Probiotics help combat UTIs

If you’re prone to urinary tract infections (UTIs)—those nasty bacterial infections that typically cause burning pain when urinating—give probiotics a go to stop them coming back.

A new study has found that probiotics containing Lactobacillus, taken orally or vaginally, reduce the incidence of recurrent UTIs and prolong the time between infections.

Researchers from the Government Medical College & Hospital in India enrolled 174 premenopausal women with a history of recurrent UTIs and randomly assigned them to one of four treatment groups: oral probiotics, vaginal probiotics, a combination of oral and vaginal probiotics, or a placebo.

The women in the probiotic groups all experienced fewer UTIs than the placebo group. But those taking vaginal probiotics, either alone or with oral probiotics, saw the greatest benefit. The researchers also reported that the probiotics were well tolerated with no serious adverse effects.

Lactobacilli are the most common bacteria in the vagina and have antimicrobial properties that help keep infections at bay, so it makes sense that these good-guy bacteria can help with UTIs.

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