Read up on Bladder infection in women treatment options at Consumer Reports Health.

Bladder infection in women

Key points about treatments

A bladder infection often goes away on its own in about three days.

But it's important to see a doctor right away if you are pregnant or have signs of an infection in your kidneys, such as a high temperature and a lot of pain. You might need to take

antibiotics
These medications are used to help your immune system fight infection. There are a number of different types of antibiotics that work in different ways to get rid of bacteria, parasites and other infectious agents. Antibiotics do not work against viruses.

antibiotics for a little while. To learn more, see How are bladder infections treated?

If you've had more than two bladder infections in the past year, you might need treatment to prevent further infections. Here, we look at treatment for frequent infections. Your doctor might call these recurrent bladder infections.

You can take a low dose of antibiotics every day for two months to 12 months to prevent more bladder infections.
If you tend to get a bladder infection a day or so after having sex, taking antibiotics within two hours of having sex can help prevent infection.
Having antibiotics on hand to take as soon as your symptoms start might help clear your infection fast. But we need more research to know this for certain.
If you've been through menopause, estrogen creams, or other estrogen treatments you put in your vagina, might help to prevent bladder infections. But we don't know for sure.
Drinking cranberry juice or taking capsules of cranberry juice extract can reduce the chance of getting a bladder infection. But it's unclear how much you need to take.
Some women find that potassium citrate or sodium citrate reduce the burning feeling you can get with a bladder infection. But they don't get rid of the infection itself. To learn more, see How are bladder infections treated?

This information was last updated on Dec 04, 2008

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
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