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Urinary tract infections (UTIs) impact about 3 million Americans annually, with women being the most affected. These infections bring with them a unique kind of pain—burning sensations and an overwhelming urge to urinate that makes it feel impossible to do anything except sit by the toilet, waiting for relief.
Currently, antibiotics are the only proven treatment for a UTI, but obtaining them requires a doctor's visit, which is not ideal when you’re in the throes of intense pain. What’s a woman to do in the meantime?
For many women, the go-to remedy is cranberry juice. While the origins of this home treatment are unclear, it’s widely accepted that drinking a few glasses of cranberry juice can help alleviate the symptoms of a UTI.
But it actually won’t work.
“Cranberry juice, especially the concentrated versions you find at the store, won’t cure a UTI or bladder infection,” says Texas A&M urologist Timothy Boone. “It can help hydrate and potentially flush bacteria out of your body, but the cranberry’s active ingredient is gone by the time the juice reaches your bladder.”
Boone explains that the connection between cranberries and UTIs makes sense: Cranberry molecules called A-type proanthocyanidins (PACs) can prevent bacteria from adhering to the walls of the bladder, potentially preventing infection. However, the way this remedy is delivered needs some improvement. Store-bought cranberry juice usually contains very little cranberry; for example, Ocean Spray’s cranberry juice cocktail lists cranberry juice second in its ingredients but only contains 27 percent juice.
Cranberry juice capsules might be a better option, but even they are more useful for preventing UTIs than treating them. A 2015 study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that women at high risk of UTIs who took these capsules reduced their risk by 50 percent.
Unfortunately, when you're experiencing a UTI, there’s little you can do to make it go away. Drink plenty of water, urinate whenever you can, consult your doctor as soon as possible, and take steps to prevent future UTIs.
Apologies.
