Urinary Tract Infection by Ray Sahelian, M.D. Natural remedy for urinary tract infection with supplements

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common infection that usually occurs when bacteria enter the opening of the urethra and multiply in the urinary tract. The urinary tract includes the kidneys, the tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder (ureters), bladder, and the tube that carries urine from the bladder (urethra). The special connection of the ureters at the bladder help prevent urine from backing up into the kidneys, and the flow of urine through the urethra helps to eliminate bacteria. Men, women, and children develop urinary tract infection.

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Natural supplements used to treat or prevent urinary tract infections
There are many herbs and natural substances that have been tested, but research is still early. Therefore, no firm guidelines can be given at this time. I provide info on some of the natural substances that have been tested. Consult with your doctor before using any of these supplements if you have a urinary tract infection.

Cranberry juice or cranberry extracts is probably the most widely known natural substance used to prevent urinary tract infections. You can find a Cranberry supplement here.

Uva ursi is also known as bearberry and has long been popular for fighting urinary tract infections.

Urinary Tract Infection Cause

The most common cause of urinary tract infection are bacteria from the bowel that live on the skin near the rectum or in the vagina which can spread and enter the urinary tract through the urethra. Once these bacteria enter the urethra they travel upwards causing infection in the bladder and sometimes other parts of the urinary tract. Sexual intercourse is a common cause of urinary tract infections because the female anatomy can make women more prone to urinary tract infections. During sexual intercourse bacteria in the vaginal area is sometimes massaged into the urethra by the motion of the penis. Women who change sexual partners or begin having sexual intercourse more frequently may experience bladder or urinary tract infections more often than women in monogomus relationships. Although it is rare, some women get a urinary tract infection almost every time they have sex. Another cause of urinary tract infection is waiting too long to urinate. The bladder is a muscle that stretches to hold urine and contracts when the urine is released. Waiting very long past the time you first feel the need to urinate causes the bladder to stretch beyond its capacity which over time can weaken the bladder muscle. When the bladder is weakened it may not empty completely and some urine is left in the bladder which may increase the risk of urinary tract infection or bladder infection. Other factors may also increase a woman's risk of developing urinary tract infection including pregnancy, having urinary tract infections or bladder infections as a child, having past menopause, and diabetes.

Pets as cause of urinary tract infection
 Getting an E. coli bug from your pet might lead to a urinary tract infection. Transferring or sharing of E. coli strains among humans and pets within a household, including strains that can cause urinary tract infections, appears to be quite common.

Urinary Tract Infection Symptom
Urinary Tract Infection symptoms include a burning sensation when urinating, frequency, feeling like you need to urinate more often than usual, urgency, feeling the urge to urinate but not being able to; leaking a little urine; urine that smells bad; and cloudy, dark or bloody urine.
 

Urinary Tract Infection Treatment

Urinary tract infections are relatively common in children and are a common cause of fever with absence of other urinary symptoms. It is prudent that pediatricians and urologists perform a correct diagnosis to prevent long-term complications of urinary tract infections, particularly renal scaring. Treatment strategies depend on various factors particularly the child's age and severity of illness. Specifications of antibiotics to be used also depend on the age of the patient and the spectrum of the antibiotic, based on the prevalence of organisms at certain ages and in certain situations. Low dose antibiotic prophylaxis, an important aspect of therapy for urinary tract infections in childhood, may be needed in chronic urinary tract infections. The goal of therapy should always be directed to prevention of renal scaring and its complications including hypertension and renal functional deterioration.
   Oral therapy with an antibiotic effective against gram-negative aerobic coliform bacteria, such as E coli, is the principal treatment intervention in patients with urinary tract infection. The patient with an uncomplicated presumed lower urinary tract infection or simple cystitis who has symptoms of less than 48 hours' duration may be treated with one of the following agents for a total of 3 days:

Co-trimoxazole DS (double strength) (eg, Bactrim, Septra)
Ciprofloxacin or similar fluoroquinolone: Reserving the use of fluoroquinolones for complicated infections or cases with documented drug resistance may help decrease the incidence of bacterial resistance to drugs in the fluoroquinolone class. These drugs must be avoided in pregnancy.
Nitrofurantoin macrocrystals (eg, Macrodantin)
Amoxicillin/clavulanate (eg, Augmentin)

Urinary tract infection in children
Young children treated for urinary tract infections are not likely to benefit from continued antibiotic treatment after the infection clears. The use of prophylactic antibiotics, which involves daily administration of antibiotics to children after an initial urinary tract infection, or UTI, does not prevent recurrence, and it increases the risk of infection caused by antibiotic-resistant bugs. Journal of the American Medical Association, July 11, 2007.

Urinary tract infection emails
Q. Is there a scientific proof that banaba leaves can cure urinary tract infection? bcos i was once diagnosed with UTI and as a Filipino culture where traditional medicines are still preferred to use, neighbors and aunts told me to drink the water from banaba boiled leaves. and i would like to ask also if i can have my American diabetic husband drink the water from banaba boiled leaves.
   A. Many cultures used herbs for various medical conditions. Sometimes they are effective, other times they are old wives' tales. In the case of Banaba, we are not closely familiar with the native usage of this herb in the Philippines. As of Sept 2007, we could not find human studies in the west regarding the use of banaba leaves for urinary tract infection treatment.

Q. Patient, Male age 78 celibate. I took Ciprofloxacin (Bayer Ciproxina 500) 2 per day for 5 days and the symptoms went away. About one month later .Symptoms returned. I took Ciproxina for 10 days but still a problem. New symptoms--1) burning sensation when urinating, 2)intermittent itching feeling in urethra in the penis. Please suggest treatment.
   A. Sorry, but we can't make individual suggestions.