Medical Questions » Kidneys and Bladder Questions » Question No. 546
| Question: | For the past twelve months I have been plagued by a bacteria causing a urinary tract infection. I feel better on antibiotics, but two or three weeks after stopping it is back again. Can you suggest a solution? |
| Answer: | Recurrent urinary tract infections occur because the responsible bacteria is not completely removed by the antibiotics, because there is an anatomical problem with the kidney, bladder or its control, or you have another medical condition that allows an infection to re-enter the urinary tract.
The first step would be to determine what bacteria is responsible for the infection by doing laboratory tests on the urine, and then giving a long course (a month or so) of the antibiotic that has been found to be capable of destroying this bacteria.
If the infection still recurs, investigations such as special ultrasound scans, X-rays or cystoscopy (looking into the bladder) need to be performed to find any anatomical abnormality. If possible, this abnormality should then be repaired, or if this is not practical, a long-term course of special antibiotics needs to be prescribed for months or years to prevent further acute attacks of infection.
Blood and other tests on kidney and general body functions may be necessary to find another condition (eg. diabetes) that may be lowering your resistance to infection.
By using the appropriate treatment, it should be possible to remedy the cause of the repeated infections, or at least prevent them from recurring.
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