Urinary tract infections

[Michael123]

Are antibiotics the best way to treat utis.? Having been treated for bladder cancer, I suffered three utis in four months, all treated successfully with antibiotics. But did the use of antibiotics on the first infection make me more prone to further infections ?

[Mr Adrian Joyce]

Unfortunately patients with bladder cancer are more at risk for the development of a urinary tract infection. The development of a number of UTIs within a few months might be due to the fact that the original infection was not entirely cleared by the first course of antibiotics. Some organisms are more difficult to clear and sometimes such patients need a more prolonged course of antibiotics in order to eradicate the infection.It is always worth doing a post treatment urine sample for the GP in such circumstances to check that the organism has been completely cleared. Hopefully you are on an even keel and things have settled - if you find that the infection generally follows your bladder check cystoscopy, you can discuss with your urologist whether having a single dose of an antibiotic prior to the test might reduce your risk of an infection.