Antibiotics Won't Prevent Urinary Tract Infections in Kids: Study

Giving antibiotics to prevent recurrent urinary tract infections in small children won't help and may even hurt, a new study finds. Reporting in the July 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers say the use of antibiotics as prevention boosts risks for drug resistance while doing nothing to shield kids from future urinary tract infections (UTIs).

The authors looked at 611 children under the age of 6 who had had a first urinary tract infection and 83 children who had suffered from recurrent UTIs. Preventive antimicrobial therapy did not lower a child's risk of recurrent UTI, the researchers found. However, prior use of antibiotics to prevent infection did boost the likelihood of developing a drug-resistant infection by nearly 7.5 times. Indeed, 61 percent of recurrent urinary tract infections were caused by a pathogen with antibiotic resistance, the researchers pointed out.

Bonnie - this is welcome news. I have been incessant on this issue. Antibiotics do more harm than good for UTI's in kids as well as adults. Probiotics, consumption of low acid foods, and cranberry/cherry extract are natural therapies that have helped my clients.