Women who’ve suffered three or more UTIs in the past 12 months are being offered individual herbal treatments prescribed by a Chinese herbalist or standard herbs that are prescribed by their GP (general practitioner).
However, the women won’t know which type of herb they’ve received, say researchers from the University of Southampton, who are conducting the trial. They could also be given a placebo, or dummy treatment, and, again, they won’t be told.
It’s the first time a Chinese herbal remedy has been authorised for a clinical trial, regulated by the same authorities that oversee drug trials.
The trial is part of a wider study to discover alternatives to antibiotics, which are becoming over-used and ineffective against a new generation of ‘superbugs’.
