Help For Bladder Infections

Maybe you’ve never had one, or maybe you get them 5 or 6 times a year.  No matter what, a bladder infection is a miserable experience. Natural help for bladder infections usually involves herbal therapies that do work well.

1). Here’s more ideas….

You know to drink plenty of water once you have an infection, to literally flush the bacteria down the drain.  That works pretty well in the early hours.

But chronic dehydration is one reason for recurring bladder infections. So, get more fluids from your daily vegetables and fruits as well as from drinking your spring water, or reverse-osmosis filtered water.

2). Next, if you are past menopause, the mucosal tissues lining the bladder and urethra tend to thin out, and can get infected more easily than thicker, younger tissues.  Vaginal membranes similarly can get dry and infection-prone, as well as uncomfortable.

It is helpful to have an educated professional test your hormones (I use saliva testing) and make sure your progesterone levels are in range.  Estrogen too, although most test results I see show low progesterone and adequate estrogen.

3). After antibiotics for any reason, any bacteria that survive tends to mutate and grow more resistant to your own immune fighters as well as to future drugs.  I always caution my clients NEVER to take antibiotics unless a). you have actually tried everything you and your doctor and the Internet have told you might help, and b). you are now in danger of dying from the bacterial infection.  That would be a good time to take them!

4).  If you take acid blockers for heartburn, your chances of bladder infections increase.  PPI’s (Proton Pump Inhibitors) are notorious for causing urinary retention and changing the pH of the bladder.  Yet another reason to work on resolving the cause of your reflux.  (See Archived Issues on this topic).

Natural help for Bladder Infections from a sugar!

My favorite remedy for UTI’s is a simple, non-digestible sugar called Mannose.  You can get it at any health store, or from us. (It’s good to keep some on hand for emergencies).  Simply stir it in water and drink three times a day when needed. It won’t affect your blood sugar.

The non digestible Mannose molecules will be directed to your kidneys for excretion, and as they pass through the bladder and urethra, they will coat the mucous membrane with a slippery layer of sugar molecules.  The bacteria simply won’t stick to your bladder, and you urinate them right out!

Mannose only works on E. Coli bacteria (the most common kind in a bladder infection), so if you don’t see results right away, get to the doctor as you may have another type of infection. E. Coli generally comes from contact with fecal matter, so be more careful with that.

Mannose can cause stomach and colon upset if your gut is in bad health from taking antacids, antibiotics, and living on stress and bad food.  If you get diarrhea, reduce the Mannose and take other actions, such as taking Cranberry Extracts, drinking extra water, and taking herbs such as Echinacea, Slippery Elm, Uva Ursi and more. Our favorite Clinic herb is Morinda. Very useful for chronic infections of all kinds.

For those prone to constant UTI’s, Mannose may be taken indefinitely.  Generally, however, don’t ever take an herb or remedy unless you actually need it.  Adding a daily dose of Probiotics however will help normalize the bacteria in all your mucous membranes.  We sell this excellent probiotic in my online store and in my clinic.  I take it daily.

Another helpful measure is to take baking soda for a short time to alkalize your body.  This helps any time you are fighting an infection.

One last thought.  The majority of people I see with chronic UTI’s have old expired silver fillings in their mouths. There may be a link between the excretion of toxins from old fillings and chronic inflammation of the bladder.