Study shows drinking more water reduces risk of cystitis

In addition, drink 1.5 liters of water halved risk of cystitis

A recent study has shown that drinking an additional 1.5 liters of water per day can reduce recurrent cystitis in premenopausal women by almost half. The increased fluid intake could help to reduce the use of antibiotics.

Especially women affected

In the cold season, the cases of cystitis accumulate. Especially girls and women are affected by the inflammation of the urinary tract, which is usually accompanied by complaints of urination and fever. A new study has shown that drinking more water can reduce the risk of urinary tract infections.

Women can significantly reduce the risk of bladder infections by drinking plenty of water. The increased fluid intake could also reduce the use of antibiotics. (Image: sebra / fotolia.com)

Triggered by bacteria

In most cases, cystitis (Cystitis) is triggered by Escherichia coli bacteria (E.coli bacteria) that bite into the urethra and migrate up to the bladder.

The fact that women are more frequently affected by cystitis than men is due to an anatomical difference:

The urethra of women is shorter and thus more appropriate to allow invading bacteria to make their way up into the bladder.

Symptoms that indicate a condition include pelvic pain, a full bladder sensation, urination burning, frequent urination, and foul-smelling urine. Every toileting becomes torture.

Some women also have fever or blood in their urine.

Prevention of cystitis

To protect yourself from urinary tract infections, it is important to know how it can actually happen. Already in grandmother's time, it was warned against settling on cold soils, because they can catch the bladder.

And that's the way it is, because the risk of infection increases due to cold in the area of ​​the pelvis. This is also a reason why wet bathing suits and swimming trunks should be changed immediately after swimming.

In addition, painful bladder infections through sex are not uncommon. According to health experts, sexual intercourse more often increases the risk of inflammation, as it irritates the mucous membranes and subsequently becomes more susceptible to infection ("honeymoon cystitis" or "honeymoon cystitis")..

Therefore, it is advised to go to the toilet "after" to rinse the pathogen naturally. Also important is a sensible intimate care.

Synthetic underwear and panty liners promote the proliferation of germs as well as mucous membrane-irritating soaps and intimate sprays.

Also avoid "wiping" after defecation towards the vagina and suppressing urinary urgency.

And last but not least, the prevention of cystitis is generally advised to drink a lot. How effective that is has now been shown in a new study.

Help in the fight against antibiotic resistance

Researchers at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern, Dallas, have found that drinking an additional 1.5 liters of water per day can reduce recurrent cystitis in premenopausal women by almost half (48 percent).

The one-year study involved 140 healthy women, with an average age of 35.7 years. The subjects had a history of repeated urinary tract infections.

Senior author Dr. Yair Lotan of the Simmons Cancer Center at UT Southwestern highlighted the importance of the new findings:

"These results are important because more than half of all women report cystitis, which is one of the most common infections in women," the scientist said in a statement.

The study results were recently published in the journal "JAMA Internal Medicine".

According to the researchers, more than a quarter of women experience secondary infection within six months of primary infection, and 44 to 77 percent experience recurrence within one year.

Doctors suspect that more fluid can help reduce bacteria and limit their ability to attach to the urethra.

Because these infections are usually treated with antibiotics, the increased fluid could help reduce the use of antibiotics and help regulate antibiotic resistance, the researchers said. (Ad)