How to Cure Urinary Tract Infections Without Antibiotics

Urinary tract infections are infections that occur anywhere in the urinary tract, including the bladder, kidneys and ureters. These infections are most common in women and older men. If you have a urinary tract infection, you may have pain and difficulty urinating, a burning sensation, cloudy urine and a fever. UTIs are most often treated with antibiotics, but if you prefer a more natural approach there are plenty of options to kill the bacteria and restore your health.

Things You'll Need

• Calcium citrate/magnesium citrate supplements
• Castor oil
• Hot water bottle
• Cranberry juice
• Bromelain
• Herbal treatments

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Instructions

• 1

  Begin taking a calcium citrate/magnesium citrate supplement immediately upon noticing the symptoms of a UTI. These supplements will lower the pH level of your urine, which is believed to affect the ability of bacteria to grow (Reference 1). Follow the dosage recommendations on the bottle, as they will vary from brand to brand.

• 2

  Visit a naturopath or herbal specialist. Never try to choose herbs for yourself to cure an infection. The naturopath will listen to your symptoms, frequency and severity of your urinary tract infections and will find out about your overall health. He or she will then recommend herbs and dosage for you to cure your current infection and recommend a regimen to prevent them from coming back. Some of the herbs that you will likely be offered are goldenrod, uva ursi, cleaver, horsetail and lovage. You only need to do this once. After you have the herbs you need, you can take them with confidence the next time you get an infection.

• 3

  Relieve the pain while the herbs are treating the infection. While much of the UTI pain is internal, there is often external skin irritation as well. Apply castor oil directly to the irritated skin and cover with a piece of soft fabric. Apply heat over the fabric to help the oil absorb into the skin. A water bottle is recommended rather than a heating pad to prevent burning sensitive skin.

• 4

  Drink cranberry juice. It must be 100 percent juice, not a cranberry cocktail, because those have a lot of added sugar. Sugar will only irritate the infection and encourage the growth of more bacteria. If you find the taste of pure cranberry juice to be too bitter, mix it with some 100 percent apple juice. Again, be sure the apple juice has no sugar added.

• 5

  Allow three to five days for your natural cures to begin working. If you are still suffering a great deal after this time, you may need to take an antibiotic after all. If this occurs, you can encourage the antibiotic to work quickly by taking a supplement of bromelain with your pills. Bromelain comes from pineapples and is known to make antibiotics more effective and efficient (Resource 2).