"Drinking plenty of water each day may have an unexpected benefit  staving off urinary tract infections a new study reports. Young women plagued by UTIs who drank an additional  cups of water each day were nearly half   percent  as likely as a control group to have another infection the study showed. The water group also reduced their use of antibiotics by roughly half  or  percent. Whats more the amount of time that passed before a womans next UTI and between recurrent infections was longer in the water group than in the control group. Women are more prone to UTIs than men partly due to their anatomy. A shorter urethra makes it easier for bacteria from rectum to enter the vagina and travel to the bladder. Study author Dr. Thomas Hooton said its thought that increasing fluid intake decreases UTI risk in two ways by preventing bacteria from adhering to the bladder and by reducing the overall concentration of bacteria that could cause an infection. Flushing bacteria out of the bladder its been known at least its been thought that it is protective. This study suggests that it is said Hooton clinical director of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Dr. Hunter Wessells who wasnt involved in the study called the additional fluid intake substantial leading to a corresponding increase in urine output. It is the urine output which is of course the key factor leading to the effect seen in the study said Wessells chair of the department of urology at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. Dr. Susan Bleasdale medical director of infection control at the University of Illinois at Chicago said the study may be a game changer for antibiotic stewardship programs aimed at reducing inappropriate antibiotic use. She cited a  review estimating that  million to  million women a year will suffer from a UTI accounting for . billion antibiotic prescriptions a year. We might not even need to use antibiotics she said. The study conducted in Bulgaria involved  healthy premenopausal women who had at least three UTIs in the past year. All reported low daily fluid intake. They drank roughly four cups of fluid per day including just  cups of water a day.  Half of the women in the study were asked to consume . liters of water or about  cups each day in addition to their usual daily fluid intake. Specifically they were asked to begin drinking a liter water bottle at each meal and finish each bottle before the next meal. The remaining women served as a control group. They continued their usual fluid intake. The women were followed for a year with clinic visits at the beginning of the study as well as  and  months later. Researchers measured their water and fluid intake urine volume frequency and concentration and symptoms. They also called the women each month to assess compliance and counsel them to return to the clinic for evaluation and possible treatment if they were experiencing UTI symptoms. Overall the water group increased daily water intake by close to  cups a day. Their total daily fluid intake including water and other beverages averaged nearly  cups. By contrast the control groups total daily fluid intake was less than half of that. Hooton noted that its not clear exactly how much fluid intake must increase to deliver a benefit. Theres no magic in a literandahalf he said.  Likewise he believes any increase in fluid  not just water  may be beneficial since fluids are mostly water. And while the study involved younger women he said older women who experience recurrent UTIs may benefit from increasing their daily fluid intake as well.  Whether the advice would benefit women with normal urine output however is unclear Wessells noted.  In addition the bother associated with the higher urine output and feasibility of implementing this water intake strategy across a range of occupations and ages requires further study as well he said. Researchers presented the findings Saturday at IDWeek  the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America the HIV Medicine Association and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.  Research presented at meetings is generally considered preliminary until published in a peerreviewed publication. More information Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on UTIs https SOURCES Oct.   media briefing with Thomas Hooton M.D. University of Miami clinical director division of infectious diseases University of Miami School of Medicine and Susan Bleasdale M.D. medical director infection control University of Illinois at Chicago Hunter Wessells M.D. professor and chair department of urology University of Washington Seattle Oct.   presentation IDWeek  San Diego"