Cranberry pills side effects

Cranberry Pills Ingredients

Cranberry pills have become very popular lately, because they contain all the nutritional and antioxidant abilities as the fruit itself. The pills have showed great results in treating some medical conditions.

Apart from the antioxidants, these pills also have vitamin C, manganese, dietary fibers and minerals in them. One pill can substitute the benefits gained from drinking nine glasses of cranberry juice. Experts have proved that a person who uses these pills will treat such conditions like urinary tract infections, jock itch and chronic bladder infections.

The consumption will also lessen the risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and kidney diseases. Even though they cause some side effects people still use them because there is a chance they will prevent a couple of conditions from happening.

Like all other medical products and supplements, cranberry pills also bear some side effects. Cranberry pills are known to cause a couple of conditions. The first thing that can cause problems is the cranberry fruit content. There are people who are allergic to it and therefore they can not consume neither the fruit itself nor the cranberry fruit extracts which are used in the making of the pills.

Another thing that can cause the side effects is the interference with some other drugs a person is using. There are certain medications that should not be used at the same time with the cranberry pills. One more thing that is known to cause some of the side effects is when a person is suffering from specific medical condition and has an allergy to specific foods and dietary supplements. However, all the side effects usually occur when a person overuses the cranberry pills.

Side effects caused by these pills are usually seen on the skin as allergic reactions such as hives, itchiness, rashes and also swelling of the face, lips, tongue and mouth. Chest congestion is possible as well as is shortness of breath.

Precautions for Cranberry Pills

The first thing a person should do is get to know what can cause a side effect of a cranberry pill. This especially goes for people who are allergic to cranberries. However, pregnant or breastfeeding women and women who are planning to get pregnant should get to know the side effects as well. A person who has diabetes, some kind of a liver disease or had kidney stones in the past should be aware of the side effects. People who are taking some other medications should talk to a doctor before using these pills.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common bacterial infection in residents of long-term care facilities (LTCF), accounting for nearly 25% of all infections. UTI not only causes several days of illness, but may have more-severe consequences such as delirium, dehydration, urosepsis, hospitalization, or even death. The present study assessed the effectiveness of cranberry capsules in preventing UTI in vulnerable older persons living in LTCFs:

Between November 2008 and August 2009, all 2,086 eligible residents were invited to participate in a letter, and then a research nurse orally invited them. The study stopped in June 2011. Twenty-seven of the 955 residents who gave written informed consent died before randomization, resulting in a study population of 928 participants. A nonresponder analysis for giving informed consent showed no difference between nonresponders and responders in age, sex, or UTI risk profile. None of the participants had end-stage renal disease.
Four hundred twelve low-UTI-risk and 516 high-UTI risk-participants were included. There were no baseline differences within the UTI risk groups between the cranberry and placebo groups.
In the high-UTI-risk group, the curve of cumulative incidence of clinically defined UTI showed a positive treatment effect from 2 months of follow-up onward. No such effect was found for strictly defined UTI. There was no difference between cranberry and placebo in the low-UTI-risk group.
In the high-UTI-risk group, the incidence of UTI according to the clinical definition was 62.8 per 100 person-years at risk for cranberry, and 84.8 per 100 person-years at risk for placebo. The treatment effect in those at high UTI risk was 0.74. The incidence for UTI following the strict definition was not different in those using cranberry and placebo.
A systematic review showed that cranberry-containing products were associated with a protective effect against UTI in certain populations.

✓ Fact confirmed: Effectiveness of Cranberry Capsules to Prevent Urinary Tract Infections in Vulnerable Older Persons: A Double-Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial in Long-Term Care Facilities Monique A. A. Caljouw, MSc, Wilbert B. van den Hout, PhD, Hein Putter, PhD, Wilco P. Achterberg, PhD, Herman J. M. Cools, PhD, and Jacobijn Gussekloo, PhD; 2014 Jan 17.