Rebecca Levy-Gantt
Sep 5, 2018 · 2 min read

I am sorry that your doctor spoke to you that way — no doctor should scream or curse at his/her patients, ever. And I by no means think that people MUST do whatever doctors tell them to do. Avoiding UTI’s by preventative measures can certainly be helpful. And no one can tell you that if your mother took or didn’t take cholesterol medicine, she would or would not live longer. She has obviously beaten the odds. When we do scientific studies, we take a certain number of people with a diagnosed medical condition, ie, a urinary tract infection, and have a certain number of them take antibiotics, and a certain number not take them, or better yet- take a placebo which should have no effect on their infections. Then, if a significantly increased number of people are cured of their infections by taking the antibiotic than by taking a placebo, a conclusion may be reached that antibiotics help treat UTI’s. That’s the scientific process, and how we know what is likely better to work than doing nothing. It does not mean that ALL UTI’s are treated by these antibiotics. And it does not mean that a UTI would never go away without using them….just like I’m sure you couldn’t conclude that since you are able to avoid UTI’s without antibiotics, then all people can. We try to use our best evidence to give advice about what is MOST LIKELY to work. In most cases, I have to believe that scientific evidence is better than people’s thoughts on how to treat themselves…..even if it cannot provide all the answers all the time.

Rebecca Levy-Gantt

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An Ob Gyn physician in Napa California, who has been practicing for 20 years. Also a writer (blogger, memoirist, advisor, humorist).