This Morning has received hundreds of complaints from viewers after Cherry Healey gave out ‘wrong information’ about UTIs.

The TV presenter appeared on the show last week and revealed her own personal experience of suffering from a urine infection, which left her hospitalised for five days when she left it untreated.

She was on the ITV daytime show alongside Senior Urologist Jean McDonald to highlight the dangers of ignoring possible symptoms of UTIs, as they can also affect your bladder and kidneys and leave you with permanent damage.

Detailing what happened to her, 43-year-old Cherry said: “I woke up on Thursday and it was definitely there [a UTI]. But I was a bridesmaid – I was actually maid of honour at my best friend’s wedding – and I was going straight from filming to her wedding in the countryside. It’s in the middle of nowhere. There’s no way I could get to a doctor.”

So instead Cherry chose to grin and bear it to get through her best friend’s big day and said she was “just drinking cranberry juice and taking painkillers”. She continued: “I could feel my body getting sicker and sicker. I went through the Friday night of celebrations and then by Saturday at the wedding, I just felt horrendous.

“I had a blanket wrapped around me the whole wedding pretty much, because I was shaking uncontrollably because I had a fever. What happened was it had moved up to my kidneys. I went to A&E the next day and they just couldn’t work out what was going on. I underplayed UTIs so much – I didn’t even tell them I’d had one. I didn’t think that was it. It’s only when they did a lumbar puncture on me they found out. It’s actually scarred my kidneys. That’s what happens if you don’t listen to your body!”

Ofcom received 129 complaints after the advice given out about UTIs ( 
Image:
ITV)
During the segment, Cherry made reference to drinking cranberry juice – which many people believe can help with urine infections – and taking painkillers, but she claimed that for her “painkillers don’t work on UTIs”.

Her advice prompted 129 people to complain to Ofcom, claiming the segment had breached broadcasting rules by giving out inaccurate information. The NHS website says that “some people take cystitis sachets or cranberry drinks and products every day to prevent UTIs from happening, which may help.” But they said there is “no evidence” they help ease symptoms or treat a UTI infection that has already started.

The Mirror has contacted This Morning for further comment on this story.

Symptoms of a urinary tract infection (UTI) may include:

Pain or a burning sensation when peeing
Needing to pee more often than usual
Needing to pee more often than usual during the night
Needing to pee suddenly or more urgently than usual
Pee that looks cloudy
Blood in your pee
Lower tummy pain or pain in your back, just under the ribs
A high temperature, or feeling hot and shivery
A very low temperature below 36C

Your pee may also be dark or smell. If this is your only symptom, it might be because you’ve not been drinking enough water. You should seek urgent treatment if you have any of the most severe symptoms above and feel confused or drowsy.