Understanding Antibiotics for Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)

Treating urinary tract infections (UTI) used to be simple. Enter antibiotic-resistant bacteria. As the resistance to antibiotics grow, so do the types of antibiotics used to treat urinary tract infections.

Diagnosis

• To find the appropriate antibiotic, your doctor will order a urine culture to determine what type of bacteria has infected your urinary tract.

Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole

• Physicians usually turn to the trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) drug combination first. This antibiotic treatment is marketed under the names Bactrim, Cotrim and Septra.

Amoxicillin

• Some doctors may prescribe the antibiotic amoxicillin. In recent years, Escherichia coli, the bacterium that causes most urinary tract infections, has become resistant to this antibiotic.

Quinolones

• For patients who have a strain of bacteria that is resistant to TMP-SMX, the doctor may prescribe quinolones. This group of antibiotics includes Cipro, Floxin, Noroxin and Trovan.

Nitrofurantoin

• For chronic or recurrent urinary tract infections, your health care provider may prescribe nitrofurantoin. Made specifically for urinary tract infections, this medicine is usually not prescribed for men.

Treatment Time

• Prescription medications cure most urinary tract infections in one to two days. It is important to take your antibiotic for the prescribed time to ensure that the infection stays cured.