causing a severe, even life-threatening infection and/or permanent damage to the kidneys.
References
- Science Daily: How Cranberry Products Prevent Urinary Tract infections
- Professor Arthur C. Gibson, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA): Berry in the Bog
- Chemical and Engineering News: Cranberry Juice Keeps Infections at Bay
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Urinary Tract Infection - Complications
