Category Archive: Urinary Tract Infection

Urinary tract infection or UTI is one of the most common health problems faced by people today. This painful infection is 10 times more prevalent in women than in men, with almost 50% of females experiencing this condition at least once during their lifetime. About 30% to 40% of UTIs recur within 6 months after the initial episode. When UTIs do recur, it is often because the treatments used to suppress bacteria seem to work at first, but they do not produce a lasting cure. UTIs can also recur if a woman is infected by different bacteria.  UTIs can also recur when the bacteria has become resistant to the antibiotics prescribed.

Symptoms of UTIs include:

• Pain or burning during urination
• The need to urinate more often than usual
• A feeling of urgency during urination
• Blood or pus in the urine
• Cramps or pain in the lower abdomen
• Chills or fever (fever may be the only symptom in infants and children)
• Strong smelling urine
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Nausea, vomiting, and malaise
• Diarrhea
• Sore vagina

There are many approaches to maintaining the health of the urinary tract that include diet, exercise and herbal supplementation. Green tea is one supplement that has some scientific backing in helping the health of the urinary tract. Certain herbs are purported to help with UTIs, including green tea.

Numerous studies, including one carried out by the US National Library of Medicine have shown that green tea has antimicrobial effect on E. coli bacteria that cause UTIs.  The data also adds to the current information on the potential health benefits of green tea.

To prevent UTI, drink two or three cups of tea daily. Green tea contains certain antioxidants that one recent study found can reduce bladder inflammation. Here are some more health benefits of green tea.

Other natural remedies include coconut water, D-Mannose, Chinese herbs for treating UTI (this can be purchased from Chinese medicine halls), boiled barley water and drinking lots of clear fluids.  Stay away from acidic fruits and food, spicy foods, alcohol, coffee, citrus fruits, fizzy drinks / sodas, artificial sweeteners, white flour products and sugary foods.

When Cass had a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) last Sunday, I panicked.  She should not be having another UTI.  The last UTI was 2 months ago. Why is this happening so frequently? She has had a Uretheral Reimplantation surgery done when she was 13 months old to fix her Grade 3 Kidney Reflux.  The post-surgery MAG 3 scan showed no more Kidney Reflux.  She has not gotten a UTI attack for over 5 years.  I can only surmise that it must be due to her holding back on peeing ever since she started Primary 2 early this year.  I know she must have felt embarrassed to be seeking permission from her teacher to go to the toilet every hourly, in the presence of her classmates.   I hope that after this bout of UTI attack, Cass knows the seriousness and consequences of holding back urine, not keeping herself clean down there and not drinking enough fluids.

During the latest UTI attack, I was steadfast determined that I did not want Cass to be hospitalized and be on IV antibiotics drips and oral antibiotics again.  Antibiotics only offer short-term relief and wrecks havoc to the body.  Each treatment with hospitalization would cost us RM6,000! We don’t have that much money to be spending on hospital bills so frequently!  I wanted to find the most effective home remedies for Cass. I spent days reading up on every article I could find on the internet with regard to treating UTI naturally and effectively.

The below is my UTI home remedy treatment for Cass.  The first spurt of pain on her bladder region came on Sunday morning and increased in intensity by the hours.  By Wednesday, she was totally pain free, after following my home remedy.

1) Waterfall D-Mannose (WDM) – every 2 hourly. I woke up at around 2:30am and 4:45am to feed her with this and to bring her to pee for  3 consecutive nights. Bacteria attaches to WDM and gets flushed out from the urinary tract. I bought this product online from Sweet Cures, United Kingdom.

2) Izumio hydrogen water – 4 times a day. You can email me at shireenyong@gmail.com to find out more on Izumio.

3) Manuka honey + propolis – twice a day.

4) Fresh coconut water

5) Ural – twice a day

6) Lots of barley water. Barley is alkaline and good in cleansing the bladder and kidneys.

7) Massaging the abdomen (the bladder and kidneys region) with Melaleuca oil + coconut oil and Peppermint oil.   Melaleuca oil, peppermint oil and coconut oil are known for their ability to kill bacteria.

Though Cass had no more pain by Wednesday night, I kept her at home for 2 more school days for her to fully recuperate at home.  She needed to drink the different kinds of potion every hour of the day and pees every hourly too.  Regular peeing is one of the best ways to flush out the bad bacteria from her urinary tract.

Precaution

UTI home remedies may not work for everyone.  If you have  flank side pain (pain at your sides where the kidneys are), nausea, vomiting and fever, it is best for you to consult a doctor as these are the symptoms of a kidney infection.

Most urinary tract infections (UTIs) involve only the bladder and urethra (the lower urinary system). Pyelonephritis (kidney infection) results when a UTI progresses to involve the upper urinary system (the kidneys and ureters).

Waterfall D-Mannose Caveat

One caveat with D-mannose is that it is only effective with UTIs caused by E. coli infection. While this accounts for about 90% of cases, there are 10% that will not benefit from this treatment.  D-mannose is effective because it attaches to E. coli bacteria, causing them to stick to each other and preventing them from sticking to the walls of the urinary tract.  The bacteria can then easily be eliminated from the body during urination.  If your UTI is caused by other bacteria like the vicious Klebsiella, then WDM may not be able to treat the UTI.  I  remember very vividly when Cass had UTIs caused by the Klebsiella bacteria before her surgery and the bacteria did not respond to antibiotics. Bacteria can mutate and become resistant to antibiotics, thus I am not keen on using antibiotics.

Disclaimer:

The information on this site is provided as an information resource only and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes.   Not every remedy will work on everyone. So is conventional medical treatment. It very much depends on the constituents of the person and the conditions peculiar to that person. Whatever the reasons, this article does not claim the information provided is totally accurate and reliable and will cure everyone. The purpose of this article is merely to inform visitors that there are alternative cures for all ailments.

You are therefore advised to consult your registered medical physicians as a matter of due diligence.

These have been Baby’s supplements lately:

Nutrifresh from E.Excel (freeze dried blended combo of fruits and vegetables, soy protein and rice powder which supports the immune system), Refresh from E.Excel (enhances and cleanses the kidneys and urinary tract system), Manuka honey, barley water and Waterfall D-Mannose (prevents UTI).  I used to feed her with Millenium from E.Excel (cactus juice) but have stopped buying it as it’s freaking expensive, costing over RM500 for a box of 2 packs) which can only last Baby for about 5 weeks.

The flower mug contains about 7-8 ounces of barley water, a sachet of Nutrifresh, a sachet of Refresh, 1 teaspoon of Manuka honey and Waterfall D-Mannose.   This mug of expensive ‘urinary tract system cleanser’ will be fed to Baby in 3 feedings (about 2-3 ounces in each sitting). I thank God that Baby has not gotten anymore UTI attacks ever since her surgeries in May this year and I pray that she will never ever have another UTI attack.