Women's Health August 12, 2026 0 Comments

This Common Infection Is Outsmarting Antibiotics — Here’s What You Need to Know Now!

Ever found yourself making yet another frantic dash to the bathroom, wondering if your bladder has suddenly turned traitor? You’re not alone. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are like that uninvited guest who just doesn’t know when to leave. In fact, UTIs rank as the second most common infection in the nation, and women are the ones who seem to get the short end of the stick—thanks to those shorter urethras. Imagine this: about 50-60% of women will deal with at least one UTI in their lives. Frustrating, right? But it gets even trickier when these infections keep coming back, turning into a recurrent or chronic nightmare. Add antibiotic resistance into the mix, and suddenly the remedies that once worked feel like ancient history. So, what’s really going on here? Why do some women face seemingly endless UTIs despite ticking all the “avoid infection” boxes? It’s time to dive into the gritty details, understand the science, and explore new frontiers in treatment that might just bring relief to those who’ve been battling in silence. Curious to know more? LEARN MORE

7 min read

Frequent trips to the bathroom, bloody and painful urination—these are some of the signs of a urinary tract infection (UTI). According to the Urology Care Foundation, UTIs are the second most common infection in the nation. Women are more likely to get them than men due to having shorter urethras, and it’s estimated that 50-60% of women will experience at least one UTI in their lifetime, says Christina M. Escobar, MD, a urogynecologist and reconstructive pelvic surgeon at NYU Langone Hospital.

A UTI develops when bacteria from the GI tract or rectum enter the urinary tract and urethra, says Dr. Escobar. “These bacteria can find a home within the bladder cells and create inflammation and irritation.” Left untreated, a UTI can even progress to a kidney infection, becoming life-threatening, says Robert Stiller, MD, clinical professor of ob-gyn at Yale School of Medicine and perinatologist at Bridgeport Hospital.

“The symptoms exhaust you as well, because living with chronic pain is horrendous.”

While anyone can get a UTI, there are certain things that increase the risk of getting one, like having sex, says Dr. Stiller. Condoms and diaphragms with spermicides on them can also pose a risk, as the spermicides can kill some of the good bacteria, he adds. And while you’ve likely heard lots of tips and tricks for keeping UTIs at bay, sometimes they’re just out of your control. You can take all the right steps to avoid an infection, but still get one, Dr. Escobar says.

This means many women are left feeling responsible for the blame if they are following all the right precautions—drinking extra water, practicing good hygiene, peeing after sex—and avoiding the risks, yet still being plagued with these infections. And when an infection develops into a recurrent or chronic UTI, the suffering can feel never-ending.

We spoke with experts about recurrent infections and how resistance to the most standard treatment method—antibiotics—can make things even more difficult. Here’s what you need to know.

Meet the experts: Christina M. Escobar, MD, urogynecologist and reconstructive pelvic surgeon at NYU Langone Hospital; Robert Stiller, MD, clinical professor of ob-gyn at the Yale School of Medicine and perinatologist in maternal-fetal medicine at Bridgeport Hospital; and Jacob Lazarus, MD, infectious disease physician, medical director of infection control at Massachusetts General Hospital, and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.

What Is a Recurrent UTI?

A UTI is considered recurrent or chronic when someone has two confirmed diagnoses in six months, or three in a full year, Dr. Escobar says.

Like 150 million others across the globe, Adrianne Binney, 29, has dealt with UTIs throughout her life. In the past, the infections went away on their own. But since 2022, she has been suffering from recurrent infections.

These infections are first confirmed through a urine test. From these tests, doctors can prescribe antibiotics to kill the bacteria. While this is usually enough to treat the UTI, some people may develop relapsing infections and symptoms.

From constant trips to the doctor and fatigue and abdominal pain, Binney’s recurrent infection has taken a toll on her physical and mental health. “The symptoms exhaust you as well, because living with chronic pain is horrendous,” she says.

Melanie,* 45, also suffers from recurrent UTIs. When she was in her 20s, a UTI would go away after two days of antibiotics. Now, she has been struggling to get rid of an infection since early 2025.

In an attempt to manage her UTIs, she is on a laundry list of treatments. These include a prophylactic antibiotic regimen, vaginal estrogen (a low-dose hormonal cream used primarily for menopausal symptoms), and Hiprex (also known as hippurate, a preventive urinary antibacterial medication that is not an antibiotic). Both vaginal estrogen and hippurate show positive preventative UTI results for postmenopausal women, says Jacob Lazarus, MD, infectious disease physician and medical director of infection control at Massachusetts General Hospital.

But with the constant use of antibiotics, what Melanie fears the most is her condition reaching a point where it no longer responds to the medication. “I worry all the time about antibiotic resistance. I have no idea how to manage this for the rest of my life,” she says.

What Is Antibiotic Resistance?

If an infection doesn’t clear with a first-line antibiotic (say, a three- or five-day course), then doctors will try another course of antibiotics for seven days, Dr. Lazarus says. This longer duration isn’t just time-consuming, but can also indicate that the specific bacteria causing the UTI are resistant to antibiotics. While rare (Dr. Lazarus estimates that most resistant infections only account for maybe 5% or so of cases), an antibiotic-resistant infection can be a huge headache for patients for reasons like “efficacy, convenience, side effects, cost, [and] access.”

The problem has gotten worse in recent years. Dr. Stiller says that three decades ago, penicillin antibiotics could kill the majority of E. coli—the bacteria that commonly causes UTIs. But now, he says that E. coli has a higher resistance to those drugs.

Part of the issue is the overuse of prescribed antibiotics, says Dr. Escobar. “I think for many years, providers were just treating multiple rounds of infections without actually testing and understanding what the right antibiotics [were], or if antibiotics were the right answer at all,” she says. She adds that there’s been a shift in the medical community to move away from this approach when treating and preventing the condition.

And for some patients, the reality is taxing. Veronica, 60, has dealt with a UTI for over a year. She first developed symptoms in January of 2025. Her UTI was officially diagnosed as antibiotic-resistant four months later, and she is still dealing with the same infection over a year later.

The antibiotic resistance of her UTI means she has to take a urine test as ordered by her doctor each month. “Every single PCR test I have taken shows one to four different bacterial loads. All of them are resistant to certain antibiotics,” she says. “E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae seem to consistently show up.”

Blue flower with delicate petals and a droplet of water hanging from it, set against a soft yellow background.

Jeffrey Westbrook

While resistance makes treatment more challenging for patients, it’s not impossible. Dr. Escobar approaches it through two ways: introducing less common antibiotics, or trying to prevent the infection from happening in the first place using non-antibiotic medication.

“We’re trying to be thoughtful and judicious about the type of antibiotics that we use in order to prevent our patients from becoming susceptible to these situations,” she says.

While antibiotics are effective at treating infections, they can have an adverse effect when overused. Ensuring that the patient is tested properly is the first step at killing the resistance cycle. “We don’t want to give antibiotics when you don’t need it,” Dr. Stiller says.

He suggests patients also try non-antibiotic options like d-mannose, a supplement used to prevent the bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall, as well as vaginal lactobacillus capsules to increase the amount of good bacteria.

Cranberry supplements can also help to prevent infections, says Dr. Escobar. She recommends looking for proanthocyanidins (PACs), the ingredient that similarly keeps E.coli from sticking to the bladder wall. Staying hydrated helps too, she adds, especially during the summer when the body loses fluids faster in the heat.

Dealing with an antibiotic-resistant UTI for so long has been physically demanding for Veronica. To treat her condition, she currently uses estrogen cream, d-mannose, and Tramadol—an opioid medication. She even applies ice packs to her groin throughout the day to numb the pain, and does pelvic floor therapy for the urethral spasms.

Financially, the expenses add up. Her doctor is not in her insurance network, so she pays $175 for the consultations and anywhere between $15 and $150 for additional prescribed medications each month.

“This is my life now,” Veronica says about the inconvenience her condition has caused her. And as a recent retiree, she spends a lot of time at home researching her condition and finding support groups online. But she knows that not everyone with antibiotic resistance has that time on their hands. “I just wish this information was available more,” she says.

With this lack of widespread awareness, many people do not know to seek help before their condition progresses. And having an open dialogue about urinary health can be difficult for some, which Dr. Escobar acknowledges. “We don’t often talk about things like this because of stigmas associated with infections or urinary problems,” she says.

The UTI Vaccine

For lingering infections that just won’t go away, cranberry supplements and non-commonly used antibiotics aren’t the only options. There are also new, emerging pathways such as UTI vaccines, says Dr. Lazarus.

MV140 (Uromune) is currently available in parts of Europe, like Spain, Australia, and the UK. It is a spray administered under the tongue every day for three months to help build mucosal immunity.

“The body recognizes the bacteria at a mucosal surface,” Dr. Lazarus explains. “The inside of the mouth [is] analogous to the urethra, or the vagina, or the bladder.” The vaccine works by generating an immune response in the mouth, helping the body recognize and fight off that bacteria within the urinary tract.

According to research, Uromune is a promising potential non-antibiotic UTI treatment option. However, “the application of this vaccine to clinical practice remains limited,” per the BMC Infectious Diseases Journal.

Melanie will be traveling from her home in France to the UK to receive the vaccine. She anticipates that the travel, appointment, and treatment combined will cost her nearly $900. And despite knowing that studies in recent years reflect only a 35 to 58 percent efficacy rate for UTI-free cases, according to the American Urological Association, she’s desperate enough for relief that she’s willing to try it.

She isn’t alone in just wanting her body to feel some form of normalcy again. For many others, taking the steps to handle a chronic condition every day while silently suffering can feel ostracizing and debilitating.

“It’s an invisible illness, an invisible condition,” Binney says. “I wish people were more empathetic and understanding of the fact that just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean that someone’s body isn’t betraying them.”

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*Name has been changed.