12 Home Remedies for UTIs: Complete Guide 2024

Urinary tract infections, or UTIs, are quite common across the globe. Despite its prevalence, one can get easy UTI treatment.

But, untreated UTIs can lead to kidney infections and other complications. The associated UTI complications necessitate the need to have smart home remedies for UTIs.

Also, sources of risk of UTIs are common, which requires us to stay more updated. But, with some basic remedies, you can easily treat or prevent urinary tract infections.

It helps to get updated with home remedies for UTIs, along with gaining a basic understanding of UTIs.

Home Remedies For UTI: UTI Causes

In the case of UTIs, we indicate the presence of only unwanted or pathogenic microbes in the vagina or bladder. We have healthy microflora in the urinary tract. But they keep healthy pH and help in preventing the growth of unwanted microbes.

The cause for getting UTI involves pathogenic microbes entering the urinary tract and causing an infection. UTIs, in most cases, include the most common bacterial infections. But fungi can also infect the urinary tract.

Every UTI involves the same type of cause, that is, microbial involvement. But the cause of introducing pathogens in the urinary tract varies. One can get UTI by wiping from back to front after peeing or having a bowel movement.

Also, unclean underwear and lack of personal hygiene can help in having a UTI. Further, the use of soaps or scented products in vaginas or genital areas can break the natural protective barrier. In this way, unwanted bacteria find the urinary tract favorable to multiply and cause infection.

Moreover, the use of devices carries great risk through which pathogens can enter the urinary tract. Like, non-lubricated condoms and spermicides can cause skin irritation which can favor bacterial growth.

Talking about UTI causes reminds us that women have a high risk of UTIs compared to men. The female urethra is shorter than that of men. Thus, bacteria entering or residing there have better chances of traveling to the bladder or kidney in females.

UTI Symptoms

• Burning sensation or discomfort while peeing
• Itching or swelling in the genital areas
• Change in the frequency of urination
• An unusual smell of urine
• Blood in urine
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Nausea

Among the given symptoms of a UTI, bloody urine indicates a progressive state of urinary tract infections. Also, fever can be a sign of your infection spreading into the kidneys.

However, irrespective of the severity of the symptoms, you need to go for a checkup.

12 Home Remedies for UTI

1. Herbal Remedies

You have a good number of herbs that can be used for treating a UTI naturally. Herbs like Ashwagandha and Dandelion help in increasing the frequency of peeing, which in turn supports treating UTIs.

Also, Uva Ursi or Bearberry contains Arbutin, a compound with antimicrobial properties. Thus, it discourages the growth of E.coli, one of the causes behind UTIs. Moreover, the astringent properties of Uva Ursi help to tighten mucous membranes.

So, the herb can help to reduce inflammation in infected urinary tract cells. Apart from the discussed examples, herbs carry antibacterial and antifungal properties. These functions make the intake of herbal extracts apt home remedies for UTI.

Also, given the rise of antibiotic-resistance UTI strains, herbal remedies make up for effective non-antibiotic prophylaxis.

2. Water Therapy

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) recommends drinking enough water to both prevent and cure UTIs. Water helps to have frequent urination, which aids in flushing bacteria from the urinary tract.

Further, the importance of water therapy can be understood from doctors recommending affected patients to drink 6 to 8 glasses of water daily.

Also, water helps you produce urine frequently, which helps in removing harmful bacteria from your bladder. Thus, you can reduce a load of infection-causing bacteria without having medicinal side effects.

Importantly, having enough water to treat UTIs provides an easy way of home treatment. This treatment comes in handy for curing uncomplicated UTIs.

Apart from focusing on water intake, you can also prioritize having water-based veggies and fruits. These foods meet up the water needs but also supply you with minerals and other important nutrients.

Thus, by consuming these foods, you can have a strong immune system which can prevent recurrent urinary tract infections.

3. Stop Having Bladder Irritants

Bladder-irritating foods like coffee, chocolate, and tea can cause irritation and inflammation in the bladder wall. The inflammation can cause or worsen bladder infection, influencing the urgency and frequency of peeing. So, to prevent an active UTI from worsening, you should not have bladder irritants.

Apart from said foods, even healthy acidic foods like citrus fruits can cause bladder irritation. Therefore, you need to figure out which foods can encourage UTI, as even unusual foods are involved.

4. Supplements for Good Urinary Tract Health

Many natural supplements promote good health of the urinary system. Thus these can be used (obviously supported by doctor’s advice) along with other home remedies and antibiotics for supporting UTI treatment.

For Urinary Comfort and Good Microflora: Urinary Tract Support (UTS)

Among the treatments developing natural supplements-based ways, we prefer Vitapost’s “Urinary tract support.” The supplement contains pacran, which is 100% cranberry extract. This ingredient blesses you with a healthy urinary tract and also prevents the growth of harmful bacteria.

Other ingredients include PreforPro having four strains of bacteriophage, and DE111 containing a strain of spore-forming Bacillus subtilis. Among these, PreforPro can eliminate bad bacteria and favor the growth of good gut bacteria.

DE111 supports well-balanced healthy microflora and promotes better immune and digestive systems.Thus, these two ingredients aid in having good microflora, which helps in preventing or treating UTIs.

Shop Vitapost Urinary Tract Support at the Official Website.

5. Take Probiotics

Probiotics help you to have a healthy microbiome which discourages the growth of bad microbes in the body. For supporting UTI treatments and also for overall good health, you can use supplements having probiotics.

Best Prebiotic and Probiotic Supplement: SynoGut

This dietary supplement contains Lactobacillus acidophilus as a probiotic strain. Apart from favoring the growth of good microbes, it improves digestion and immunity.

Further, the supplement contains prebiotics and fibers, which improve intestinal and digestive systems. Improving these systems aid in preventing or managing UTIs.

Shop at Synogut’s Official Website

Full Article: SynoGut Reviews: Does it Really Work?

Top-Notch Supplement For Digestive Health: Sane Viscera-3

This supplement from Sane deserves special mention cause it contains postbiotics. Postbiotics are nothing but bioactive compounds produced by good microbes.

The postbiotics-based formulation of Viscera-3 helps you to have good gut health and prevents disrupting the healthy microflora. Thus the supplement aids in preventing infections in the urinary and intestinal tract.

Shop at Viscera-3 Official Website

Full Article: Viscera 3 Reviews: Does it Really Work?

Best Probiotics with Super Strains: Flora Spring

This supplement relies on the right number and strains of probiotics. The resulting formulation gives you healthy digestion and body weight.

Importantly, the probiotics present help in preventing microbes causing UTIs from multiplying in the urinary tract. Also, the supplement aids in preventing bad microbes from traveling in the urinary tract’s upper part.

Shop at FloraSpring’s Official Website

Full Article : FloraSpring Probiotic Review: Does it Really Work for Weight Loss?

Best for Probiotic Weight Loss: BioFit

This supplement contains probiotic strains, including Lactobacillus acidophilus. The content of probiotics in the supplement aid in strengthening the healthy microflora in the gut.

Thus, the supplement favors the growth of good microbes, which prevent the entry or growth of pathogenic microbes involved in UTIs.

Focusing on gut microflora helps the supplement to cause better absorption of nutrients. And thus, you can maintain a good body weight with BioFit.

Shop at Biofit Official Website

Full Article: BioFit Reviews: Does it Really Work?

6. Use of Heating Pads

Using heating pads can neither cure nor prevent urinary tract infections. But, applying heat may help in alleviating UTI symptoms like pain and discomfort in the lower back.

So, you can try getting temporary relief from UTI pain by using heating pads.

7. Reduce Meat and Poultry Consumption

Researchers across the world are linking meat and poultry products with urinary tract infections. These said food products carry strains of Escherichia coli that cause UTIs.

Moreover, excessively reckless use of antibiotic treatment on chickens in farms produces superbugs with high antibiotic resistance. These bacteria can travel to the urinary tract from the gut and cause infections.

So, to prevent UTIs, you can lower or stop your meat and poultry consumption.

8. Include more Fruits in your Diet for Vitamin C

Fruits provide plenty of vitamins and minerals, which help to prevent or treat a UTI. Moreover, fruits, especially citrus ones, supply vitamin C, which makes the urine acidic.

Increasing the acidic profile of the urine prevents the growth of bacteria, causing UTIs. Notably, you can find most fruits with vitamin C to increase your vitamin intake. Thus, you can include vitamin C-enriched fruits in your diet to prevent UTIs.

But you should avoid having citrus fruits if you feel bowel irritations.

9. Don’t “hold” pee in

Holding your urine is one of the major bad habits which encourage a urinary tract infection. Even releasing a small amount of urine helps in getting rid of UTI-causing bacteria. And when you forcefully hold yourself from peeing, you encourage the accumulation of bacteria causing the infection.

Moreover, holding your urine puts stress on bladder muscles and makes them weak. The resulting weak muscles eventually lead to difficulty in emptying your bladder, which later favors bladder infections.

Also, regular peeing can help in getting relief from the burning sensation or discomfort associated with UTIs.

10. Urinating After Sex

Starting from Healthline to CDC, everyone considers peeing after sex as a necessary habit. Sexual intercourse exposes your urinary tract to germs which can cause a urinary tract infection.

But peeing right after sex helps to flush bacteria from the urethra and thus aids in UTI prevention.

11. Change to Healthier Daily Habits

Lifestyle changes help you to alleviate the symptoms of a UTI. Practices like not smoking and wearing clean clothes aid in cutting UTI risk.

Also, one should wipe from front to back, not the other way round, while cleaning intimate areas. Wiping from back to front after a bowel movement can help bacteria from the anus to enter the urethra.

Importantly, you should never use cosmetic or skincare products on your genital areas, favoring a high risk of UTIs. Excess use of hygiene or cosmetic products in these body parts breaks the natural barrier to prevent bacteria or other pathogens.

So, you should always opt for medicated hygiene products.

12. Cranberry Juice

Cranberry juice is one of the most common natural remedies to treat UTIs. But what’s so special about cranberry, which makes it a home treatment for UTI?

It was universally acknowledged that cranberry prevented the adherence of bacteria to urinary tract walls. Thus the fruit brings down the chance of bacterial infection in the urinary tract. But a study shed light on the action mechanisms of the fruit in preventing UTIs.

In the experimental sample, cranberry prevented the normal actions of flagella-producing genes of Escherichia coli. Thus we can connect cranberry’s efficiency in preventing UTIs lies in its ability to prevent the motility of bacteria.

So, you can drink cranberry juice to discourage the growth of UTI bacteria. Further, you can take opt for cranberry supplements or unsweetened cranberry juice.

Can I Only Use Home Remedies For UTIs?

The type or blend of treatments you need for a UTI depends on the severity of the infection. Like, if you have a mild urinary tract infection, you can find a great degree of relief from home remedies.

You may not get the same degree of relief from UTI home remedies if you have a severe infection. Like, if you have a faster progressing infection, you need immediate medical help.

Importantly, as reported by GoodRx Health.com, many infections affecting the urinary tract can go away on their own. But then again, you need antibiotics to kill bacteria causing the UTI.

Moreover, using antibiotics for UTI prevents the infection from spreading into the upper urinary tract involving kidneys and ureters. Even an uncomplicated urinary tract infection, when left untreated, can become severe without medicinal interventions. But, excess antibiotics or non-specific topical treatments favor yeast infection, increasing future UTI chances.

The indispensable importance of antibiotics in treating UTIs may make UTI home remedies appear extra or trivial. But home or natural ways support the curing of the infection and can prevent UTIs in the future.

Thus, home strategies can increase the efficacy of prescribed antibiotics for UTIs. And the combo of natural remedies and antibiotics makes up a compact way of curing UTIs.

Also, a healthy lifestyle and good stress management play an important role in supporting the treatment or prevention of UTIs. Stress can weaken your immune system and intensify the UTI symptoms.

Also, if you don’t clean yourself properly after sex, or bowel movement, you have a high chance of developing common bacterial infections. Poor hygiene cannot always save you from UTIs, no matter how good your antibiotics are.

Should UTI Treatment Vary Based on Gender?

Irrespective of gender, one can use natural ways to get relief from UTI or its symptoms. Like, both men and women will receive the same effectiveness to prevent UTIs by having vitamin C-rich fruits.

But, based on gender, the preventive or natural strategies vary for managing UTIs. Like, women need to change sanitary napkins more frequently compared to the frequency they have without a UTI.

Keeping the same pad or tampon for a long time can encourage bacterial growth. Thus with frequent changing in these products, you can prevent pathogenic growth or multiplication.

Conclusion

Despite the common prevalence and risk factors of UTIs, you can easily treat these. You can rely on home remedies for UTIs.

Natural ways to cure or support the recovery of UTIs involve eating fruits rich in vitamin C and good hygiene. Increasing the intake of water and water-rich natural foods helps in flushing out unwanted bacteria required for treating or preventing UTIs. Also, you can reduce your intake of meat and poultry products to help treat UTIs.

Apart from mentioned ways, you can use natural supplements to help treat or prevent UTIs. Also, you can use probiotic-based formulations to promote good health of the urinary tract.

But remember to use an antibiotic treatment to effectively get rid of a UTI.

>>Related Article: How to Get Rid of a UTI: Complete Guide 2024

Home Remedies For UTI FAQs

What is the fastest way to get rid of a urinary tract infection?

No fastest cure ensures recovery of UTI in 24 hours. You can have a faster recovery from your urinary tract infection by drinking water, eating fruits, and leaving unhealthy habits. Doctors also recommend taking off days from work to treat UTIs quickly.

But, UTI treatments, irrespective of the cause and intensity of the infection, require consulting a doctor for faster recovery. Expert advice surely keeps you away from leaving UTIs untreated, worsening the infection. Also, medicines like trimethoprim, nitrofurantoin, and ciprofloxacin help in treating UTIs faster.

What is the best way to deal with recurrent urinary tract infections?

A single way can never treat recurrent UTIs effectively. To resolve recurrent urinary tract infections, you need several strategies, including taking antibiotics at low doses for a longer time. Also, you need healthy foods to support curing and preventing UTIs.

Further, Healthline recommends drinking cranberry juice to treat recurrent UTIs. Also, using clean underwear and proper washroom hygiene supports curing repetitive cases.

How can you reduce the chances of acute urinary tract infections?

You can effectively reduce your chances of acute UTI cases in simple ways. Like, you can practice safe sex and prioritize daily hygiene to bring down the UTI frequency.

Also, one can prevent acute UTIs by staying hydrated and urinating after sexual intercourse. Importantly, you should not leave UTI untreated to prevent making UTI symptoms worse. Timely consultation with healthcare experts helps in preventing uncomplicated UTIs become severe infections.