Effective Natural UTI Remedies for Quick Relief

MULTI-PRONGED TREATMENT

After experiencing a burning, urgent, painfully swollen, agonizing UTI two nights ago, I relieved the symptoms in a matter of hours (approximately 2 to 5-6 hours) using a multi-faceted treatment (see below). Previous remedies I have used include cranberry juice and D-mannose, but they never worked after the 2nd or 3rd time, and I don't like taking antibiotics as they upset the gut biome.

Imo, my UTI'S are a result of an overload of bacteria from excessive sugar consumption (including alcohol, although I personally don't drink) that tips me into the UTI state (pre-diabetic, perhaps, too?). Perhaps those who contract UTIs after sex have a reaction to the bacteria/alcohol glucose in their partner's body fluids?

In any case, I believe that when a person ingests enough “bitter” supplements/food as listed below, those supplements swing the urine PH from acidic to alkaline and help eliminate the horrible, aggravating UTI symptoms.

Here is the protocol I used:

STEP ONE:
– take 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in a cup of water
– take 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar in a 1/2 cup of water (ugh!)
– sit in a bath in 1/2 cup of baking soda mixed into very hot bath water; afterwards, with a towel, wash vaginal area with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar diluted in warm water; rinse again with warm water if it stings
– drink a STRONG cup of dandelion or Uva Ursa (or green if you don't have the first two) tea

STEP TWO:
about half an hour later:
– take 3 drops of oregano herb in a 1/2 cup of water
– take 20 to 30 drops of golden seal herb in a cup of water

STEP THREE:
a few minutes later
– eat 1 clove of minced garlic mixed into 1-2 tablespoons of sauerkraut (preferably the probiotic/refrigerated kind you buy at the health food store)
– take 1 probiotic capsule

STEP FOUR:
about 20 – 30 minutes later:
– take several Vitamin C tablets or capsules
– * put a few drops of Frankincense oil on a menstrual pad or tissue inside your underwear — believe it or not this helps create a healing mentholatum sensation!
– mix a couple of drops of Frankincense oil into some olive, castor, or coconut oil and rub onto lower pelvic area and kidneys

Obviously, you'll want to make sure that you have most of these items in the house at all times. I don't think the order of the protocol matters, but I believe that the substances' bitter qualities — especially the oregano and golden seal herbs — help create an extreme alkaline state in the urine that helps kill off the offending bacteria. As with drinking extremely strong green teas, you can taste the bitterness in your mouth with these herbs so you can imagine what they do to your entire body system.

RESULTS:

From an agonizing 2-4 hours starting at 11 pm one evening to about 4 am that morning, my symptoms improved so much that I could finally fall sleep in relative comfort without needing antibiotics. I awoke the next morning with no pain and on PH strips my urine's PH had changed from the previous night's light yellow to med/light green (you can buy PH strips to test your urine- it's very easy to do). I am continuing the protocol and will for the next week or so.

People should be aware that baking soda can increase one's blood pressure and, imo, they should be careful not to take more herb drops than directions on the bottle indicate. Also, if one experiences chills or fevers or aching kidneys or blood in the urine, she/he should go immediately to emergency hospital as that indicates a more serious infection.

This protocol could be repeated over the next 2 or 3 days (cutting back on baking soda and the herbs by half, perhaps) and then by half or less each day for at least another week or so.

* As a precaution from now on, I am going to carry cranberry tablets in my purse to take immediately whenever I have “cheated” on my mostly plant-based diet by consuming too much sugar when eating out. If at home, I will make sure to take a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or baking soda or golden seal in water immediately after having a sugary treat. I hope to never have a return of a UTI again! My heart deeply goes out to all the poor women in the third world who suffer from this condition and who have no access to these herbal remedies or antibiotics.

Corn silk works wonders for my dog's incontinence. He was suddenly dripping and peeing in his sleep even though he has never peed in the house in his life. I see that most of the posts have been about female dogs and their spay incontinence but I just want to say that corn silk capsules eradicated my adult male dog's incontinence by 99%.

He is a 70lb dog and I give him one capsule per meal twice a day. I also time when he gets water but not reduce the total amount of water given to him. This way he would not have to hold for as long. In two weeks he went from dripping in his sleep every day to needing to go out earlier than his potty breaks. We listened to him when he would indicate wanting to go and slowly his schedule was back to normal. It has been a month and a half and he stopped having incontinence completely. I will likely give him cornsilk long term since it is inexpensive and effective as incontinence prevention.

I get HORRIBLE cystitis when I eat high oxalate foods. It took me a while to figure it out. (I had FOUR tests that showed I had no infection, so I figured that it must be something, and then I came upon oxalates. I was having spinach smoothies every morning, plus lots of almond butter, and when I stopped those the cystitis went away. (You have to stop slowly or you'll "dump" a lot of oxalates and that is horrible.) every time I tried to reintroduce oxalates to test this, the cystitis came back.

Oxalates certainly may not be an issue for everyone, but it's useful to rule out.

Having an alternative to antibiotics for UTIs is a useful thing for at least three reasons. One, antibiotics can have significant side effects and two, bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics and if you are prone to frequent UTIs, you can eventually run out of reasonable antibiotic options. Three, antibiotics can kill needed good gut bacteria and thus lead to further complications.

The active component against UTIs in cranberry/cranberry juice is D-Mannose, a common supplement. D-Mannose is much more potent and works by binding to the E.coli bacteria preventing the bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract surfaces and bladder interior surface, allowing the bacteria to be safely flushed away when urinating, preventing the infection from spreading or continuing to exist. Because of this method of action, bacterial resistance to D-Mannose does not occur because D-Mannose is not attacking the virus, but rather just binding to it. This can become a major problem with antibiotics which the bacteria become resistant to.

Another issue with antibiotics is that they tend to destroy the gut bacteria both good and bad and this can contribute to more UTIs in the long run if good gut bacteria is destroyed that would normally keep E.coli controlled. Here is a link to a study where they show that D-Mannose can be used as a preventative for frequent UTIs in women who are prone to these infections, but my experience is that it is also effective in men, but women get significantly more UTIs than men :

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32597599/

Many people who have frequent UTIs develop bacterial resistance and then stronger and stronger antibiotics are needed to try and fight the UTI, but these more potent antibiotics can bring a myriad of side effects that nobody wants or needs! For example, one highly potent antibiotic that can be used for UTIs is Ciprofloxacin / Cipro and this particular antibiotic has the well known side effect of causing torn tendons and ligaments and blown achilles tendons (OUCH!). I wrote about this serious issue in another EC post and explained how to help repair some of this ligament and tendon damage.

D-Mannose is thought to be effective only against E.coli based UTIs which means it will not likely work for all UTIs, but it will work for the majority because E.coli is the most common cause of UTIs at approximately as high as 90% of cases.

https://www.ucsfhealth.org/conditions/urinary-tract-infections#:~:text=The most common bacteria found, 90 percent of the time

D-Mannose can also be used as a preventative against UTIs when traveling to help prevent a UTI from getting started in the first place. Here is a link to typical D-Mannose supplements and powder :

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=D-mannose&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

All you need to do is mix the powder with water and drink it down or take the capsules, all per label directions.

Two other simple preventatives is to void as soon as the urge is felt so that the urine does not sit in the bladder longer than it has to in an environment that can be conducive to bacterial growth. The second preventative is the use of probiotics such as L. rhamnosus, L. reuteri and L. casei shirota.

Art

Glad it worked, but which remedies are you referring to please? Just cranberry juice or the other remedies mentioned in the top post? Please clarify for us!

This literally works in less than 15 mins for me. My husband and I were shocked to see how fast this works. I stopped peeing right away.

I have gotten bladder infections for years, and doctors haven't been able to figure out why. I was taking antibiotics so regularly that I became allergic to them and ended up in the ER, blue, and struggling to breathe. Now I'm pretty much screwed if I ever get severely sick, and although the Drs are more than happy to experiment with very targeted antibiotics I might not be allergic to, I'm not so happy to try that. Especially after they told me I'd have to attempt it in a hospital setting only. So my search for alternatives began.

At this point I'm almost 40 years old. I've dealt with this for over 20 years, getting multiple infections per year. I've tried all sorts of teas, several Native American cures, I've done the ACV, and then the baking soda, but I truly hate the taste of both. Turns out if I'm persistent enough there are quite a few natural cures that EVENTUALLY work. But they take forever. As in...a week or two. Or three. That's a long time when you're running to the bathroom dozens of times a day! In talking with a Chinese herbalist about a year ago, it was recommended to me to quadruple my intake of water during a bladder infection, and that alone would be enough. The liquids flow through your bladder and urinary tract often enough so that your body can then handle the many fewer bacteria all by itself. I wasn't thrilled to hear this...I just wanted to buy some magic herb that would fix it.

Needless to say, I was VERY skeptical. (And sorta ticked I wasn't just sold a herb of some sort...what can I say? I've grown up with the American medical system and we like our convenience.) But it beat the ACV that I hate, right? So I tried it and now I won't use anything else. I'll be honest. I don't love running to the bathroom more than I already do during an infection, with the additional water intake. But it's not that much more inconvenient, since I'm already up every half hour or so when I've got an infection. And wouldn't you know it - it DOES work!! And it's next to free and doesn't taste horrid! You can't even imagine my surprise at this after trying so many other things over the years. And safe for children, but be careful with how much water you make little ones drink..they can't handle adult doses.

I found that drinking as much water as possible (more than his recommended 4x more) helped quicker. I drink a bottle of water per hour (16.9fl oz) until symptoms subside, then I usually do an additional couple hours just to be safe. I just set an hourly timer. If it goes off and I haven't finished my bottle, I finish it right then and I start a new one and a new timer. Repeat, until my body is better. It is so simple and so effective, and SAFE.

And while yes, too much water can kill you; healthy kidneys can handle a LITER of liquid an hour, so don't overdo it but you can do a lot and still be quite safe. You can slam the water or you can sip it. Doesn't matter. What matters is having it running through the plumbing as much as possible, so for me sipping it is more comfortable. You do what works for you. And you are NOT trying to hold all the water in. You don't need your bladder to be full and uncomfortable! When you feel you need to go to the bathroom, then go. You need to flush all that bacteria out so let the water do it's thing. Every sip you take you're making yourself better. Every time you pee, you're making yourself better. That Chinese herbalist was wiser than I gave him credit for, and our bodies are really rather awesome when you think about it.

VERY IMPORTANT: don't drink anything but water, and NO sugar. Which means no lemon water, either. You want nothing in the water that those little bacteria evil geniuses can survive off of. Try not to take in any sugar in your diet, either, so skip dessert and limit breads until you're better. No intercourse because that will make it worse, too. Just baby yourself for a day or two, drink water, eat lots of veggies. I even skip most fruits, too, because that's so easily converted to sugar. Thankfully I've got it down to just a day (or under) of having to do this now, so it never seems to be the big deal it was before.

How long until you're cured will depend. If you catch things quickly, I've had it all over with and GONE in under 4 hours...and that's including my additional 2 hrs of drinking I do after the spasms subside and I stop having the urge to pee every 5 minutes. Folks, the antibiotics I used to get for these didn't even work that fast! When I procrastinate sometimes it takes a full day before I'm cured. (And let's be honest here. I really don't like drinking water every hour either, so sometimes I'm human and put it off. I know I shouldn't. Sigh. But if you're quick about it you can be done with the darn ordeal! )

Now if you have an infection that's already been going on for awhile I'm not entirely sure this would work for you, because you'd have more bacteria built up in your system. I think it'd still work but may take longer than a few hours.

It's really worth a shot, has zero side effects, and should at least help serve as a stop-gap until you can find something else that works for you. You are literally flushing out the bad bacteria with every drink. Plus you won't gag from the taste. ;) Cheers!

As I have gotten older I am more prone to UTI's. It got to the point that intercourse was a guaranteed UTI the next day. However, I have learned that if I use tea tree oil and coconut oil after sex I pretty much won't get a UTI. (I get about 1/4 teaspoon of coconut oil and a drop of tea tree oil and use it topically/vaginally after intercourse.)

This week I got lazy and skipped the tea tree treatment and woke up the next day with pain. Bladder spasms, I think. I immediately used frankincense oil (a couple of drops) in some castor oil on my lower abdomen and used the tea tree/coconut oil vaginally.

Symptoms improved within hours. I was also drinking water with Apple Cider Vinegar.

There you have it. Hope it helps you as much as it has me.

I began having bladder infection symptoms last month and immediately started using the baking soda and water remedy. It really helped with the intense pain, so I drank alot of it along with Apple Cider Vinegar and water, pure cranberry juice and a no sugar diet. Despite my efforts it just got worse and worse and after a week of this I was seeing blood in my urine and suffering from chills. I had to visit the er. Five hours later I found it had spread and was diagnosed with a KIDNEY infection. My heart rate was also very high and potassium low. I took antibiotics for a week and am now thankfully healed! And making sure to consume plenty of pre and probiotics. Please don't suffer as long as I did or overuse even natural remedies. Learned a very valuable lesson.

I cannot agree more with Nektar from Athens, Greece. Propolis has helped me tremendously with bleeding in uti.

I had a few utis in the past but they normally resolve themselves with lota of water and unsweetened cranberry juice.

One month ago, I had a scare of my life when my urine was bloody. I went to the doctor and was prescribed 3 days of antibiotics. I took the antibiotics with oregano oil and d mannose and uti healed after 5 days.

3 weeks after that, another uti flared up. This time, I wanted to let my body heal on its own and took many things like d mannose, cranberry capsules, acv, coconut oil, oil of oregano, tumeric, cinnamon oil, thyme oil, allicin capsules, garlic, juniper, clove, applied essential oils, avo, probiotics, consumed only vegetables and others. Sadly, once I do not urinate frequently (within an hour), the bleeding returns. Please note that I kept all these for 12 days.

It was until I read that propolis can help that I started propolis yesterday night and this morning. The bleeding has stopped even after not going to the toilet for an hour! The pain also minimised. I took 10 drops in some water and put a few drops into the toilet paper enough to cover my private parts until my next toilet trip.

I hope others can benefit from my experience too.

I wish I would have tried Ted's salt and water remedy a week ago, the pain has been awful. I tried a glass of water and tsp salt and now it's been 20 minutes and I'm 80% better, so much relief from an awful uti.

I have been getting cystitis on average twice a year for over 25 years.. I used to just get antibiotics and drink cranberry juice but they don't work for me anymore so I started trying natural remedies. After over a month of battling with limited success, I tried this:

First I drank a half pint size glass of warm water with the juice of half a lemon squeezed into it.

Then 10 mins later I took a heaped teaspoon of D-Mannose (extract of cranberries).

Within half an hour I could tell it was working, now the infection was a bad one so I had to do it again about an hour or so later. Then again 4 hours later. Then once more the morning after. In the days after that, if I ever felt it threatening, I just drank the lemon water and that was enough to stop it.

It's worth noting that I had been taking D-Mannose prior to trying it in combination with lemon with very limited success.

Recent UTI affliction had me in a lil discomfort and a lot of annoyance, mostly confined to the proximity of the toilet. I made plantain tea but only had enough leaves for one cup, my prior experience showed requirement (and great results) from 3 cups. Took some vitamin c, Olive leaf, and grapefruit seed extract, large dose of LI but when I found blood in urine I really had to act.

Recently reminded of the benefits of baking soda, I knew raising the alkalinity of my body would be beneficial and immediately consumed a tsp with glass water. About an hour later I took another tsp, this time with 'medicinal' kombucha (kombucha second fermented with parsley, lemon buds and rosehips) instead of acv, purely because I have more kombucha because I make it, and good tsp or two of coconut oil.

I did this mix twice more that evening, taking the baking soda and water to bed with me so when I got up through the night I could take it. By bedtime I had had much improvement but in the morning everything was back to normal. Relief!!

A precaution I had read regarding UTI/bladder infection was if you didn't treat it long enough it would reach the kidneys and cause more problems. At the same time, baking soda is recommended for improving kidney function so I didn't really see a problem. Have continued to take two doses daily of the baking soda for a total of three days. I am now recommitted to the use of baking soda and used it on my son's chalazion which was soothing while acting as a poultice. If I had uti again I would go for the plantain, the results were almost immediate, but if unavailable because of travel, etc, my second choice with absolute confidence would definitely be the baking soda. Best to all.

A friend recently had a UTI / bladder infection that was resistant to just about everything tried. I suggested the ever popular Himalayan Pink Sea Salt remedy since there was some on hand and that UTI is now a faded memory in three days or less!

One half teaspoon in a cup of water 3 or 4 times per day.

Art

Does anyone know the name of these? Or can figure out what it might be? Most TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine's) have English names. For example, I take "Liver Soothe" (English name) but its TCM name is: "Shu Gan Wan".

Hi Jean, I know this is way too late to your question. I have been taking cornsilk in the capsule form by the brand Nature's Way and it has work so much better for treating my UTI than just the other things that's mentioned here. I take 3 capsules with water, and follow by 2 cups of water depending how bad my symptom is and I also do the organic applecider vinegar. I do this 3-4 times a day until my symptom clears up usually within 3-4 days, then I continue taking 3 capsule for 2 times a day for another 2 days to clear up the infection. The cornsilk doesn't upset my stomach. Hope this helps.

Rub some on urethra. It will go up the urethra and kill the bacteria. Immediate relief.

Apple cider vinegar/baking soda saves the day.

This did the trick!! I'm so amazed.

I woke up to burning and only able to produce a few drops--but the urgency was high. Sigh. Tried the apple cider vinegar and baking soda, plus about 30 minutes...no more burning and open the flood gates I'm making water again!! Took some again later and will continue for a few days. I added in some cranberry juice in my daily diet just in case, and have increased my water intake as well for a proper flushing of my pipes. So far so good.-- Thanks Earth Clinic... you continue to be my first " go to" for advice.

I read oxalates can cause cystitislike symptoms and kidney stones, which can be sharp and may cause blood in urine. Chocolate has oxalates.

I took ACV and water when I had UTI symptoms and I felt like my symptoms got worse. The burning was worse and I had strains of blood in my urine. I thought I was seeing wrong but now that you mentioned blood in the urine, I'm getting worried.

Frankincense

I recognized the beginnings of a UTI and started drinking ACV and more water, but when I started rubbing a couple of drops of Frankincense Essential Oil on my lower abdomen did I see results. I saw results within one day. I continued to rub several drops on my lower abdomen for a week and haven't had anymore symtoms of UTI. I am now two weeks past the original symptoms of UTI and haven't had any more more problems. I have recently tried to employ essential oils to take control of my health and am happy with the results.

I have cream of tartar will try it. I have been drinking a honey, vinegar, ginger hot tea and it seems to have helped. Now will try the C of T. Thank you.

I have now successfully cured my UTI and kidney infections multiple times with olive leaf extract. I thankfully came across this life-saving remedy after frantically searching for alternatives to antibiotics after several trips to the hospital for my chronic and severe UTIs.

I take 3-4 capsules of olive leaf extract (standardized Olive Leaf 250 mg with 20% oleuropein) with each meal then take 2 capsules of activated charcoal 2 hours after and 2 hours before my next meal. I alternate these steps 3 times per day until all symptoms are gone. I then decrease to 2 capsules of Olive Leaf with each meal for 2 more days without the charcoal. (Not sure if this is necessary but Olive Leaf is safe so it can't hurt).

This week I received proof of how well this works: I started experiencing UTI symptoms and took a home UTI test that came back positive for leukocytes. I immediately began my Olive Leaf & Activated Charcoal protocol. Only two doses in, I had a urinalysis and blood work done and there was no sign of infection, bacteria or an elevated white blood cell count. WOW! I know it works well but was surprised because I was still experiencing some symptoms. Amazing!

Is it possible you are reinfecting yourself through food or drinks, such as contaminated milk or juice? Or even tap water? A reusable water bottle or contaminated shower head? Even soap?

Hi Tina, Have you tried coconut oil? I NEVER have had UTI in the last five years after taking coconut oil 1 tablespoon a day daily. Whenever I feel a slight burning sensation during urination I take at once 1 extra tablespoon Coconut oil in a warm cup of milk.Until than next morning no more discomfort. Try it you will feel the difference.

To Tina of Ontario - What you want is grapeFRUIT seed extract (not grapeseed extract - but read up about it first, to make sure you're buying the real thing). In addition to taking drops of it - and perhaps even more importantly - put (say) ten or twelve drops in a small bowl of water by the loo, and give yourself a wipe every time you go.

Dear Tina,

Wow, you have tried a lot of things. A couple of things I would consider trying in your situation (which have worked well for me for UTI's) would be castor oil, charcoal and plantain.

Castor oil as a pack over the lower abdomen with a heating pad overnight. (My heating pad has one setting - very low - so no risk of burning, though it is not recommended to use them overnight.)

https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/castor_oil.html

Activated charcoal - either internally or as a poultice.

https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/charcoal.html

Plantain tea. Seems too simple but has worked for me for UTI's (not sure which bacteria caused mine, though.) But when you look up enterococcus and plantain into google, the first hit comes up with a book that mentions using plantain for enterococcus. To make plantain tea I put several tablespoons in a quart jar and pour boiling water over it and let it steep an hour or so. I strain and consume the tea over the course of the day. I repeat this several days in a row or as needed.

I hope you find a solution. Please let us know how it goes.

~Mama to Many~

Hi Monka, I just read your post and I do realize is from a while back but I am experiencing the same issue. Any luck in getting rid of the enterococcus uti? I was diagnosed about 3 months ago with enterococcus UTI when they did a urine culture. I experience extreme urgency and frequency, no burning, no pain. I was on 3 rounds of different antibiotics: macrobid, amoxicillin and septra or bactrin 10 days each based on sensitivity test but it didn't clear up. At the end of the antibiotic treatment I feel good and the lab count shows lower bacteria but then slowly I start experiencing the symptoms again and the count goes up. I tried everything including natural treatments: uva ursi, colloidal silver, garlic, juniper tea, grape seed extract, oregano oil, tea tree oil, sitz baths and I take probiotics and vit C every day. My doctor wants to put me on another antibiotic which I am very skeptical now to take. I eat healthy and I drink lots of water. I am desperate and frustrated, this is impacting my life terribly, I don't know what else to do. I always follow personal hygiene and live a healthy lifestyle, I am otherwise very healthy female 39 yrs old. Reinfection is not the case as it would be technically impossible. I want to try another natural treatment while I wait to see a specialist. Please let me know if you managed to treat it.