A urinary tract infection can affect any part of the urinary tract, including the urethra, bladder, ureters, or kidneys. Bladder infections are extremely common among women. Now, new research by experts at the Simmons Cancer Center at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, USA, shows that increasing your water intake could cut these infections by almost half.
Women are more likely to develop a bladder infection than men because their anatomy is different : the female urethra is shorter than men’s, which means that bacteria can reach the bladder more easily. Also, the opening of the urethra is closer to the rectum in women, and the rectum is home to many bacteria. These bacteria are often associated with urinary infections.
Fortunately, bladder infections, when caught early, generally do not cause serious complications and are easy to treat with antibiotics. However, if left untreated, they can lead to kidney infections.
Study of water intake and bladder infections
Before the study, participants reported their usual daily volume of fluid intake. It was about 1.5 liters, or about six glasses of water.
The scientists divided the volunteers into two groups: the first group was ordered to drink an additional 1.5 liters of water a day and the second group was asked not to consume any more liquid, as a control group.
The study was carried out over a 12-month period and revealed some findings. For example, in the group that drank more extra glasses of water, the scientists found that 93% had two (or fewer) episodes of bladder infection, while 88% of those in the control group experienced three or more.
Overall, the incidence of bladder infection in the group that drank more water was about half that of the control group, i.e. 111 of those who drank more reported having an infection, compared to 216 people who didn’t drink that extra water.
Also, if a bladder infection recurrence occurred in a participant who had already experienced one during the study, those in the drinking more water group had a longer period of time between infections than those in the control group.
The total time period between bladder infections was approximately 85.2 days for the control group, compared to 142.9 days for those in the higher water intake group.
Overall, those in the water group were about half as likely to experience a bladder infection as those in the control group. “That’s a significant difference ,” said Yair Lotan, leader of the work reported in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
“These findings are important because more than half of all women have bladder infections, which are one of the most common infections in women.”
It has been known for some time that drinking plenty of water can prevent bladder infections and other urinary infections by helping to kill bacteria trying to reach the bladder. This study has helped confirm that notion, and while drinking lots of water can be a difficult habit to get into, it’s definitely a good idea, especially for women.
Referencia: Effect of Increased Daily Water Intake in Premenopausal Women With Recurrent Urinary Tract InfectionsA Randomized Clinical Trial
Thomas M. Hooton; Mariacristina Vecchio; Alison Iroz, ; et al Ivan Tack; Quentin Dornic; Isabelle Seksek; Yair Lotan. JAMA Intern Med. Published online October 1, 2018. DOI: doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.4204
