Consider Switching Birth Control
Some older research suggests that certain contraceptives may contribute to the cause of UTIs in some women.
If you use diaphragms, spermicides, or nonlubricated condoms and get frequent UTIs, it may be worth talking to your doctor to find other methods of birth control.
Its not uncommon for UTIs to go away on their own with at-home care and without the use of antibiotics.
Some research estimates that 25 to 42 percent of UTIs can go away on their own. This is usually only common in women with no other health issues.
However, there are some serious risks that can come from leaving a UTI untreated, including pyelonephritis and .
UTIs are painful, but with treatment, you can alleviate an infection and prevent recurrent infections. Talk with your doctor if you have symptoms of a UTI. With proper treatment, you should begin to feel better in a few days.
Take your antibiotics as instructed even after your symptoms improve to prevent complications or a secondary infection.
If the UTI doesnt resolve after antibiotic treatment or you end up with multiple episodes of a UTI, your doctor will likely do further testing.
This could be in the form of:
- cystoscopy
- urodynamic testing
You may be referred to a urologist, depending on the severity of your UTI or if you have chronic infections.
Certain strains of bacteria can cause UTIs. They can range from mild to severe. The degree of severity depends on multiple factors, including:
Complementary Treatments You Can Do At Home
Some people prefer to treat medical conditions with home remedies or alternative remedies.
Because of how serious kidney infections are, its important that you dont rely on home remedies. Instead, take the prescription antibiotics a doctor gives you and use home remedies to help ease symptoms or pain. You can also use home remedies to avoid UTIs and improve kidney function.
Probiotics For Uti Treatment
UTI home remedies aside, we all know that probiotics, or good bacteria play a crucial role in gut health and immunity. Now, with the relatively recent discovery that the urinary tract is not sterile, research into how probiotics may help prevent urinary tract infections has picked up speed.
Not only that, but according to Dr. Krystal Thomas-White, our scientific advisor, probiotics have the potential to influence multiple organ systems through their effect on the intestinal tract.
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Looking For More Natural Remedies
As you may know, I’m extremely passionate about providing women with all the details they need to make informed decisions about their reproductive health.
I’m not in any way against pharmaceuticals when they are necessary and indicated for a particular treatment. Antibiotics have a time and a place in our health. But when other options are safe and effective, I like to offer women choices that include natural options they can administer themselves.
If you’re into that sort of balance too, I’d love to send you an email when I post new articles. Hop on my mailing list HERE so I can share my research with you!
Natural Remedies For Urinary Tract Infection
Many people who are prone to UTIs experience them frequently. They take antibiotics or other antibacterial treatments, but the infection comes right back. Sometimes its a new type of bacteria, but other times its the same one. They just didnt get killed off by the drug like they were supposed to.
Luckily, there are a variety of natural home remedies for urinary tract infections that are effective. By using these natural remedies for UTIs, you can stop your infections from ever coming back:
1. Cranberry juice: One of the most effective natural treatments for UTIs is cranberry juice. Cranberry juice contains acidic substances that make it harder for bacteria to get a hold in your urethra and cause an infection. Cranberries are a scientifically proven treatment. Studies have shown that it is of particular benefit for women who get recurrent UTI infections. For other groups of people, the benefits are less clear.
3. Vitamin C: When your urine is more acidic, bacteria has a more difficult time growing. Any home remedy that can make your urine more acidic will also make it harder for infections to occur. Vitamin C stops the growth of bacterial infections by acidifying your urine. You can take Vitamin C as a supplement, or you can eat foods loaded with the vitamin, such as oranges, bell peppers, and certain types of juice. Drinking orange juice will not only help stop the growth of bacteria, but it will also help flush out your urinary tract in the same way that water does.
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Drink Buchu Tea To Heal Your Urinary System
- Boil a glass of water. Remove it from the flame .
- Add 2 tablespoons of dried buchu to it and let soak for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Strain it and drink 1 to 2 cups a day.
Buchu, also known as bookoo or bucco, is a herb that is very effective in treating urinary tract disorders.25 It has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and diuretic properties that cleanse and heal your urinary tract.26
Tip: Add equal amount of uva ursi to make the drink more effective.
What Do We Know About Uti Home Remedies
Unfortunately, there is a very real lack of studies around natural remedies for urinary tract infections.
Even those remedies that everyone has heard of struggle to be backed by credible evidence.
We just dont know how most natural UTI remedies work or if they really work at all.
If youve ever wondered why doctors dont often recommend natural remedies. This is the answer
Without solid evidence, they cant. Natural remedies are not included in evidence based treatment guidelines, because there isnt enough evidence yet. So doctors not only dont know if natural UTI remedies work, they also have no guidance on how you should take them.
Its really important to note here
Just because we dont know IF many UTI home remedies work, it doesnt mean they dont work.
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Home Remedies For Uti Baking Soda
Baking soda is also one of the best home remedies for UTI. Especially, it contains alkaline properties that can help in neutralizing the acids content present in the urine thereby burning sensations felt while urinating during the UTI and reducing the pain as well. For optimal results, you only need to add baking soda in one glass of water. It is recommended to consume it about once or twice per day.
The Best Natural Remedies For A Uti
The best natural remedy for a UTI is, first and foremost, prevention. As I mentioned earlier, practicing good sex hygiene is essential, and so is wiping from the front to back when using the restroom. Anything you can do to help prevent the spread of bacteria from the anus to the urethra is key.
However, another thing to focus on is keeping your immune system strong at all times.
Here are some of the ways to support your immune system and specifically fight off bladder infections that you can try before resorting to antibiotics or if you’ve tried medications and they didn’t work.
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Why Antibiotics Sometimes Dont Work
Most UTIs arent serious. But if left untreated, the infection can spread up to the kidneys and bloodstream and become life threatening. Kidney infections can lead to kidney damage and kidney scarring.
Symptoms of a UTI usually improve within 2 to 3 days after starting antibiotic therapy. Many doctors prescribe an antibiotic for at least 3 days.
While this type of medication is the standard treatment, researchers are noticing that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are reducing the effectiveness of some antibiotics in treating UTIs.
Some UTIs dont clear up after antibiotic therapy. When an antibiotic medication doesnt stop the bacteria from causing an infection, the bacteria continue to multiply.
The overuse or misuse of antibiotics is often the reason for antibiotic resistance. This can happen when the same antibiotic is prescribed over and over again for recurrent UTIs. Because of this risk, experts have been looking for ways to treat UTIs without antibiotics.
Some research has shown that UTIs can be treated without traditional antibiotics by targeting E. colis surface component for adhesion, FimH.
Typically, the urinary tract flushes away bacteria when you urinate. But according to researchers, FimH can cause E. coli to firmly attach to the cells in the urinary tract. And because of this tight grip, its hard for the body to naturally flush the bacteria from the urinary tract.
Other Natural Products For Urinary Tract Infections In Dogs
We also offer these two natural products to help you with your dog’s UTI.
A NATURAL URINARY DISORDERS PRODUCT
The URINARY DISORDERS product is the perfect tool to support your dog when facing urinary tract infections in our canine companions. In addition, if you are looking to relieve your dog’s pain caused by inflammation of the bladder and even dissolves some urinary crystals, this product will help maintain the urinary system healthy.Its suitable for all animals suffering from mild urinary disorders.
A NATURAL ANTIBIOTIC – SILVERPET
Combining this product with the previous one is a good choice for your dog’s urinary tract infections. The SILVERPET product acts as a natural antibiotic agent and can be used in case of bacteria that develops in your dog’s bladder.In addition, this product helps strengthen the immune system and therefore helps your dog to help himself. It is natural.It can also be used for the other animal species mentioned above.
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How To Prevent Utis In Dogs
If you know that your dog is having chronic urinary tract infections, its possible to use these natural products.
In addition, as discussed earlier, making frequent trips out to allow your dog to urinate regularly is a good strategy to adopt.
Ask a nutrition expert, such as a vet, to make sure that your pet’s food is adequate.
Finally, providing fresh water and encouraging your dog to drink plenty of water is an important benefit in the prevention of UTIs in dogs.
Now that you are well-equipped to identify a dog UTI at the first sign, be sure to have these ingredients and our natural products on hand to help your pooch of its symptoms.
The faster you act, the more successful you will be in your treatment. And your dog will thank you for it.
You can keep cranberries, apple cider vinegar and vitamin C in your kitchen, as most are just as effective for your own urinary tract infections!
In addition, you will have all the delicious elements needed to concoct a good salad!
How Do You Know If You Have A Urinary Tract Infection
Often, UTIs start almost asymptomatic . You may have an urge to urinate, but then when you go to the bathroom, you can’t seem to go. Or you can only relieve yourself a tiny bit, and then you’re making a beeline for the restroom again just minutes after you’ve walked out. Maybe you feel a bit of burning or tingling when you pee. A lot of women don’t seem to think much of their symptoms at this point.
When these mild symptoms start to happen a few times in a row, women often begin to notice. But sometimes, things progress a little further, and a mild fever or pelvic pain starts to develop before we acknowledge something is wrong.
This could be because you’ve had symptoms before and had them dismissed by a doctor. A recent study showed that the test commonly used to diagnose UTI isn’t always accurate. Researchers discovered that the standard culture missed the presence of pathogenic bacteria almost 20% of the time.
So if you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, don’t get a positive result on your bacteria culture test, and your doctor isnt giving you answers be sure to seek a second opinion, and you may want to try out the more natural remedies in this article.
Sometimes what feels like a UTI or a painful bladder is because of a condition known as Interstitial Cystitis. Either way, your provider should be working with you to find out the cause of your symptoms.
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Try Drinking Some Unsweetened Cranberry Juice
While the research is a bit unclear, cranberries have been used as a prevention of UTI for generations. Studies have shown that cranberries actually make it harder for the bacteria that cause UTIs to stick to the urinary tract walls. So, while not really a remedy, if you frequently get UTIs, it might be worth drinking a couple of glasses of unsweetened cranberry juice, or snacking on the actual fruit .
Try Apple Cider Vinegar
Drinking apple cider vinegar is also an effective natural remedy for these infections. This vinegar makes the urine slightly more acidic, and thus inhibits the growth and spread of the harmful bacteria within the urinary tract. However the patients of diabetes and heart disease must consult their physician before using it as a treatment.
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Take An Epsom Salt Bath
Both Epsom salts and warm water can ease pain. This can help make the uncomfortable side effects of the kidney infection a little more tolerable while you wait for the antibiotics to take effect.
Since abdominal pain is sometimes a symptom of antibiotics, as well as kidney infections, Epsom salts could also help even after symptoms from the kidney infection are resolved.
Wipe From Front To Back
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases , UTIs can develop when bacteria from the rectum or feces gain access to the urethra. This small channel allows urine to flow out of the body.
Once bacteria are in the urethra, they can travel up into other urinary tract organs, where they can lead to infections.
After urinating, wipe in a way that prevents bacteria from coming into contact with the genitals. Use separate pieces of toilet paper to wipe the genitals and anus.
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How Wild Oregano Oil Works For Utis
The main components of wild oregano oil are the isomer phenols carvacrol and thymol. Carvacrol in particular has been the subject of numerous studies, as it has been demonstrated to have strong antimicrobial properties. The antibacterial activity of carvacrol has been put down to its effect on the structure and function of bacterial membranes. At high enough concentrations, carvacrol severely damages cells.
Drink Plenty Of Water
Although urinating can be painful when you have a UTI, its important to drink as many fluids as possible, particularly water. Most adults should aim to drink between six and eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day.
The more you drink, the more youll urinate. Urinating helps flush harmful bacteria from the urinary tract.
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Refresh Yourself With Parsley Water
- Boil 1 to 2 cups of water.
- Add a handful of fresh, chopped parsley or 2 tablespoons of dried parsley.
- Let it simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Strain it and drink it .
Apigenin, a major component of parsley, has diuretic, as well as, anti-inflammatory properties.14 Diuretics get rid of excess water from your body in the form of urine, which will flush the bacteria present in your bladder and urethra. The anti-inflammatory property of parsley will soothe the infection and will help your body heal.
Home Remedies For Utis
Until there are more advancements in UTI treatment, antibiotics remain the most effective standard treatment. However, prescription medication doesnt have to be the only line of defense.
Along with standard therapy, you can incorporate home remedies to feel better sooner and reduce the likelihood of recurrent infections.
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When To See A Doctor
Contact your doctor if you have pain or discomfort when you urinate or other symptoms of a bladder infection, especially if the symptoms have been present for two days or more. If an infection lingers for too long, you risk the bacterial infection traveling to other parts of your body, including your kidneys. Therefore, you should seek treatment if you notice symptoms.
Your doctor will complete a physical examination and collect a urine sample to send for lab analysis to determine if an infection is present. Complications from an uncomplicated bladder infection are typically rare with antibiotic treatment. However, if you develop fever, chills, nausea, or confusion, you should immediately contact your doctor. These symptoms suggest a more serious infection that has spread to your kidneys. If you have a kidney infection, you may need an IV treatment of high-dose antibiotics, which may require hospitalization.
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What Is A Urinary Tract Infection
A urinary tract infection occurs when a bacterial infection affects your urinary system, causing problems like discomfort during urination, frequent urination, urgency, and other symptoms. The most common culprits causing the problem are the microbes Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus saprophyticus.
Why do Urinary Tract Infections Occur?
These bacteria are commonly found in the digestive tract, which means that if they are causing mayhem for your urinary tract, it’s possible they made the way there from your anus. Infrequent urination and dehydration have also been shown to be factors in developing UTIs.
Studies suggest that when women are encouraged to drink more water, they are less likely to develop a UTI.
Practicing good sex hygiene and always wiping from front to back when using the bathroom can help prevent this contamination. Sometimes, even if you’re diligent, bacteria can still find its way to where it shouldn’t be.
If you’re just starting to suspect that you have a UTI, chances are good that it’s only affecting your lower urinary tract that is to say, your bladder and urethra. This is why UTIs are commonly referred to as bladder infections. Technically, a bladder infection is a type of UTI, but most women use the term interchangeably.
In the later stages of a more severe UTI infection, the whole urinary system can be compromised, including your kidneys.
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