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.
Baking Soda
Posted by Donna (Bozeman, Montana) on 09/27/2008
★★★★★
I recently drank baking soda in water to try and treat a UTI that came on very suddenly. I saw somewhere online to take 1 tsp baking soda in 2 cups of water. Then an hour or two later, I took 1 tsp of the baking soda in 1 cup of water, then it said to have some chamomile tea after that. I did this, then repeated with some baking soda water (about 1 tsp per cup or cup and a half) several times over the next day or two. I was prepared to take some antibiotics that my husband had stopped taking from a recent dental procedure, because I was doubtful that the baking soda would work, but Voila! I was cured of the UTI symptoms with just the baking soda water and trying to drink/void more often.
The bonus was, I had the beginnings of a vaginal infection, and that also went away. And the sore throat/bad cold that I was fighting subsided much more quickly than I thought, once I started taking the baking soda. I'm very interested in all the varied claims, and how it can work. I worry a little about the saltiness of the baking soda, but think if I use it moderately, then supplement with folic acid and B vitamin supplements, plus increase my calcium intake, that hopefully I should be okay.
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Baking Soda
Posted by Sue (Montreal, Canada) on 06/09/2008
★★★★★
I had this horrible bladder infection yesterday and drank water and tea all day. It helped me go to the bathroom but the burning would not go away. I found a receipe on the web: boil 3 onions in 4 or 5 cups of water and drink the juice. I tried that and the burning did not go away. I drank herbal tea 3 kinds cranberry, echinnacea, cherry stem tea. I helped a bit but got fed up and drank lukewarm water with baking soda (2cups) That did it. Another cup of echinnacea. Today I feel much better and went to natural food store and bought probiotic, apple cider and cranberry pills. I will have more baking soda later tonight. Sue
Apple Cider Vinegar and Sea Salt
Posted by Annie-Lou (British Columbia, Canada) on 03/24/2008
★★★★★
Like so many of you said " I'm sooo grateful to have come across this site". I drank down 1 1/2 Tbsp. of ACV in 6 oz of luke warm water followed by 1 tsp.of sea salt in 6 oz. of lukewarm water for my bladder infection. That was roughly 1 hr. ago. I not only feel "MUCH" beter, I feel happy. Love natural remedies especially when they work this fast!
Cranberry
Posted by Stella (Cleveland, Ohio) on 02/27/2008
★★★★★
I had a pretty bad Bladder infection and did not want to take antibiotics so I bought cheap Cranberry pills at the drugstore, took 4 tablets 2x a day along with Tea tree oil mixed with Water and Hydrogen peroxide on the area with a cotton ball a few times a day and it started to go away within 24 hrs. I also took a bath in epsom salt.
Alka Seltzer
Posted by Dana (Fort Worth, Texas) on 12/16/2007
★★★★★
Hi! I had the definate beginnings of a UTI last night, and it was getting worse. I took magnesium and zinc, tried to drink sea salt in water (didn't make it too far, since burning pee is bad enough w/o drinking an emetic), and then took the alka seltzer. So, it could've been a combination of these remedies, but as soon as I took the alka seltzer it was GONE. Woo-hoo! Just thought it needed more emphasis as a possible remedy, it's something you might have around the house (b/c these things always seem to hit at night! Why is that?!), and it won't hurt anything to give it a try, as compared to trying to drink salt water or ACV, either of which to me are worse than the infection. Oh, and I just remembered I also drank some lemon juice in water last night, so maybe that helped some too. Hope this helps somebody!
Sea Salt
Posted by Dave K (Denver, CO) on 10/30/2007
★★★★★
I just wanted to tell your site visitors about how I got rid of my urinary tract infection without taking antibiotics. I am male, 45 yrs old. I took D-mannose pills, 3 pills three times a day for a week and the buning at the tip of the penis persisted, even with drinking a lot of fluids, mostly water and cranberry juice.
I was discouraged because I had only a minor infection in the tip of the eurethra and yet I still couldn't get rid of it. BUT then I tried two teaspoons of 100% natural unbleached sea salt and started getting better immediately.( but it almost made me vomit ...I'm glad I held it down).
I also read at that time that baking soda or alka seltzer could reduce acidity in my system and that seemed to help keep symptoms from creeping back as well. I still think the sea salt which is also alkalizing, unlike regular salt, did the most good.(I also read that it replenishes lost salts and minerals that are unfortunatly washed away becuase of drinking some much fluid.) I kept up the D mannose as well until I felt fine for thee days or so (reducing the # of pills from 3 to 2 to 1 gradually).
Urinate After Sex
Posted by LJ (Nevada City, California) on 10/02/2007
★★★★★
First I want to say, I started taking ACV orally and topically after stumbling on this site for my acne, and it really helped!! So thanks. As for Urinary Tract Infections. I find that peeing and cleaning yourself after sex is the BEST CURE. Before I knew this I got UTI's very frequently, and now I practically never do. Last week, unfortunately, I got a UTI and I think it was because I waited too long to pee after intercourse. Do it within 10 minutes!! Don't let the bacteria settle in!! Your urine will kill those pesky bacteria!! I started taking cranberry pills and drinking tons of water as soon as I knew I had an infection, and it helped. I have read to avoid coffee, alcohol, and sex while you have a UTI, and I believe this is true. I had sex again when I thought my UTI was almost gone, and it flared up within a few hours!!! I try to eat lots of asparagus when I have a UTI, drink plenty of water, avoid alcohol, coffee, sugary drinks, and take ACV in tea twice a day. My UTI went away after a few days, though not as fast as I thought it would. But, I did break a couple of rules a couple times (had drinks with a friend, had sex with my bf, etc.) So take care of yourself, and avoid the temptation!!! Don't let the UTI spread to your kidneys, as that can be very dangerous. If you feel pain in your lower back with a UTI, that could indicate infection in the kidneys, and I would recommend seeing your doctor asap!!
D-Mannose
Posted by Ami (Mountain View, California) on 09/04/2007
★★★★★
I saw a desparate help comment from Anonymous in Australia. I used D-Mannose from
www.sweet-cures.com and it cured my long-standing bladder infection. I hope I can mention the specific brand, because I tried three other brands of D-Mannose before and they did nothing. D-Mannose from sweet-cures started working overnight. I was getting bladder infections repeatedly (every 2 weeks even after the antibiotic treatment) and finally, my Dr gave told me to take antibiotics every time I have sex, but I didn't want to do that and I started researching. I tried cranberry capsules and that didn't work, and I actually tried D-Mannose too (different brands - some had other herbs/vitamins in it, but I believe one brand was just D-Mannose), and that didn't work. I ordered D-Mannose from UK and that one worked practially over night! I was still starting to get the feeling in my bladder a couple of times even after D-Mannose got rid of it once, so when I felt the feeling, I took D-Mannose a couple of times in a row and it would go away. It's been about 3 years since I took D-Mannose last and I haven't had any bladder infections since. From what I know, D-mannose is a type of sugar - simple sugar - but it attaches to E.coli and Klebsiella.
D-Mannose
Posted by Edith (Cambridge, UK) on 02/28/2009
★★★★★
My experience of D-Mannose chimes in with Ami in California. After months of trying many of the remedies recommended on your and other pages + antibiotics originally, I found that for me, D-mannose taken an hour before and then after sex and then a few hours later has liberated me from bladder-lining cramp and infection. I never used to suffer from this until being post-menopausal... so probably due to decreased protection from oestrogen. Please try it to see if it suits you.
White Vinegar
Posted by Laura (Ottawa, Canada) on 05/26/2008
★☆☆☆☆
I tried white vinegar and water for my bladder infection, and it did not work at all. I put 2-3 tablespoons in a tall glass of water, then drank another glass of just water immediately afterwards. Maybe the infection was already too far along for the vinegar to be effective, but I just ended up with a sore throat and a vinegar taste in my mouth while I was sitting in the emergency room of the hospital at 1:00 am that morning.
Alka Seltzer
Posted by Mari (Santa Cruz, CA) on 08/12/2007
★★★★★
After drinking a whole bottle of 100% cranberry juice to cure a bladder infection, I tried the Alka-Seltzer cure I read about on this web-site. It worked almost immediately! Thank you for supplying this useful information.
Alka Seltzer
Posted by Tina (Oak Park, Michigan) on 06/05/2007
★★★★★
I recently had a uti that went from urgency to pain complete with blood in urine in less then 30 minutes. I immediately left work and went to purchase some alka seltzer. Took two tablets dissolved as instructed and drank it. It almost instantly relieved the pain, burning, and pressure I felt. It works!!!!!
Alka Seltzer
Posted by Lia (Atlanta, GA) on 06/23/2008
★★★★★
yes, it works right away!! just tried the original alka seltzer and soooo glad i did. well worth a try!!
Asparagus
Posted by CKirtz (Laguna Hills, Ca) on 05/27/2009
★★★★★
I get chronic bladder infections as well. I dont think many people know about this. I dont believe in natural remedies only preventatives but when I eat asparagus and have a bladder infection it helps so much. I greatly advise trying this remedy.
Cranberry
Posted by Linda (TX) on 08/03/2021
Isn't Gatorade loaded with sugar?
Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda
Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) 392 posts
Dear Pat: If I have a bladder infection or even a kidney problems, yes, vitamin C and citric acid is not helpful. But it is NOT the vitamin C or the citric acid being the problem. It is the pH of the things you are consuming. In event of this problem (uti), the pH should be over 8.
Vitamin C are of two types and people tend to lump them all together. One is the ascorbic acid which is acid and tends to promote bacteria growth by acidity. A sodium ascorbate vitamin C has a pH of about 8 and it prevents bacterial growth. A vitamin C can be both a pro-oxidant and an anti-oxidant depending on the pH. Vitamin C is a two edge sword. If the vitamin C is acid, it is a pro-oxidant. If the vitamin C is alkalline it is an anti-oxidant.
Citric acid and sodium citrate are very different, but chemically they are the similar in most ways, but at different pH.
When a baking soda is reacted with citric acid, it becomes sodium citrate and its pH is over 8. So in event of a kidney and bladder infection whatever you eat, its pH should be 8, or at least 7.
How do I know this is the issue. You mentioned you were helped with baking soda and ACV. The pH is about 7, but if reacted long enough it is between 7.5 to 8.0
It is the same with the other ones. It helps therefore to get a good pH paper and measure it and make sure it is alkaline and pH is about 8 in event of an infection.
Sea salt -- 1 teaspoon one dose only in one glass of water usually will kill the bladder infection. But for tough cases take this along with cranberry juice and some baking soda to increase the alkalinity of cranberry juice to about pH of 8. Sea salt pH is quite often pH is between 7.5 to 8.5. A good quality sea salt will have a pH of 8, a very bad one I have seen (overprocessed overpurified) can be as low as 6. A good sea salt is light brown and never bleached white.
Water
Posted by Tanja (Canada) on 12/13/2006
★★★★★
I did my research and THEE BEST home remedy for a bladder infection is... 1) Drink LOTS of water! Just keep taking water down! It will help flush out the bacteria that causes the inflammations! 2) Take vitamin C 3) Have a warm bath! It helps relieve the burning. I have had this bladder infection for about 2 days and now that i am drinking a HUGE amount of water the burning is going away... and i have to go to the bathroom a lot which is a great thing because it gives me the chance to drain all of the bacteria.
Colloidal Silver
Posted by Trudy (Netherlands) on 10/09/2006
★★★★★
I tried everything for bladder disease. The regular doctor prescribed Nitrofurantoin... so bad.. it causes even bladder disease... so I became very very ill ONLY COLLOIDAL SILVERWATER was THE REMEDY( for E-coli). Bladder disease was gone. Afterwords I took DMannose...very good..no pain anymore...also good for interstitial cystitis...really true. I have to tell this for the doctor did not know that Nitrofurantoin causes bladder disease. read: Natural Medicine Encyclopedia C.Norman Shealy.
Acidophilus
Posted by Angie (Seattle, Wa) on 06/01/2012
For those of you exeriencing UTI's after intercourse consider that the contreceptive you use may possibly be causing it... I would always get a UTI after using a latex condom, regardless of peeing and washing afterwards... once I switched to the non-latex ones, I've never had another problem.
Watermelon Seed Tea
Posted by London (Sandusky, Ohio) on 04/28/2009
★★★★★
Watermelon seed tea works for Bladder Infections. Just sprinkle about a half teaspoon in a mug and a cup of hot water. Take about 3 times a day, everyday until the pain is gone. Very effective. It has a bland taste.
Goldenseal and Echinacea
Posted by Natili (Montpelier, VT) on 03/21/2006
★★★★★
[reports that goldenseal and echinachea cured her UTI.]
D-Mannose
Posted by Eskaay (London) on 08/22/2025
Hello Art
Is d-mannose safe to take as my wife is suffering from frequent UTI issues who is pre-diabetic and also underwent total hysterectomy due to cancer (stage 1b)?
Thanks
Garlic
Posted by Lil (Europe) on 11/01/2022
Hi, can anyone comment on my experience please?
I'm obviously run-down....don't sleep well at all, over-weight and trying to lose it all the time plus the fact it's been a full-on summer and I'm dealing with a traumatic family event.....so I ended up with a bout of cystitis recently, which I've only experienced maybe 3 times in my almost 60 years.
It's lasted 2 weeks and I've been using cranberry juice and bicarb, then I decide I'd go the garlic route, rather than go for antibiotics.
To which end, I sliced up a very large, strong, fresh clove of garlic and macerated it overnight in a pint of water and then drank the whole lot in the morning except for a few bits of the clove which I chewed. As well as this, I made a strong garlic butter and left that overnight as well, before eating it on crackers the next day (and finger-dipping cos I love it so much! ).....
3 days later and I have a large mainly painless lump on my lower gum but no pain in my teeth, and a small painful (when I press it) on the back of my head on the diagonally opposite side to the gum problem.
What I am wondering is, if the garlic is routing any infection and pushing it out of my body by any means? As I sit here typing I'm sucking on a clove of garlic, having found the brilliant post all about infection in the mouth and garlic!
Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed to this interesting and invaluable site.
Thyme Essential Oil
Posted by Lauren (NY) on 07/15/2021
★★★★☆
For a UTI, I usually take olive leaf and turmeric caps as per my post under those headings. When I find that my UTI is being a little extra stubborn I draw a shallow bath, but a little olive oil on a washcloth along with some thyme essential oil, with maybe a little tea tree. I feel that the thyme is the most potent. It is important to dilute these with the olive oil. I then press this around the area gently and push out the bacteria into the bath. This really helps to tame the infection or get rid of the remainder of it.
Lemon
Posted by Charlotte (TEXAS) on 05/07/2022
Thanks for your blessing and info about Lemons 🍋 and UTIs. God bless you and keep you well and safe.
Avoid High Oxylate Foods
Posted by Elsa (New Zealand) on 02/11/2023
You are certainly right, Syd. Almonds and spinach are oxalates foods Not all superfoods are beneficial for us.
