Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
Approximately 11% of women in the United States are diagnosed with at least one officially-diagnosed urinary tract infection (UTI) per year. Of those women, up to 50% will experience an additional UTI within the first year after initial infection. UTIs can be associated with the following symptoms: burning with urination, frequency of urination, urinating small amounts at a time, lower pelvic pressure/pain, and, occasionally, visible blood in the urine. Recurrent UTIs (2 UTI episodes in 6 months or 3 or more UTI episodes in 12 months) can be particularly bothersome and do warrant a complete workup to try to identify the reason for the infections. Once the workup has been completed, historically, antibiotics have been used as the primary method to prevent recurrent UTIs. However, a recent review or meta-analysis of multiple studies has shown that an over the counter supplement called D-mannose appears effective at preventing recurrent UTIs without many of the side effects of long-term antibiotic usage. Overall, D-mannose is generally well tolerated with minimal side effects. Only a small percentage of patients taking D-mannose reported diarrhea. As with all supplements, quality does matter, and we have a few brands of D-mannose that we prefer for their quality and purity. If you have further questions about recurrent UTIs or D-mannose, call 309-692-6838, our team of healthcare providers is here to help.
Source: American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology; August 2020