Demystifying Urinary Tract Infections

Urinary tract infections are quite common among women. They are annoying and can affect your quality of life while you are suffering from them. There are some things that you can do to decrease the chance of getting them and there are also some natural treatments to minimize your suffering if you do have an infection.

Here are a couple of simple things that you can do to prevent getting a urinary tract infection:

• 1. Hydrate properly. Drink enough water to properly hydrate your body and it also helps to ensure bacteria get flushed out of your bladder. Your kidneys and bladder need to have water in order to function properly.
• 2. Urinate on a regular basis. Holding your bladder for an excess amount of time can make it easier for bacteria to grow and create an infection.
• 3. Urinate after sexual intercourse. There are bacteria on our skin and sexual intercourse can make it easy for the bacteria to travel up your urethra and into your bladder. By urinating after sexual intercourse, your urine will wash the bacteria into the toilet. You do not need to urinate a large quantity for this to help.
• 4. Balance your hormones. An imbalance of hormones in your body can contribute to “atrophy” of the vaginal tissue–dry and irritated tissue. Since your urethra is in the same area as your vagina, the atrophy affects it as well. When the tissue is dry and more irritated, it makes it easy for bacteria to travel into the bladder. In menopause, I find that topical Estriol (a bioidentical Estrogen) applied in the vaginal area can reverse the atrophy and greatly reduce your risk of getting a urine tract infection.
• 5. Wipe front to back when wiping after going to the bathroom. If you wipe back to front, you run the risk of introducing bacteria from the rectal area into the urethra and bladder.
• 6. Avoid bubble baths and scented lotions, etc in the vaginal area. This area of your body is quite sensitive and it is best not to introduce lotions, etc as they can cause irritation which makes it easier for bacteria to enter your bladder.
• 7. Avoid spermicides or other chemicals in the vaginal area. These can be irritating and make it easier for bacteria to take hold and cause an infection.
• 8. Get an ozone blood treatment to help increase the functioning of your immune system. Ozone is an IV treatment that is effective in assisting your body in increasing its oxygen utilization. This results in improved cellular functioning, including your immune system.

Natural ways to help treat a urine tract infection:

• 1. Drink a lot of water. This will help you to flush out the bacteria.
• 2. Increase your intake of Vitamin C. It helps to boost your immune system to fight the infection. I particularly love the IV meyer’s cocktail as it gives your body a boost of high dose Vitamin C.
• 3. Take apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar makes the urine acidic which inhibits the growth of bacteria and makes it easier to flush the bacteria out of the bladder.
• 4. Take liquid silver. Silver is a natural therapy for both viruses and bacteria. When having an illness, get a good quality liquid silver and put a teaspoon under your tongue, hold it for a minute, and then swallow it. Do this about 7 times a day while you are ill. As you feel better, decrease how often you take it over a few days and then discontinue the silver. I have found silver to be quite effective for urine tract infections.
• 5. Take a daily probiotic. It helps to support the natural bacteria that should live within your body. The normal bacteria acts as a line of defense against the bad bacteria. Eating fermented foods (kefir, etc) also restores the body’s natural bacteria.
• 6. Take D-mannose powder. This has been shown to help keep the bacteria from sticking to your bladder. Taking D-mannose can assist your body in eliminating the bacteria.

Do communicate with the office while treating a urine infection naturally. If you get a fever, back pain, or any increase in symptoms please obtain medical assistance. Natural remedies do work, however they are not fool proof. If you are a man, you should seek medical help if you have any signs of a urinary tract infection. This article was geared for women. It is rare for men to get a urinary tract infection and the treatment is a bit more complicated.

By following the above recommendations you should find yourself getting urine infections less often and utilizing less antibiotics.