Azithromycin is an antibiotic used to treat chest infections mainly, also called upper respiratory tract infections.
It is not used to treat UTI, unless only under some special cases, And it won’t work if you use it for the purpose of treating UTI most of the time.
But, it might be beneficial for the people suffering from UTI in some cases.
And one of these cases is if their UTI was caused by a sexually transmitted infection.
Especially if the sexually transmitted infection was a trachomatis or Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection. These bacterial infections are caused by bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis and the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria.
Another case in which azithromycin can be helpful for people suffering from UTI is: if your UTI was caused by a urinary catheter.
The Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria like to gather around the surface of the urinary catheters causing a urinary tract infection.
Azithromycin can stop the reproduction (kill) the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. That’s why it can be somewhat helpful in the treatment of the UTI caused by urinary catheters and we will talk about this case later.
Azithromycin has little effectiveness in treating UTI
As for the urinary tract infections (UTI) that are not caused by a sexually transmitted infection or by a urinary catheter which makes the majority of the UTI cases around the world, azithromycin will have little effectiveness in treating them.
Azithromycin cannot work on UTIs that are caused by the E. coli bacteria.
The E. coli bacteria are responsible for most of the UTI cases around the world. other bacteria that can cause the UTI are Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus spp. and Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Azithromycin cannot kill or stop the growth of any one of these bacteria except Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Note: azithromycin works by stopping the reproduction of the bacteria and thereby if the bacteria cannot reproduce they will eventually die on their own.
But in the case of the UTI, azithromycin cannot stop the reproduction of most of the types of bacteria that causes the UTI.
If azithromycin cannot kill or stop the reproduction of most of the bacteria types that can cause the UTI that means it can’t treat the UTI in most cases.
Another reason why azithromycin cannot be used for the treatment of the UTI is that it reaches the urine in low concentrations. azithromycin exits the body mainly with the stool not with the urine. so it will be harder for the azithromycin to reach the site of infection.
Although it can reach the site of infection which is inside the urinary tract through other mechanisms. meaning that azithromycin cannot reach inside of the urinary tract through excretion with urine. but it can reach inside the urinary tract where the UTI is via other ways.
But, even if it reaches the site of the UTI it will have little effect on the UTI bacteria. if the UTI was caused by the E. coli bacteria or by the Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria or the Streptococcus spp. bacteria then azithromycin will not kill them or stop their growth.
Only if the UTI was caused by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa alone then azithromycin can be used to treat the UTI. but in more than 80% of the time, the UTI will be caused by bacteria other than the Pseudomonas aeruginosa. so in more than 80% of the time azithromycin will not cure the UTI.
And even if the UTI was caused by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria, azithromycin may not get rid of the uti completely.
Because many times the UTI will be caused by more than one type of bacteria. so in most of the time, it will not be just the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria alone but it will be accompanied by other types of bacteria that the azithromycin cannot kill.
So, azithromycin will kill the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria but will leave the other types of bacteria like the Streptococcus spp. or Staphylococcus epidermidis.
Azithromycin cannot kill most of the types of bacteria that cause UTI and it cannot reach the urinary tract in high concentrations.
That’s why it’s not helpful to use azithromycin for the treatment of the UTI and it may not be just unhelpful but it may be harmful to use it against such an infection.
Risks of using azithromycin to treat the UTI
Because, I don’t know if you have heard of it, of the bacterial resistance issue that is growing worldwide. Basically what this problem is that the bacteria are adapting to our antibiotics.
With every new generation of bacteria, doctors and pharmacists will have to give a larger dose or a stronger antibiotic than the one used before.
Bacteria are developing ways to prevent our antibiotics from killing them.
For example, some bacteria can produce chemicals that attack a certain group of antibiotics from a certain point. when these chemicals attack the antibiotic, they will degrade it and the antibiotic is rendered ineffective.
This certain group of antibiotics has become ineffective against those bacteria in these days. this group of antibiotics is called Beta-lactam antibiotics And they include antibiotics like amoxicillin, Keflex, ampicillin, and others.
So no matter how much amoxicillin or Keflex or ampicillin you give to the bacteria that produce these chemicals they will not kill the bacteria and the bacteria will resist them.
So this is called bacterial resistance. You know the saying that says whatever doesn’t kill me makes me stronger. So this is one of the biggest causes of bacterial resistance.
Throwing amoxicillin or Keflex or any antibiotic on a bacteria that can resist this antibiotic will only make the bacteria stronger.
And because the bacteria have gotten stronger because of the weak antibiotics that you have thrown at them, When the time comes and you try to use a strong antibiotic, they may even resist it or you may need to increase the dose of that antibiotic.
Because they have gotten strong practicing with the weak antibiotics you throw at them.
So the basis of treating any bacterial infection including the UTI is that you use an antibiotic that will eradicate the bacteria completely without leaving any trace of it.
and you must use it with the lowest dose possible to eradicate the bacteria completely and to lower the side effects that the antibiotic may have on your body.
Azithromycin has few side effects and it’s generally considered a safe antibiotic. But using it against an infection like the UTI will contribute to the problem of bacterial resistance.
Now azithromycin is not a weak antibiotic.
But it’s just an antibiotic that is specialized in treating infections other than the UTI.
Infections like throat, ear, nose infection, generally upper respiratory tract infections, and also some sexually transmitted infections. But when it comes to the UTI, the UTI is not a specialty for the azithromycin.
so using it by the people who suffer from UTI will only make their UTI bacteria stronger in most cases. and it will be harder to treat their UTI afterwords. that’s why there are some risks when using azithromycin as a treatment for UTI.
Sexually transmitted infections that can lead to UTI
Also, azithromycin can work on the many types of bacteria that cause respiratory infections as we emphasized earlier.
But, what matters for us in this article is the sexually transmitted infections that the azithromycin can treat.
Now the Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria and the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria can cause sexually transmitted infections in the urethra of the male (inside the penis) and in the cervix of the female.
The Chlamydia trachomatis can cause diseases like trachoma, cervicitis (inflammation of the cervix in women), urethritis (inflammation of the urethra in men), and other sexually transmitted infections or diseases.
while the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria can cause the gonorrhea infection which is a very bad and well known sexually transmitted infection.
now, what does all that have to do with our subject?
well, our subject is can azithromycin be used to treat the UTI? or is azithromycin good for UTI? and we have said that azithromycin can be beneficial for the people who suffer from the UTI in some specific cases.
And one of these specific cases is if the UTI was caused by a sexually transmitted infection.
particularly if this sexually transmitted infection was caused by one of the bacteria that we have mentioned earlier.
because azithromycin can treat those infections either alone or in combination with other antibiotics. and by treating those infections you will be eliminating the cause of the UTI but not the UTI.
but that is a good step toward getting rid of the UTI completely because if you eliminate the cause of the UTI which is those infections and then you treat the UTI then the UTI will not come back to you.
most of the time if you have a Neisseria gonorrhoeae or a Chlamydia trachomatis infection then the doctor will give you azithromycin along with another antibiotic that is to eliminate the infection completely.
because if the doctor gives you azithromycin alone there is a high chance that the bacteria will resist it and will not be killed completely by it.
so azithromycin will need the support of another antibiotic to eliminate any possibility of resistance and get rid of the infection completely.
So azithromycin can get us rid of some sexually transmitted infections that can lead to UTI.
that’s why it’s considered helpful in this case. but how can sexually transmitted infections cause a urinary tract infection (UTI) specifically how can the chlamydia infections and the N. gonorrhea infections lead to UTI?
first, these infections happen in areas that are either considered part of the urinary tract like the urethra or near the urinary tract like the vagina or the cervix.
and when they invade those areas it will not just be them that’s invading those areas.
although the majority of the bacteria invading the urethra or the vagina or the cervix will be the Neisseria gonorrhoeae or the chlamydia trachomatis bacteria. but, some other bacteria from the surrounding environment can tag along for the ride.
or these bacteria from the environment can come after the chlamydia trachomatis or Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection occur.
and what kinds of bacteria can be found in the surrounding environment of the urethra, vagina, cervix, and the genitals in general?
it’s the E. coli bacteria or at least it’s one of the most common types of bacteria that can be found in that area. especially if the person was not very healthy or not taking some precautions with the cleanness of his or her genitals and the areas surrounding it.
many types of bacteria can be found in this area also other than the E. coli bacteria including other types of the UTI causing bacteria.
so if any type of the UTI causing bacteria attacks with or after the chlamydia trachomatis or Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria, it will be easier for it to cause a urinary tract infection (UTI).
because the immune system will be busy fighting the chlamydia trachomatis or Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria. also, the good bacteria that are found in the urinary tract or the genitals area will also be busy fighting the chlamydia trachomatis or Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria.
so the UTI bacteria will find the time and space to do whatever they want with the urinary tract. many of the UTI cases in the world happen due to this reason, especially among men.
so the azithromycin can help in getting rid of the chlamydia trachomatis or Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria and that is a very good step toward getting rid of the UTI bacteria also.
so if your UTI was caused by a sexually transmitted disease especially by the chlamydia trachomatis or Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria then azithromycin can be beneficial for you.
If you want to know why some UTIs linger after using antibiotics to eliminate them, then take a look at this article.
Azithromycin can treat some UTI cases caused by a urinary catheter
some urinary tract infections (uti) can be caused by a urinary catheter.
a urinary catheter is used by patients (especially elderly patients) to draw out the urine from their bladder.
a urinary catheter is a tube that is inserted inside the urethra of the patient and reaches the bladder.
with time and repeated use, this tube gets contaminated with bacteria and this bacteria can use this tube as a way to get to the bladder of the patient.
many types of bacteria can gather around this tube including the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria is a common bacteria to contaminate the urinary catheter and cause a UTI because of it.
the NCBI website has found with an experiment that azithromycin has activity against the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. meaning that it can stop the growth of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.
that’s why azithromycin can be used against urinary tract infections caused by the contamination of urinary catheters with the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.
but the urinary catheters can be contaminated with other types of bacteria.
so not every type of uti caused by a urinary catheter can be treated with azithromycin. only the one caused by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.
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so with that, we have reached the end of this article.
I hope it was useful for you. also, feel free to check out the other articles on my website. these articles will help you KNOW AND TREAT UTI. so thank you and goodbye.