A UTI is supposed to be a simple condition, go to the doctor, take some antibiotics, and then resume your daily life, sometimes that is not the case.
Sometimes antibiotics will not be enough and sometimes UTIs will get worse on antibiotics.
We are here in this article to discuss what that means for the person experiencing this, why does it happen sometimes, how to prevent it and how to act if it happens.
first, let’s begin with is what it means for the UTI sufferer
well, it does not mean that it’s the end of the road for the UTI sufferer when an antibiotic does not work for a certain infection even if it’s a strong or a new generation antibiotic it does not mean that other antibiotics won’t work for that infection.
it just means that this particular antibiotic is not suitable for the infection and the best action to take at that moment is to do a culture and sensitivity test.
these tests will let your doctor know the specific type of bacteria causing the UTI and also the specific type of antibiotic(s) that they are susceptible (sensitive) to. in this way, UTI will definitely not get worse on antibiotics, on the contrary, they will get better.
do not hesitate to make these tests as soon as possible as results won’t show up for 2 to 3 weeks, in the meantime take the antibiotic prescribed by your doctor even if you don’t feel any better on it.
also, drink a lot of water and try some of the home remedies mentioned in the home remedies article.
if your UTI is still getting worse contact your doctor, they may have to give you an IV antibiotic like ceftriaxone, amikacin, or meropenem if your condition needs that, these antibiotics are very strong and they will kill almost every type of bacteria causing your UTI.
according to WebMD most UTIs are very easy to treat with short courses of antibiotics especially if treatment was given early.
rarely they would cause major complications (like kidney infection characterized by fever and chills) but when they do usually it means that there is an underlying health condition causing the UTI to not respond to regular antibiotics treatment and to also get worse.
so stronger and longer courses of antibiotics are needed otherwise they will only get worse, also the treatment for the underlying condition is necessary.
usually complicated UTIs (kidney infections) whether they are caused by an underlying condition or if they originated from a UTI left untreated are carrying a higher risk of treatment failure.
according to NCBI, these complicated UTIs need longer courses of antibiotics and additional workup which I think includes educating the patient about how to overcome UTI and how to prevent it in the future.
in here home remedies will have a huge part to play please check this home remedies article in order to help you defeat your UTI and to prevent it in the future.
sometimes no UTI antibiotic whatsoever will cure your UTI.
yes, that’s right sometimes antibiotics designed to treat UTI no matter how strong they are, they will not work on your UTI, because it’s not a UTI in the first place.
although doctors will try to rule them out before saying that it’s a UTI.
there are many common conditions that are very similar to the UTI, misdiagnosing them with UTI is very common even among experienced doctors.
conditions like cystitis, bacterial vaginosis, sexually transmitted diseases and etc…
these conditions are very similar in terms of the symptoms to UTI but they are treated very differently, so that could be what’s making your condition go worse on antibiotics because it’s not the suitable treatment.
learning how to differentiate between them to help your doctor make the right diagnosis hence the right treatment is key.
for more information about these conditions and how to differentiate between them and a UTI please visit what can mimic a UTI article.
what can make the antibiotics’ job harder?
sometimes you can be having a UTI but you will delay your visit to the doctor, some people do that because they are too busy working or studying or some friend told them to drink cranberry juice instead of going to the doctor.
Most people will not bother to go to the doctor unless if the pain was so bad or symptoms of fever and chills begin to appear.
what this will do is that it will only make things worse.
usually, UTIs begin in the bladder area and that’s when they are very easier to treat, and they will be treated with shorter courses of antibiotics.
but when you delay your treatment you will be giving time to the bacteria to climb up and reach your kidneys and that’s when your UTI will be harder to treat and it will need stronger antibiotics with longer courses.
in that case, many antibiotics will fail to treat your UTI and that’s when you will come to google typing UTI getting worse on antibiotics, UTI didn’t go away with antibiotics, UTI won’t clear up with antibiotics or whatever.
to avoid that problem you should go to the doctor as soon as possible but if you already have that problem don’t worry go to the doctor let them give you a broad-spectrum antibiotic(s) and also do a culture and sensitivity test to identify the bacteria.
broad-spectrum antibiotics are given when the bacteria causing the infection, in this case, the UTI is not known so the doctors will give these antibiotics because they can kill a wide range of bacteria species.
when the culture and sensitivity test will show up the doctor will give you an antibiotic specific for the bacteria causing your UTI.
home remedies will aid the antibiotics in the treatment process so try to do as many of them as you can.
it’s likely that the broad-spectrum antibiotic will not work very well on your UTI, ask your doctor to switch it for you if you didn’t feel any better within 3 days and try to drink a lot of water before your culture results show.
this should be the optimal way to deal with this condition
underlying health conditions that could make your UTI go worse even if you are taking antibiotics
1) having an obstruction in the urinary tract causing you the UTI
sometimes the UTI is not on its own, there may be a condition like kidney stones, prostate enlargement, ureteric strictures, or anatomical abnormalities in the urinary tract, all of these conditions can lead to a UTI.
usually, the UTI, in this case, is more resistant, no matter how many antibiotics you throw at them the bacteria will keep coming back because the obstruction or the abnormality is encouraging them to return (and when returning they will be more stubborn and resistant).
the UTI will keep on getting worse in this case if you keep treating it just with antibiotics.
removing the obstruction or correcting the abnormality is the key to treatment.
if for some reason the obstruction or the abnormality is not or partially corrected, try to avoid antibiotics as much as possible and refer to drinking water and the other home remedies if they will not interfere with your condition, mostly they will not.
sometimes the antibiotics will be necessary but try to avoid them for the rest of the time as they will make the bacteria more resistant over time.
2) being in an immunocompromised state like having a kidney transplant.
having a kidney transplant or any kind of illness that can weaken your immune system will negatively impact your UTI condition.
usually, the antibiotics work hand in hand with the immune system in fighting the bacteria, having a weak immune system will make the antibiotics’ job harder.
if you treat it with the regular antibiotics used for UTI, your condition may not get better.
first, let the doctor decide the best antibiotic for you and also try to work on improving your immune system’s condition, this site has a lot of tips on this subject within its articles check them out.
3) pregnancy
pregnancy increases women’s susceptibility for UTIs considerably and also increases the difficulty of treating them.
not only your immune system will be more weakened during this time but also the size of your growing baby will be changing the shape of your urinary tract making you more prone to UTIs.
prophylactic antibiotics like nitrofurantoin (Macrobid) are allowed during the time of pregnancy if your doctor sees that you need them they will prescribe it to you.
you need to be very careful not to get a UTI during pregnancy, safety measures like wiping from front to back, peeing after sex, showering before and after sex, and sanitizing the toilet seats before using them especially in public bathrooms need to be applied.
not any antibiotic can be used to treat UTI in pregnant women, antibiotics like nitrofurantoin and amoxicillin can be used while many others can’t, if you already have a UTI or if you think you have it, try to report it to your doctor as soon as possible so that no strong antibiotics will be needed.
if the UTI gets to a developed stage many safe antibiotics will not be effective so your doctor will be making the decision on what’s the most effective antibiotics with fewer side effects on you and your baby.
so try not to get to that point.
4) kidney damage
people with kidney damage are more prone to UTIs and also their infections including the UTI are harder to treat.
lowering the dose of many antibiotics is required in the case of kidney damage.
the bacteria, in this case, are more stubborn and resistant.
ask your doctor for some good kidney supplements and always try to drink high amounts of water and take care of your kidneys
if you are finding difficulty in treating your UTI with antibiotics your aim should be on treating your UTI with less antibiotics and more good home remedies.
of course, antibiotics are necessary sometimes but don’t depend just on them sometimes lifting up your spirit can help in killing the bacteria or preventing them from coming back.
taking a long walk or a light exercise can do the trick sometimes, also drinking orange or lemon or pomegranate juice is very helpful sometimes they can cure UTIs on their own.
don’t forget to check the home remedies article it’s very helpful.
traveling
traveling is one of the ways one can import infections to his or her country when you are in another country and you catch any infection from there including a UTI, usually, the infection is more difficult to treat.
it’s normal to find some commonly used UTI antibiotics in your country not working for this foreign UTI because your immune system is not familiar with it.
try to always inform your doctor that you were traveling and such so they can make an informed decision.
UTI in seniors
antibiotics not treating UTI, UTI getting worse on antibiotics or UTI won’t clear up after antibiotics and similar things happen in higher frequency with senior folks.
usually, their UTIs will require stronger antibiotics to treat them and even strong antibiotics may fail sometimes.
one thing I noticed with my grandmother is that we were giving her a pretty strong antibiotic (levofloxacin) for her UTI, she did get better after completing the course but her UTI kept returning to her, this happened again and again for several times, additional antibiotics were also added to levofloxacin but the UTI kept coming back.
when I told her to drink water a lot of it and also to drink fresh lemon or orange juice on a regular basis, the UTI was controlled at that point, she had bacteria in her urine when we make the tests but she never complained of any of the UTI symptoms after that.
having bacteria in the urine is called bacteriuria which is a normal and common thing especially among senior people, only when they start to show UTI symptoms like confusion and delirium which are distinguishing symptoms for seniors’ UTI from younger adults UTI.
bacteriuria is normal but you should consider it as an alarming sign for UTI you should always look for scientific home remedies to prevent UTI especially if you have a senior person having the bacteriuria, and report to the doctor once you see any sign of UTI.
using antibiotics on bacteriuria will make the bacteria more resistant when they make a real UTI and nobody wants that.
fungi or viral UTI
according to NCBI patients with an immunocompromised state like Residential care patients, diabetics and those with indwelling catheters are more prone to viral or fungi like Candida Albicans colonization of the urinary tract.
of course, if you treat them with antibiotics the UTI will only get worse.
misuse of antibiotics and prophylactic antibiotics
there are many cases in which the use of antibiotics is not required yet some doctors prescribe antibiotics for them without regard for the problem of bacterial resistance.
the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality says that up to 50% percent of the antibiotics prescribed in the world are not necessary to be prescribed.
in the previous case, although we have said that confusion and Delerium are signs of UTI in seniors but seeing a senior person with them does not require the use of antibiotics they do not always mean a UTI.
also, most senior people as we have said earlier will have bacteria in their urine (bacteriuria), but that does not indicate that there is a UTI and also does not indicate the use of antibiotics.
the use of prophylactic antibiotics in addition to its side effects is one of the biggest reasons for bacterial resistance increment over the world.
many antibiotics carry a wide variety of side effects, using them for short term to treat an existing infection is okay (although they might cause side effects on short term use too) but for the long term, many of these side effects will appear and they can be severe.
side effects include nausea, vomiting, allergic reactions including rashes and anaphylactic shock, and others.
nitrofurantoin (Macrobid) for example is safe for short term use but when used for long term prophylaxis against UTI it starts to produce some dangerous side effects like toxicity in the lungs.
also, antibiotics can kill the gut microflora leaving the intestines prone to infections like clostridium difficile.
these and many other examples of antibiotics misuse are increasing the bacterial resistance especially in the case of infection like UTI, in addition to that the antibiotics themselves have side effects so this can be what’s making your UTI go worse on antibiotics.
I hope I didn’t make this article too long for its subject matter, thank you very much and goodbye.
ps: don’t forget to check my website KNOW AND TREAT UTI for more information about UTI.