How I cure a UTI without antibiotics

Some of us are prone to urinary tract infections or cystitis. It really stinks. You feel like you are going to die from the pain, and then you have to go sit in the emergency room or urgent care (because the symptoms always become acute at night, usually headed into a long weekend when the doctor is far away).

Then when you finally have the antibiotics in your hot little hand, it’s quite possible that they make you feel sick as well, and you have to recover from them.

I have discovered a way to treat a UTI without antibiotics. I will tell you exactly how, and then I will give you the reasons you might be having a recurring problem.

The list is towards the end of this post if you already know the details of this sickness. I wanted to put everything in one place for the sake of the collective memory (and really for my own reference as well), so this post is quite detailed.

But first I want to say that if you have pain in your side or back, which is where your kidneys are, high fever and chills, vomiting, and/or nausea , you do need to go to the doctor. If the UTI goes back into your kidneys you don’t want to do damage and end up in the hospital for a long time, so do pay attention to that.

Also, of course, I’m not a doctor! Or a nurse or anything at all.

But I have had a lot of these infections and I got sick and tired — and scared!  — of taking so many antibiotics.

In my experience, a UTI makes me feel wretched and causes a LOT of pain, but I don’t get a fever (or it’s just a low-grade one). You might get a higher fever, because everyone is different, but if you have the other symptoms of a kidney infection, you need to see the doctor.

Burning, urinary frequency, the urge to urinate but passing only small amounts, blood in the urine, cloudy urine, a certain smell, pain in the pelvis — these are the symptoms of a UTI. It’s debilitating and makes you panic.

The antibiotic will usually take care of the bacteria, true. If it is an infection, that is. It could also be inflammation and irritation that may or may not develop into a UTI — and so all the more reason to be wary, because of course, we all should be taking fewer antibiotics!

So if given the choice between taking antibiotics and not taking them, with the same outcome, of course we prefer not to take them. (I have also noticed that sometimes a rather weak antibiotic is prescribed, which lends credence to my theory and experience that it can be cured without one at all.)

But even if you want meds, it’s not so easy, is it!

If you have this problem, you know the drill — you painfully drive yourself to the office or ER and that takes hours, all while you feel like the fires of Hades are in your nether parts.

You get the dip test, it comes back positive, they send the culture out for further tests to match with the kind of bacteria you have (more than 90% sure it’s E. coli however), and meanwhile you go on the antibiotic which may or may not be the right one.

I’m allergic to penicillin so that whole category is out. That means they give me Cipro, which has disturbing side effects.

Plus, UTIs end up scarring the tissue in your urethra, so you are only more prone to them as time goes by, increasing your dependency on antibiotics. This is so unfair.

Now that I am part of a cost-sharing plan, I have a further incentive, beyond not wasting time and agony sitting around waiting to be treated: I also don’t want the people in my sharing plan to pay for those tests and that visit when I already know what is wrong with me. (Not that you aren’t paying when you have insurance!)

Maybe if they just prescribed the only antibiotic I can take anyway over the phone, I wouldn’t have been so motivated, but those days are gone, when the doctor would just help you without the insurance rigamarole. But then, so many courses of antibiotics… it’s not good.

So I needed another way!

Try this treatment (with the caveats above!) — it has worked for me twice now, and both times I’ve been in extremis with awful pain and bloody urine.

Thanks to Sukie telling me about it, I discovered that there is a sugar, D-Mannose, that has a molecular structure that bonds with E. coli, the bacteria most responsible for UTIs.

Thanks to Deirdre’s midwife, Cindy, I found out about Marshmallow Root, which provides mucilage and soothes smooth muscle, including in the urinary tract.

You need to address the pain. One time I took ibuprofen only for the pain; this last time I also took AZO (or the generic equivalent). It turns your urine bright orange (and don’t touch your contact lenses without washing your hands!) but it takes away the pain.

And that is the key!

Once you feel that the pain will be taken care of, you can do what needs to be done, which is to force liquids so that you can urinate copiously and wash away the bacteria that have bonded with the D-Mannose.

 

Non-antibiotic remedies for a UTI — in the foreground are the hibiscus and the spoon with the D-Mannose, which also comes in capsules. (That spoonful represents the very last bit I have of the powder; I found the capsules at a DNC while we were on the road. Next time I will pack the essentials so I don’t have to search while in pain!) The tea in the box is hibiscus and rose hips, which I can often find at Marshall’s. 

 

UTI Natural Treatment Protocol of Effectiveness:

Take the pain killers (affiliate link) according to the dosages. (This is not the natural part, but thank goodness for ibuprofen and AZO.)

D-Mannose. (affiliate link) This is a sugar, the molecular shape of which bonds with the bacteria. You don’t need it in pill/capsule form — it’s sweet! Just buy it as a powder and dissolve a teaspoon at a time in a small amount of warm water. It will work best if you give it a chance before diluting it in your bladder with all the fluids you are going to need to drink. So as soon as you are able, take that dose, then wait for about half an hour, then begin the super hydration.

Take one teaspoon about three times a day. You are aiming for 3 grams a day, so go by the amount per dosage listed on the container and spread it out over the day. It might have the effect of loosening your bowels; if so, cut back. It doesn’t always, I have found.

Begin hydrating. Besides water, also try hibiscus tea (called Kerkaday at Middle Eastern markets and Jamaica at Hispanic markets if you can find it in bulk — much cheaper that way). You can drink that cold, warm, or hot, and it’s delicious. It is related to Marshmallow Root so may have the same effect on the mucus membranes — it’s also just very healthy with plenty of vitamin C and antioxidants. Buying it in bulk is much cheaper than buying it as tea bags, and it usually comes as dried flowers, which are large and easy to brew.

You can drink your kombucha too. Just drink! Drink a lot!

Midwife Cindy’s colleague, an OB/GYN who has now retired, recommended that a UTI sufferer take a large container of water and a cup into a very warm bath. Cindy explains his thinking: you are afraid to pee because it hurts so much; the bath relaxes you, you can drink from your container (a pitcher with two quarts of water), you can pee in the bath, who cares.

I haven’t done that but I have used a heating pad across my pelvis and my drink next to me so I force the fluids.

Marshmallow root. (affiliate link) This comes in capsules unless you grow your own or find it in bulk somewhere to make into tea. You need to take two capsules four times a day. That’s a lot of swallowing! Keep at it.

Vitamin B6. This can help with urination.

Mullein. (affiliate link) Last year I dried mullein from my yard. This plant, dried and made into a tea, helps with many infections, but it has many spiky fibers that you will need to strain out with a cloth so that you don’t irritate your bladder and urethra. It’s worth it, though, I think. I used mine all up defending against colds and my UTI last time; you can get by without it until you observe the plant in some weedy patch next year.

Raw honey. Real raw honey that hasn’t been filtered has antibiotic properties. Take a teaspoon a couple times a day and also sweeten your hibiscus tea with it.

This is mullein — it’s a huge weed, easy to spot. Instead of paying out big bucks for it, just go yank it up when you see it, wash and dry the leaves, flowers, and roots, and make your own teas from it. Info is readily available online. 

 

After you feel better, Cindy recommends continuing with the Marshmallow root for a few days.

I recommend having all these things on hand in your cupboard — and traveling with them as well, because it does take a bit of effort to round them up. At least the AZO, D-Mannose, and Marshmallow Root. Make yourself a UTI kit and keep it handy.

You might as well try it! It’s a lot cheaper than going to the doctor/ER and you can always go later (by which I mean in the morning when the doctor’s office is open) if you need to.

For ongoing care to avoid UTIs/cystitis:

You can take the D-Mannose on a regular basis, maybe just a teaspoon a day. Mix it into your tea or coffee or take it with warm water. It works better if it can sit in your bladder, so take it at a time that you are not as well hydrated, say, first thing in the morning with your first cup of tea.

Be better about staying hydrated. Have a set amount that you will drink all day, or certain times that you stop and have some water, iced tea, or kombucha; don’t let yourself feel parched; if you do feel parched, get a big drink right away — don’t just continue feeling that way for an hour.

Your urine needs to be a light yellow in the morning — you should barely see it. If it’s dark, you are not drinking enough.

Urinate before and after intercourse and make sure you’re hydrated.

Wipe front to back when you go to the bathroom. Don’t wear undies that are made out of anything other than cotton in the crotch.

Don’t use those menstruation cups that fit inside your vagina. The pressure of the rim of the cup presses against your urethra and can cause a backup of the bacteria that cause UTIs.

By the way, little girls can get UTIs too. I have a friend whose 10-year-old daughter was not doing well for days, acting listless and tired. She realized that the girl had a very low temperature when she finally thought to take it at different times of the day. The doctor was then called and the UTI diagnosed. Just something to have in the back of your mind… Children need to be reminded to drink at regular intervals too!

NB: I also want to say that the one thing you usually hear — drink cranberry juice — is not actually that effective or the best thing to do. It’s not effective because the active ingredient that helps you (the D-Mannose) is too diluted in the juice. It’s not the best because it’s so acidic that it is going to inflame your urethra and/or bladder more, causing more difficulty.

I hope this information helps you! Do you have any ways you avoid a UTI without antibiotics? I’d love to know!

 

 

The post How I cure a UTI without antibiotics appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.