# Natural remedies for UTI other than cranberry and garlic?



## OldFashionedMama

Any suggestions? I haven't had one in YEARS-until now  I started having very mild symptoms on Monday and tonight I'm starting to throw protein in my urine-no pain yet but I'm sure that's on its way. I hate cranberry but I'll do it if I have to. I really need to avoid antibiotics. I'm still nursing my daughter and antibiotics=thrush=misery for me. What else can I use to knock this thing out before it gets worse?


----------



## NaeKid

I did a quick-search and couldn't find any more information beyond what you already know. For others wondering, I found a .gov site that has all kinds of information (reasons for, preventing and treatment).

Urinary Tract Infections in Adults


----------



## catsraven

Some pharmacy's have cranberry pills. I hate cranberry Juice it is so nasty! The pills are cheap and you dont have that nasty taste.


----------



## NaeKid

catsraven said:


> Some pharmacy's have cranberry pills. I hate cranberry Juice it is so nasty! The pills are cheap and you dont have that nasty taste.


That is something that I don't understand. I purchase cranberry juice all the time and usually have several bottles in my storage-area as well as one opened in my fridge. I find it quite yummy, and, as a mixer (Vodka, 7-up and Cran over ice), there isn't anything much better.


----------



## mdprepper

Urinary Tract Infection

Natural Diuretic Herbs for a Urinary Tract Infection

Cornsilk tea is supposed to work well. But I have not tried it yet.


----------



## bunkerbob

My wife takes cranberry fruit 1500mg plus vitamin C softgels regularly to avoid problems.


----------



## catsraven

NaeKid said:


> That is something that I don't understand. I purchase cranberry juice all the time and usually have several bottles in my storage-area as well as one opened in my fridge. I find it quite yummy, and, as a mixer (Vodka, 7-up and Cran over ice), there isn't anything much better.


Well NaeKid some people just dont like the taste of cranberrys


----------



## NaeKid

catsraven said:


> Well NaeKid some people just dont like the taste of cranberrys


I'm sorry, but, it might just be a Canadian-thing. I don't know how many Cran-Vodka-7's I make in a night when I am slingin' drinks - never bothered to count, and there is nothin' like having cranberry-sauce on my turkey or in a sandwich and now I feel like I just de-railed this thread and should start-up a new one in the recipe section


----------



## UncleJoe

No. It's not just a Canadian-thing. I love cranberry juice and I too have a few bottles in storage. My mom makes fresh cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving which is a shame because I could eat it anytime. Don't really care for the jellied stuff you get in the can though. I guess I'm spoiled.


----------



## OldFashionedMama

Well Im drinking the cranberry anyway. Most of the herbal things I looked up are off limits to lactating women  This is really bad. I tried calling my doctor and they put me on hold for ten minutes, during which my mom called me so I just gave up on them. There's an urgent care place in town now, so I think I'll just go there and get my stinkin' antibiotics, then stop and get some acidophilus just in case. It figures this would happen a week before school starts. I was so tired today I could barely move. Really wanted to have the house in order before I have to go back...Sigh.


----------



## OldFashionedMama

NaeKid said:


> I'm sorry, but, it might just be a Canadian-thing. I don't know how many Cran-Vodka-7's I make in a night when I am slingin' drinks - never bothered to count, and there is nothin' like having cranberry-sauce on my turkey or in a sandwich and now I feel like I just de-railed this thread and should start-up a new one in the recipe section


De-rail away NaeKid-ANYTHING to take my mind off the pain is welcome.

My grandmother makes a cranberry relish for Thanksgiving that is fabulous. I just can't take cranberry by itself. I am liking the Cran-Vodka-7 idea though! My Captain Morgans and Coke are starting to get boring... (not that my alcohol habit is helping my medical condition  )


----------



## NaeKid

OFM - I would highly suggest that stayin' away from the "good-stuff" during this period of time might be a better idea. I love my booze, but, when I feel my kidneys going crazy due to (yet another) kidney stone, I quit drinking my favorites and goto straight water, Gatoraid and teas.

You might want to make a pot (or two) of herbal tea to sip on (hot or cold) through-out the day to help flush-out any possible infection.

After that, you may want to try my favorite cola-mix - Jack-n-Jolt :wave:


----------



## OldFashionedMama

Well, I couldn't get ahold of my doctor so I went to the ER this evening. I wasn't there long, thankfully-although it could have been shorter if some guy who got attacked by hornets and a couple who wrecked their car didn't come in right after I did...obviously their cases needed more immediate attention. The doctor came back with a script for Cipro and a pain medication, and I suddenly snapped out of my brain fog and said "Oh I forgot to mention I'm nursing. Are those safe?" Turns out they were not, so he switched the script to Bactrim, and ditched the pain med completely. To be sure, I asked the pharmacist to look it up, and it was listed as L3, which is the lowest risk category, so I should be fine. I can't wait for this thing to go away so I can get back to normal life


----------



## Kaytastrophy

If you take a bath in warm water with betadine in it it might help. I also take echinacea
but don't know how that would effect your breast milk. You can also douche with betadine or vinegar which might help. Cranberry pills are great as well. Why not look
for echinacea tea maybe that would be milder than the straight echinacea capsules. Good luck. I had hundreds of uti's and several kidney stones as well. It is miserable.
I also had my husband swab my urethra with gentian violet once and it helped. I already had a full fledged uti with pain. I douched with betadine and water, and took
cranberry capsules and echinacea caps and cleared it up and it didn't come back for almost a year. So I believe we can do it as long as it doesn't spread up the urinary tract to far. The cystitis can be treated as home. Drink lots of water and acidic drinks.
Try drinking water with honey and apple cider vinegar, the kind with the live mother in it.
Bragg makes one you can buy in most large grocery or health food stores.


----------



## OldFashionedMama

I can't use echinacea because I am breastfeeding. I'll have to look into the other stuff besides the cranberry. I'm almost done with the antibiotics now, thankfully! Interesting way to use gentian violet. I know that is used as a treatment for thrush. Might have to give that a try...


----------



## LeePal

*oldie but try at risk*

When I was a youngster I was prone to kidney infections. I had a particularly bad one while at my Grandmother's in Arkansas. You have to know that she was Arkansas first registered LPN and she was pretty well versed on the old home remedies of the "hillbilly folk". Like Bitsy Bug for an ear infection, any number of poultices for this and that. But when I got so bad that I was curled up in the fetal position crying cause I had an elephant standing on my kidneys Grandma fixed me up. She put 3 drops of "Oil of Turpentine" (not the paint thinner but something from the drugstore) in a teaspoon of sugar and had me down it and followed by a glass of water. In about 30 minutes the elephant stepped off my back, I was able to pee and it didn't burn and in the rest of my 42 or so years from then I've NEVER had another kidney infection. My sister, who had been dosed with the same stuff as I went to Med School in NOLA. She found out why it worked so well. Seems that the Oil of Turp. strips the renal tubular epithelial cells out of the nephrons of the kidney (like striping the lining out) and they are usually the cells that the bacteria are affecting. Kinda like pouring drain-O down the pipes. Good news- infection gone. Bad news- she told me that those cells don't grow back. Hmmmmmm. But if you're hurting really bad and can't make it to an ER or Dr cause of circumstances be my guest.


----------



## lhalfcent

Have you looked into Uva Ursi?
here is a good article from Natural News that might help explain it better.
blessings

Uva Ursi herb reverses urinary tract infections


----------



## PS360

Chokeberries (Aronia), work like cranberries.


----------



## gamom

I think what you're missing here is the fact that for Cranberry juice to work it has to be the UNSWEETENED version. Most cranberry juice we are all talking about how great it tastes (cause I like it too) is a cocktail and sweetened. Straight, unsweetened cranberry juice can be hard to get down.

OldFashioned ~ I also eat as many blueberries as I can get my hands on. This helps alleviate how much cranberry juice I need to drink. Also sometimes flushing with water can be enough to rid the body of the bacteria.... this means drinking so much water you feel like you will drown in it! And when all else fails, I find colloidal silver works wonders on everything we've ever contracted. I just like to try other things before relying on this alllll the time. Hope that helps. (And yes, it's safe for not only nursing mothers, but pregnant mothers and babies as well.)

OH yes, forgot to mention Nettles for UT issues including breaking down/dissolving kidney stones (helps with female issues as well). Great infusion, safe for nursing mothers, etc. Has a woody flavor but my 16 year and I love it. My 15 year could do without it altogether and the youngest two girls 12 and 7 will drink it without a lot of hoopla like the 15 year old but they'd rather not drink it at all... we drink it unsweetened or sweetened with stevia leaves. Haven't given any to the boys to know how they like it.


----------



## SaskBound

gamom said:


> I think what you're missing here is the fact that for Cranberry juice to work it has to be the UNSWEETENED version. Most cranberry juice we are all talking about how great it tastes (cause I like it too) is a cocktail and sweetened. Straight, unsweetened cranberry juice can be hard to get down.


Sorry, but I have to disagree with this. It can be sweetened - Ocean Spray is my standby, as I get UTI's a couple times a year. I try to drink a 2-litre bottle every day for 3 days, and that usually solves it, no doctor necessary. The cocktail works fine, but what really does NOT work is the 100% juice, no-sugar-added stuff, since it is mostly apple and grape juice, with a little cranberry for flavor. You have to watch the ingredient list. If cranberry juice (from concentrate) is the second ingredient after water, or even the third after water and sugar, you're probably okay. However, the 100% juice ones seem to list cranberry juice near the end. I discovered this after I switched to 'healthier' no-sugar-added stuff, and found it completely ineffective for the UTI's.


----------



## mtlad

gamom said:


> I think what you're missing here is the fact that for Cranberry juice to work it has to be the UNSWEETENED version. Most cranberry juice we are all talking about how great it tastes (cause I like it too) is a cocktail and sweetened. Straight, unsweetened cranberry juice can be hard to get down.
> 
> OldFashioned ~ I also eat as many blueberries as I can get my hands on. This helps alleviate how much cranberry juice I need to drink. Also sometimes flushing with water can be enough to rid the body of the bacteria.... this means drinking so much water you feel like you will drown in it! And when all else fails, I find colloidal silver works wonders on everything we've ever contracted. I just like to try other things before relying on this alllll the time. Hope that helps. (And yes, it's safe for not only nursing mothers, but pregnant mothers and babies as well.)
> 
> OH yes, forgot to mention Nettles for UT issues including breaking down/dissolving kidney stones (helps with female issues as well). Great infusion, safe for nursing mothers, etc. Has a woody flavor but my 16 year and I love it. My 15 year could do without it altogether and the youngest two girls 12 and 7 will drink it without a lot of hoopla like the 15 year old but they'd rather not drink it at all... we drink it unsweetened or sweetened with stevia leaves. Haven't given any to the boys to know how they like it.


Great post!

also, remember that before, during, and after - focus on UT health -keep very hydrated, probotics!, and general body part (esp. partner) balance and health.


----------



## mtlad

*Tannin*

In addition to all of the other great ideas of prevention, try to decide to like certain foods and especially drinks with tannins in it e.g wine, tea, certain fruit juices etc. this will give you somthing to drink to make your parts work and will also provide tanning which may protect the UT. (and many other parts) hmm... lots and lots of wine will help with the pain as well...


----------



## Alenjacks

Nice information provide on Natural remedies. I was searching for it. I will try and will see the effects.
Thanks!


----------

