This is a very common question I get from my female patients, both young and old. Many seem convinced that cranberry juice or pills can stop a urinary tract infection (UTI) in its tracks when they feel it coming on, or take cranberry to prevent them. Well…they may not be wrong.

After many years of grandma’s advice, in 1994 a study was done on elderly women who consumed 300 ml of cranberry juice for three months and showed less bacterial counts in the urine. This is where the whole cranberry-UTI link picked up some steam. But there is more… Read more

Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) are defined as two or more UTIs within a twelve month period. They are bacterial infections that typical involve the bladder. Classic symptoms include lower abdominal pain or ‘pressure’, urinary burning, urgency, and frequency. If the kidney is also involved, back pain and fever may be present as well. The majority of UTIs in women are uncomplicated and involve only the bladder. Complicated UTIs are those involve the kidney or occur in pregnancy, diabetics, transplant patients, frail elderly, in weakened immune systems, or with urinary tract structural or anatomic abnormalities. Read more

There are a variety of ways to treat or even completely control urinary incontinence, but it depends on the cause. While there are sometimes multiple factors in play that cause this condition, treatment options are limited by patient motivation, cognitive level, physical impairment, or anatomic abnormalities of the urinary tract. For most, conservative management is the first line strategy and often is quite successful in decreasing the severity of leakage. Read more