The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Bex (South Florida, USA) on 05/25/2009
★★★★★
Apple Cider Vinegar for a bladder infection:
I get chronic bladder infections. I've always just gone to the doctor who (after lecturing me on how to wipe my backside after going to the bathroom - like I could really be 40 years old and not know how to wipe my own butt??!) has given me an antibiotic to take care of it. In desperation I looked up natural remedies and found your page here. I laughed out loud when I saw that people were chugging and sitting in apple cider vinegar.
But then I kept reading, account after account of people who felt better after having done so. Putting my better judgment aside I went to the kitchen and knocked back a shot of ACV. Tasty? No. Not even a little bit.
Just for good measure I also put a little on a cotton ball and dabbed it on right after I had urinated.
Here I am, about an hour later WITHOUT pain. Truly, I CANNOT believe it. So, sorry for thinking you guys were a bunch of nuts!! Thanks for the wonderful tip!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Lou (Elma, WA) on 07/29/2009
★★★★★
This message to to Kim in Gaffney, S.C...Kim I've had a bladded/UTI infection since March '09 and its July. I tried the 1/4 cup ACV followed by a glass of water, then 2 hours later I did this again. It worked!! I'm sooo grateful for your post. I refuse to take antibiotics or any RX and this worked to perfection! Thank you so much, Lou
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Kelley (Helena, US) on 03/09/2009
★★★★★
I just wanted to share this with everyone, I have had chronic bladder infections for years and one day I got one and had no Insurance so I saw that the Apple Cider Vineger helps with multiple problems in the body. It got rid of my infection, every time I get an infection I take a couple of ACV pills and within 6 hours it is gone. Great stuff!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Phil (Brooklyn, New York) on 08/16/2011
★★★★★
Works works works! After less than an hour of taking ACV and water, pain and urgency was gone. I recommend to anyone to try. I have suffered for years with UTI's and this was the fastest remedy. Forget azo pills, go natural. _____'s organic is the best I think. Always have a bottle at home as it is an all-purpose cure all.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Elizabeth (Small town, Indiana) on 01/24/2009
★★★★★
OMG! I had both hips replaced six months ago, and my physician told me "if you get a UTI (urinary tract infection), you need to get it treated ASAP because there is a strong possibility the infection could spread to your hip joints". What do I wake up with Thursday? A severe UTI, including blood and blood clots in my urine. As an RN, I know when I'm in trouble, and I knew exactly what I had to do -- get to my doctor. But my doctor was gone until Monday. So I figured I'd try something a patient had shared with me years ago, but I pooh-poohed it (because I knew better, after all, I was part of the medical community). So I buy my organic, unfiltered, apple cider vinegar and put it in water just like everyone is saying to do. Not immediate results, but I liked what was happening as I peed more and more clear urine and the horrible urgency and stinging was going away. This is Saturday, and I have absolutely no trace of any infection (even by urine dipstick, which is used in most medical offices). Thanks everyone for your honesty and methods. I truly believe you saved me from having further infection in my body, and probably around my hip prosthetics. LOVE YOU ALL!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by cgrl (molokai, HI) on 04/20/2009
Apple Cider Vinegar - as far adding the honey in the mix... yes, it's ok as long as the honey is not processed in any way. get the local thick stuff from a health food store or farmer's market.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Kate (Brisbane, Australia) on 01/13/2009
★★★★★
Just a little feedback on the ACV remedy to post on the site.
I used ACV to manage the pain from my urinary tract infection (not cure the actual infection).
I had a urinary tract infection (UTI) for about three days. On the third day I was in excruciating pain. I went to the doctor and was given a course of antibiotics and started taking them right away. Unfortunately the antibiotics, although killing off the bacteria, do not help to manage the pain and discomfort in the meantime. Plus, using over the counter remedies to manage the symptoms, such as the Ural sachets, is not an option as they prevent the antibiotics from working.
I had heard ACV helped many women suffering from thrush infections feel better, but was sceptical. Still, in total desperation and unbearable pain, I added two cups of white vinegar (as this was all I had on hand) to a warm, ankle-deep bath. The white vinegar helped a tiny bit. It was enough to help me hobble down the road to pick up some ACV. Again, I added two cups to a warm, ankle-deep bath and sat in it for about half an hour.
The relief! I have no more soreness or burning! I still feel like I desperately need to pee (which is a symptom of the UTI), but I suppose the antibiotics will help that. ACV worked so well in managing my UTI symptoms - I have no idea what I would have done without it. I am so pleased now that the pain has gone and I can concentrate on other things again. I will definitely tell my friends about this one. I also plan to keep a bottle of ACV in the first aid kit for times when I may need it.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Victoria (Akron, OH) on 11/13/2008
★★★★★
I use to get bladder infections ALL the time years ago but stopped then for years and just woke up with one this morning! I was shocked! However, since this has been my favorite site for any ailments I quickly got on to look up what to do for a bladder infection even though I knew ACV would be one to use.
But one thing I saw was to eat lots of celery and cucumbers for the bladder infection. So this morning I drank a huge glass of water with ACV - Another plain glass of water, ate celery and cucs and drank lemon water AND I took marshmallow root which is suppose to be good for a bladder infection too. Then the rest of the day I drank lemon water and I am fine as I sit here and type this out! YAY!
As always - thank you Earth CLinic readers with your advice!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Laura (Los Angeles, CA) on 11/06/2008
★★★★★
I'm so glad I found your website!!! I used to get UTI's all the time... Cranberries never worked for me. I tried the Apple Cider Vinegar that I read about on this site and BINGO!!! Wow... why didn't I know about this 10 years ago? It would have saved me lots of money and time in the docs office!!! I'm a believer now! Thank you!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Kathy (Santa Rosa, Ca) on 02/09/2016
★☆☆☆☆
I agree. This site recommends apple cider vinegar as a cure for just about everything and it gives me very painful bladder symptoms. I thought I had a bladder infection after taking it. Doctors did a full scope and tested for any sign of infection and found nothing, but I was in severe pain. Thankfully I found a product (containing D-Mannose, Uva-Ursi leaf extract, Blueberry, Cranberry, Dandelion Root, Taraxacum o cinale, Goldenrod, Goldenseal, Hydrastis canadensis, Parsley juice) which cleared it up. I didn't connect it to the ACV, though until I tried it again about a month later in warm water with honey. Bam! Pain was back again, so I made the connection. This is the first time where I have seen anyone else reacting poorly to ACV. My nerve pain is from a slip and fall in 2009 and I think I have an entrapped pudendal nerve. Can't sit very long without nerve pain. Have had nerve blocks, PT, chronic pain classes and am on Topomax and hydrocodone. Could really use some relief. I'm afraid of any surgery as any error could make it worse. Boo hoo. Everybody's got something, right? God Bless!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Hannes (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) on 10/27/2008
★★★★★
Being on intermittent catheders and recently gone through cystoscopy and then cystogram, I contracted 3 consecutive bladder infections inside of 2 1/2 months and took 3 full cycles of cypro, one to cure each. When the fouth infection built up in the 3rd month, with same symptoms as the first 3, I did not want yet more antibiotics and found this site. Tried ACV as described by others, symptoms left within 3 days, had a chem stick test done on 4th day and was found free of bladder infection. Thanks, guys!
The only question left is that when using catheders, the urethra does not "get flushed out" since in this case urin flows through a plastic tube instead - so could in this case an infection remain in the urethra.
So far no such indication.
In any case, I now continue with a mainteneance dose of ACV for the period of intermittant catheder use.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Amanda (Long Beach, CA USA) on 05/22/2009
DO NOT EVER TAKE CIPRO!!! This medication has crippled my father for LIFE! Avoid Cipro at all costs please...
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by London (Sandusky, Ohio ) on 10/17/2008
★★★★★
There's nothing like having a BV, and a UTI, simultaneously. I have been battling a severe bladder infection for the last week or so. I have been taking UVA URSI, which is my usual routine, when I get a bladder infection, but this time, it wasn't enough. Once I drank white vinegar, which was way too harsh. I was in such pain! I couldn't sit still. I could not lay down. The only thing that soothed me was sitting on the toilet for 15 minutes at a time, pushing a little urine out, or sitting in the bath.
One morning, I was in such pain, I could barely walk, and MY KIDNEYS HURT!(Lower back pain), and I had chills and felt like I was going to throw up. My Mom kept on pressuring me to go to the emergency room. I don't have insurance. Anyways, I consulted this blessed site, and decided to give apple cider vinegar a try. I took a lot, all day, I drank about 3 tbsp in a tall glass of water, several times a day. By the first few hours, the pain subsided, I could not believe it, it really helped me. I'm not exactly good about drinking a lot of fluids during a bladder infection, but since this was helping the (most uncomfortable feeling in the world), I was all about it. I honestly didn't think this would help, my advanced bladder infection, but it is. I'm on my third day, so far so good.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Melissa (Cardiff by the Sea, CA) on 10/07/2008
★★★★★
I suffer with UTI's and had been suffering from a really bad one up until last Sunday. All of last week and into the weekend I was urinating blood and blood clots! It was super painful to say the least! I went online and found a lot of information on ACV and quickly picked some up at the store on Sunday. Sunday evening I drank two tbs. mixed in 8oz. of warm water and the next morning, I was amazed at the results. I could finally urinate pain free and there was absolutely no blood! It is now Tuesday, and I have been continuing the ACV (3 tbs. in water, 3 times a day) and it's insane how much better I feel! The UTI is gone! I would recommend ACV to anyone over nasty antibiotics!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Melissa (Cardiff by the Sea, CA) on 10/07/2008
★★★★★
I too suffer with UTI's and had been suffering from a really bad one up until last Sunday. All of last week and into the weekend I was urinating blood and blood clots! It was super painful to say the least! I went online and found a lot of information on ACV and quickly picked some up at the store on Sunday. Sunday evening I drank two tbs. mixed in 8oz. of warm water and the next morning, I was amazed at the results. I could finally urinate pain free and there was absolutely no blood! It is now Tuesday, and I have been continuing the ACV (3 tbs. in water, 3 times a day) and it's insane how much better I feel! The UTI is gone! I would recommend ACV to anyone over nasty antibiotics!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Roni (Holualoa, Hawaii) on 10/05/2008
★★★★★
Look, after a couple of years of recurrent UTI's, and heavy antibiotic use for one infection or another, I am very skeptical of using antibiotics as a one stop cure all. After a couple of years fighting depression, mood swings, gastro disorders, weight gain and inexplicable tiredness, I really must say I think antibiotic over use has put me in a position where my immune system cannot fight off small infections very well.
Anyways, my Dad used to always harp on about ACV and I always thought he was nuts, because he's a nutty individual lol.
I do not have medical insurance, I'm worn down, cran tablets, cran extract with stevia and candida tablets DID NOT WORK. Not eating any carbs, sugar or refined foods for several days, flushing with water. My condition worsened still. I guess I had a persistent case of UTI. With the burning sensation of my uretha, coupled with the terrible back pain, fever, swollen abdomen, being hot alternatiing with being cold I knew I could not waste too much time as my UTI would persist and I am not one to want to waste precious time when I know its possible to be enjoying life without feeling really awful.
After visiting this site and trying a good few remedies, I can honestly say "STOP!" Stop what you are doing, dont waste your time with sugar laden cran juice - Drink lots of water to flush and I say a SHOT GLASS full of ACV in a 500 ml bottle of purified, chilled water.
Do not waste your time with the store shelf aecetic acid version of apple cider vinegar - use ____ with the Mother in it and the results are far more amazing and quicker than the brownish yucky after taste garden variety cider vinegar which I think is effective, but crappy next to the highly effective ____ version.
Do the shot glass mix of ACV in the bottled water and refrain from consuming sugars and refined carbs for at least a couple of days, eat fresh and drink your acv mix.
I think the ACV akalizes the body and causes the bacteria in the urinary tract to die off at a rapid rate. It also helps balance your body PH levels so that your body starts to function well and fight off nasty invaders itself.
Unfortunately, our modern diets laden with foods that change our PH levels to become too acidic make it hard for the body to fight infection.
With continued use of ACV you start to get more energy with little or no come down, your body metabolizes fat better so a side effect is gradual weight loss with little or no change in one's habits - but most importantly its a great natural fix when you're feeling really run down from a UTI -
Im so happy to have re-found ACV in my life. Im happy my Dad the nut still recommends it and that mostly IT WORKS!!! Good luck to your low cost cures! Roni
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Leah (Westchester, NY) on 07/08/2008
★★★★★
I had the starting signs and symptoms of an UTI and we all know how irritating it can be. Nor did I have money to go to the doctor. I have been to this site many times and loved all the miracles of Apple Cider Vinegar.
This morning after suffering for three days, I recalled the ACV cures, added some to my morning OJ, then more at lunch to my Iced Tea, then added an extra or two teaspoon for one more gulping. I drink it from a straw so that its tart taste is avoided as much as possible.
Within 2 hours, literally the pain was gone, the need to void, completely diminished - no tingles when I did void.
This is my first time adding to EarthClinic.com comments, but seriously, ACV is great for so many things.
I will most certainly go back to adding it to my drinks. Thank you, thank you and thank you some more!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Karen (Chicago, IL) on 05/03/2009
★★★★★
So happy to hear someone speak of the "tingling" sensation. I tried to describe it to my doctor the last time I had a UTI, and he looked at me like I was insane. Started feeling miserable yesterday, so I dragged out the cranberry pills and started drinking all the water I could tolerate ~ very difficult since I have a horrid cough, too. No relief after 24 hours, just a lot of time wasted stiing on the toilet. Vaguely remembered someone saying something about vinegar and UTIs and happily I found this site. Took 2 tablespoons of ACV in an 8 oz glass of VERY cold water, held my breathe, and chugged. Quickly took a couple bites of banana to eliminate the aftertaste in my mouth. I was stunned that I began feeling better within an hour. I am going to repeat the treatment several times a day for the next few days especially before I go to bed. From now on, I will always keep ACV in the house!!!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Christine (Delafield, WI) on 09/21/2007
★★★★★
I am 55 years old and thought I was developing old-lady bladder. I was having to go to the bathroom at least every half hour, and it wasn't much. I also was getting up once or twice a night. This has been going on for almost a year now, and just recently the idea struck me that I might have a bladder infection. I found this website and tried the ACV remedy. I am so impressed that I had to write a note. Sometime during that first afternoon, I drank a 20-ounce glass of hot water with 4 T of organic ACV and honey to taste. Already the next morning I was feeling improved. I did it again yesterday and I was able to golf 9 holes, go out to dinner and come home and sit for a while (5 hours all together) and didn't have to go to the bathroom once. And as if that were not enough, I slept through the entire night last night without having to get up one single time. I can't remember the last time that happened. It is truly a great thing. Thanks for this website.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Lisa (Cape Canaveral, Fl) on 08/22/2007
★★★★★
I used to be prone to constant urinary infections to the point I no longer felt them. One time it had got so bad I actually felt the severest of symptoms. At the time no medical insurance and no money to go to a doctor. So I emailed a friend who had a huge book on herbs and natural remedies. He researched for me and found if I took a bath with apple cider vinegar it would eliminate the urinary infection because the urethra acts as a wick and draws the high ph into the bladder. Well I had no bathtub and no access to one. So we devised this plan. I would take a cotton ball and soak it in apple cider vinegar and place it on my urethra for twenty min three to four times a day. The skin would burn and it did hurt alot. But I persisted. I woke up the next day and had no symptoms at all. I continued to use the acv for three more days. Since then I have not had another attack of urinary infection.
Years before I forgot to mention this. A neighbor told me about acv and honey as a remedy for headaches depression arthritis pain help and lowering cholesterol and high blood pressure. Well i suffered from all of these symptoms. I asked how much to take. She said she took two tablespoons each of acv and honey in enough hot water to melt the honey and drank it down half an hour before she ate. I did the same. The first week I lost ten pounds of excess water weight due to bad diet of too much salt. I sweated alot and peed alot. I lost a total of forty pounds. I had visited my doc before I started and thirty days after. He was amazed at the weight loss and asked how I did it. I told him and he said oh. he wasn't concerned at the amount in that short of a time. I should have been. It is dangerous to lose too much weight in a short amount of time. But I believe in my case it was extreme excess water weight. My cholesterol dropped from 256 to 156 in six months. My blood pressure was below normal and I couldn't gain weight. So acv and honey is my magic remedy. My kids would see me taking the acv and honey for my migraines. They wanted to try it for their headaches. Well after the first time they used it they didn't want tylenol anymore. Ever. To this day they are teenagers they remember it is instant and keeps the headaches away.
I have laxed in my daily regimen of acv and honey and have gained back the weight and the blood pressure. i am going to start it again. Anyways. Thank you for your time in reading its benefits to me. Hugs to you.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Michelle (Gladwin, MI) on 08/16/2007
★★★★★
I had been suffering from reoccurring urinary tract infections, and reading a lot about ph levels in the body. I found out by using ph strips that my body was at a 4.0 on the ph scale. I started taking the apple cider vinegar to change my ph (which is now stable at a 6.5). My urinary tract infections cleared up, my acne cleared up, my heart burn cleared up. I am completely shocked and grateful that I ran across this home remedy.
