Few things in life are more annoying, uncomfortable and even painful than a urinary tract infection (UTI). They can also cause some very serious consequences if not promptly treated, such as impaired kidney function or even a life-threatening infection.
While antibiotics are sometimes warranted, over-use can often cause more harm than good.
It’s important to understand what causes and exacerbates these kinds of infections so you can then use natural UTI remedies that really work.
The biology of UTIs
Women are more susceptible to UTIs because their urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body) is much shorter than it is for men. This means germs have a shorter distance to travel from the outside to the bladder, which is home base for most UTIs. The bacteria attach to the walls of the bladder and wreak havoc from there.
If the infection is not taken care of quickly, the infection can continue up the tubes that lead from the bladder to the kidneys, and a kidney infection can cause permanent damage to the vital role they play in flushing toxins and waste out of your body.
Traditional UTI treatment – antibiotics
The most common culprits causing UTIs are bacteria, usually Escherichia coli, otherwise known as E. coli. We commonly think of E. coli as the dangerous micro-organism that comes from unsanitary food processing. But this strain of E. coli is a normal part of healthy digestive flora – it just doesn't belong in the urinary tract.
The traditional approach of the modern medical establishment is a full round of antibiotics. Although this treatment will quickly eliminate the infection – which is sometimes necessary – there are often good reasons to seek alternatives for mild or slower bouts of UTIs.
Antibiotics don’t distinguish between good bacteria (gut flora) and bad bacteria, so taking them can wreak havoc on digestive and immune health.
Many women that suffer from reoccurring UTIs and treat them with antibiotics then wind up with a yeast infection because the antibiotics kill off the good bacteria that keep the yeast in check. It’s a vicious cycle that leaves many women feeling powerless to do anything about it.
For more information on why antibiotics are often a bad choice, read this post: How to Recover from Antibiotics.
UTI remedies that really work
The good news is that there are ways to treat a UTI without turning to antibiotics. Note, however, that if the infection is not going away within 4-5 days or you have symptoms of a possible kidney infection – such as a fever, severe back pain or blood in your urine – you may still need to use antibiotics. In these cases, you can use these remedies to prevent future infections from occurring.
Some basic common sense measures are to wear cotton underwear and loose fitting bottoms. After workouts, don't hang out in sweaty clothing. Avoid baths in favor of showers. Now let's looks at some less obvious UTI remedies…
Avoid sugar
Sugars are pure fuel for all kinds of pathogenic bacteria, including the ones most likely to cause a UTI. If you’re prone to UTIs, you have to vastly reduce your sugar intake as well as grains, alcohol, and pasteurized dairy products that are all rapidly turned into sugars in the body.
If you already have a UTI, the best thing you can do is immediately eliminate all of these foods from your diet. This will help you get a handle on the infection as quickly as possible. Keep your diet as simple as possible, focusing on filtered water, herbal teas, veggies, pasture-raised meats and fats, and homemade soups and stews.
Flush harmful bacteria from the urinary tract
While antibiotics go in like an atomic bomb and indiscriminately destroy microflora – both good and bad – there are a few tried and true supplements that gently flush out bacteria from the urinary tract while leaving beneficial bacteria intact.
Cranberry juice
Cranberry juice is one of the more commonly known UTI remedies. Cranberry juice contains a substance called epicatechin that prevents the offending bacteria from attaching to bladder walls and also acts as an antioxidant to support healthy immune function. That said, it is essential to avoid conventional cranberry juices that are also loaded with extra sugars which will negate the positive benefits.
Get unsweetened cranberry juice, at your local health food store (or in bulk online), dilute it in a ratio of about 1:8 with filtered water, and sip it all day long. This stuff is not cheap, but it is effective.
Cranberry extract
Another good option is a cranberry extract – like this one – which doesn't have the fructose or sugar you find in juice.
D-mannose
A third option, and quite powerful option, is D-mannose. It’s simple sugar found in peaches, apples and berries, including cranberries. It coats the E. coli bacteria in a way that prevents them from sticking to the inside walls of the bladder, allowing the bacteria to be flushed away with urine.
D-mannose is quickly absorbed in the upper GI tract, leaving all the beneficial E. coli where it’s needed in the lower GI tract. The D-mannose is then sent through the kidneys and bladder, where it can work its magic to flush out the E. coli from the urinary tract.
Chose a D-mannose powder derived from natural, non-GMO sources that has few additional ingredients – I recommend this one.
In my practice, I find that some patients find better results with cranberry and others with D-mannose. Experiment to see what works best for you – or use both.
Support your body's beneficial bacteria
Studies have shown that the consumption of fermented milk products containing probiotics (like yogurt and kefir) can help prevent UTIs (source). Again, it’s worth noting that yogurt is a great source of probiotics, but not all yogurts are created equal. Even the commercial organic brands are loaded with sugars that feed bad bacteria.
Consider taking a probiotic supplement to replenish the healthy flora in your system. This is my current favorite probiotic. As for foods, choose unsweetened, yogurt or kefir and other good sources of probiotics like kombucha or traditionally cultured sauerkraut, pickles or kimchi. Read more about the health benefits of fermented foods in this post.
Support a healthy immune system every day
For chronically recurring UTIs, it may be helpful to incorporate these UTI remedies on a regular basis while you work to build a healthier immune system capable of fighting off infections. You’ll find the most essential information you need for that in my articles 6 Immune Boosting Foods You May Be Missing and this post that contains an effective immune boosting protocol.
A final reminder: If your UTI is not resolved within 4-5 days or you have symptoms of a possible kidney infection – such as a fever, severe back pain or blood in your urine – you may still need to use antibiotics. This is a good time to visit urgent care.
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Last time a UTI attacked, I found D-mannose powder. I will never go back to the dr. for antibiotics! It was totally gone in 3 days, and I had almost instant improvement with one heaping spoonful in a glass of water. Good stuff!
Hi where can you get that d mannose powder please i suffer with uti all the time
thanks to share your opinion
Hi there! I’m new to this blog. I actually stumbled upon your blog for another reason that I can’t place now (love it when that happens! hehe). I am someone that has suffered from re-occurring bladder infections for a long time and have just hit a wall. I’m so tired of dealing with it. It is so true that sugar is the culprit. If I get into a rut where I consume too much processed foods, boom UTI. So, when this was the first thing I saw on your site, I new it was love at first site. Ha! Pun intended ;). I love what you’ve got going on here, the recipes, health tips etc. Pumped to be a part of this community. But seriously, back to this post. I’ve been doing my own research on more holistic approaches to treating/preventing UTI’s and everything you’ve covered is what I’ve been finding too. I just cannot believe that antibiotics are still being prescribed before trying the D-Mannose. I’ve never tried it but it sounds like such a better alternative. I’ve been totally clueless as to actual products that would be recommended. So a huge THANK YOU for sharing your tips.
Thanks Angie! I’m glad you’re loving the blog 🙂
I really appreciate your helpful advice about alternative treatments as well as instructions for keeping tabs on symptoms that may need allopathic treatments despite home remedy attempts! It makes me feel empowered to try healing myself without throwing out the support of my doctors altogether. And, I trust your advice so much because of this! Thanks!
D-Mannose! I used to get UTIs chronically and then I found that miracle remedy. Antibiotics wouldn’t even touch them anymore and other alternative treatments did nothing. Haven’t had one in over 10 years after a couple of courses of d-mannose!
I get UTI’s chronically and hate taking antibiotics. Is D-Mannose OTC or something I can get at a health food store or local store? Looking forward to trying this the next time I have this awful thing :/
thanks!
Hi Lynn, yes you can get D-Mannose over the counter. I have included a link to a recommended non-GMO brand in the post.
I have suffered with chronic UTIs and since I was 12 years old. Right now I have a terrible one and I am tired of going to the doctor and not getting any results. I have gotten to the point where medication no longer works. When I was younger and living in the Caribbean I used to drink lotsoff coconut water and that did the trick. I am going to have to try D-Mannose.
Aronia berries (“chokeberries”) have been a miracle worker for me! They are said to have the highest concentration of antioxidants in a berry. While I usually just eat the berries throughout the day, you can find the juice/concentrate in the health food section at grocery stores. It’s not cheap, but it might be worth a try.
Any luck with treating a UTI due to Group B Strep? Thanks!
Hi Jodi, thanks for your question. I would try Uva Ursi and/or Usnea in tincture form along with all the other recommendations in this post.
Do you have any remedy for chronic yeast infections ? I take probiotic daily and eat yogurt regularly but seem to get them more often now as I’ve gotten older .
Hi Casey, chronic yeast infections are most often the result of an internal imbalance. I would suggest that you cut out all sugars, and keep your consumption of starch low as you are healing the gut flora.
Hi Emily,
Is d-mannose safe while nursing?
Those tips are good for utis caused by e.coli. for enterococcus unfortunately they don’t work.
Hey 🙂 I have just stumbled across this blog post (from pinterest) because i have been up all night vomiting and having diarrhea (sorry if thats TMI). I’m having bad lower back pain and I thought it was just from not getting any sleep and being in uncomfortable positions, however, it also hurts when I pee and that’s what causes me to believe maybe I have a UTI, I really hope that it hasn’t progressed to a kidney infection. What do you think? I don’t have insurance or the funds to visit the doctor so anything natural that I could afford would be awesome! Thanks for such an informative post! 🙂
Hi Jessica, unfortunately I can’t give medical advice as I am not your healthcare practitioner. I do hope you have managed to treat yourself naturally and effectively, though.
D-Mannose is a God send for me! I’m a paraplegic and have been catheterizing myself for 12 years now, so I’m a CHRONIC UTI sufferer. I used to get them at least once a month due to cathing. I did research and discovered D-Mannose pills WITH cranberry extract included in them, and ever since I started taking them daily (and after intercourse to help flush my system), I rarely get them. I only had ONE UTI for an entire year! I HIGHLY recommend D-Mannose if you are a chronic UTI sufferer like myself. I order mine from vitacost.com and get the vitacost brand.
I used the D- Mannose powder too. It took a week to start feeling better, but it worked and I didn’t have my good bacteria destroyed by antibiotics!
Hi Emily,
Thanks for sharing this article. UTIs are more common in women than men, and having diabetes puts one at higher risk for one, as well. An untreated UTI can cause confusion and delirium in older adults. Talk with your doctor about what you can do to prevent UTIs as much as possible (plenty of fluids, low dose antibiotics, cranberry juice or supplements, probiotics, etc.). But here you have mentioned some good remedies to prevent & cope up with this problems. I’ll follow your remedies when it comes to me.
Thanks for sharing this!! Going to a doctor when you suspect you have a uti is of the utmost importance, but there are definitely things you can do to try and alleviate the pain and uncomfortable symptoms in the meantime. I suffer from chronic uti’s so I take a daily maintenance formula that has seriously helped me, it’s made by Cystex. But when I do unfortunately get a urinary tract infection, I take the Cystex Urinary Pain Relief tablets. They alleviate the pain and also are the only over the counter uti medication with an antibacterial agent to prevent the infection from worsening until i see a doctor. It’s saved me from some really horrible infections, I highly recommend trying any of Cystex’s products. Their website is also super informative on uti’s in general, https://www.cystex.com/
If you get UTIs, the Lady Soma Cranberry Concentrate is a godsend! Take as soon as you feel one coming on and keep taking 3x/day, wait 45 mins, then drink a ton of water, and you should be UTI free without needing antibiotics. Obviously, your mileage may vary and this is not a doctor’s advice, but it has worked for me and saved me tons of money in copays and antibiotic prescriptions. Great to have on hand for those of us who are UTI prone.
Thanks for the information about UTIs. My wife thinks that she has one, so this will be helpful for her. If antibiotics hurt your stomach more than help it, she’ll try some of these other methods you mentioned!
I put a teaspoon of cream of tarter in a glass of water (or lemonade…. it’s really sour) anytime I feel a uti coming on. By morning it’s usually gone. Occasionally I’ll need 2 doses. I believe it’s an old native American remedy.
I am sharing what I did/am doing for my very first UTI.
Yesterday I started having my very first UTI. I went all day without doing anything about it other than drinking lots of water. By the evening it progressed to very painful burning during urination as well as uncomfortable burning even went not peeing.
I started taking interanally, Young Living’s Inner Defense, magnesium pills, probiotics, and cranberry juice. Externally, I put several drops of Myrrh and Clove essential oils on my underwear. Maybe that was over kill but being it was my first UTI and I couldn’t sleep due to the burning, I was desperate! By about 2am the burning had stopped but I could tell I wasn’t 100% yet. The following day (today), I continued with everything. I’m still feeling very good so far. I will continue till I am sure it is completely gone and then even go a few days after that just to be sure. Again just sharing what I am doing.