Estriol Effective Against Chronic Cystitis

A topical estriol crème tested in a double blind study of post-menopausal women with chronic cystitis¹.  Cystitis is a painful bacterial infection of the urinary tract/bladder.  It is common in postmenopausal women due to the lack of estrogen that maintains healthier epithelia cells that line the bladder and urinary tract.  The new study shows that estriol is a very effective remedy for this nagging problem.

The cystitis infection is typically cause by e. coli bacteria coming from the rectal area and entering the vaginal/urinary tract.  The normal defense is good vaginal bacteria and a strong epithelial lining.  It is already well-known that estriol, not estradiol, is the main form of estrogen that protects and rejuvenates this lining, protecting against vaginal dryness as well as urinary tract problems.

This new study showed that over a 1 year period estriol-treated women prone to cystitis had far less of a problem, reducing the number of occurrences 11 fold.  Painful urination and urinary incontinence was significantly improved.  The presence of offending bacteria was drastically reduced while the presence of friendly bacteria was significantly increased. 

The study supports the use of estriol in post-menopausal women to improve vaginal and urinary tract health.