Acupuncture may Help Prevent Recurring Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) in Women

In the US there are 11.3 million women per year who have UTIs and 6% of them have 3 or more attacks per year.

A group of 94 women with a history of 3 or more bouts of UTIs during the previous 12 months took part in the study. From this group there were 67 women who received acupuncture 2 times per week for a period of 4 weeks.

73% of the women who received acupuncture were free of UTIs during 6 months after treatment as compared to 52% of the women who did not get any acupuncture. This is a risk reduction of 50% during a 6 month period.

The acupuncture group experienced a 50% decrease in urine left in the bladder after urinating while residual levels of urine did not change in the control group. Residual urine increases the risk for developing urinary tract infections.

Source: American Journal of Public Health 2002; 92:1609-1611

Urinary tract infection (UTI) presents serious health problem and affecting millions of people each year.

Infections of the urinary tract are common--only respiratory infections occur more often. In 1997, urinary tract infections accounted for more than 8.3 million doctor visits. Women are especially prone to UTIs for reasons that are poorly understood. One out of five women develops UTI during her lifetime. UTIs in men are not so common, but they can be very serious when they do occur.

Many women suffer from frequent UTIs. Nearly 20 percent of women who have a UTI will have another, and 30 percent of those will have yet another. Of the last group, 80 percent will have recurrences.

Not everyone with UTI shows symptoms, but most people get at least some, including frequent urge to urinate or a painful, burning feeling in the area of the bladder or urethra during urination. It is not unusual to feel bad all over – tired, shaky, and washed out – and to feel pain even when not urinating. Often women feel an uncomfortable pressure above the pubic bone, and some men experience fullness in the rectum. It is common for a person with a urinary infection to complain that, despite the urge to urinate, only a small amount of urine is passed. The urine itself may look milky or cloudy, even reddish if blood is present. A fever may mean that the infection has reached the kidneys. Other symptoms of a kidney infection include pain in the back or side below the ribs, nausea, or vomiting.

Women who have had three UTIs are likely to continue having them. Four out of five such women get another within 18 months of the last UTI. Many women have them even more often.

According to Chinese Medicine, UTIs can be divided into patterns of repletion and vacuity based on the pathogenic mechanism of individual patient’s health condition.

Patient has the repletion pattern often shows symptoms of frequent, urgent, painful, and difficulty urination with dark scanty urine. Sometime chills and fever, lower back pain, and constipation are accompanied with the occurrence of UTIs. Those symptoms are caused by poor genital hygiene, constant over consumption of hot spice, rich-greasy, sweet food, or excessive drinking alcohol. These factors provide rich environment for bacteria invading into urinary tracts.

Multiple reoccurrence, prolonged antibiotic treatment of UTIs will weak the body immune system for defense; or over exertion condition of physical and stress are often decrease the immune system as well. Therefore, those patients who have repetitive UTIs may suffer from the vacuity pattern of UTIs. They may experience prolonged dribbling of cloudy urine, moderate urethral pain accompanied emaciation, weakness and aching of lower back and knee joint, extremity tiredness and fatigue.

Chinese medical practitioner searches for the causes of UTIs from an imbalance in the emotional, social, environmental, and physical realms. Disease or symptoms are just the body's attempts to restore equilibrium. Chinese treatments such as acupuncture, herbs, healthy food and exercises assist the body in restoring balance.