Shy about Urinary Tract Infection?

Urinary Tract infection (UTI) is common bacterial infection mainly at urethra (urethritis), bladder (cystitis) and kidney (pyelonephritis). If you suspect that you might be one of them, you might like to check the following common signs and symptoms:-

1) Frequent urination, usually in small quantity
2) Burning or painful sensation when passing urine
3) Bloody or chalky in urine
4) Foul smell in urine
5) Fever
6) Fatigue

For kidney infection, serious symptons may include abdominal pain, back pain, vomitting and even high fever. Women are more vulnerable to UTI as compared to men because the females urethra are shorter than the males. In addition, the urethra opening is also near to the vagina and rectum that can potentially cause infection. UTI can also occur if you frequently hold your urine and some urine may flow or reflux backwards into the bladder, ureters and kidneys. If the condition is not controlled, it may lead to urine crystallization at kidney and can cause kidney stones.

What to do?

1) Drink plenty of water

This will help to flush and clean your urinary tract from the acidic urine.

2) Drink the water (8 oz) containing 1/2 tsp of baking soda (Sodium bicarbonate)

Drink this for every hour will help to make your urine more alkaline

3) Take more fruits and vegetables; take less meat, fats and acid-producing foods

This was surprising to me at first, but fruits and vegetables can really alkalinize your urine. The most common juice is craneberry juice and even wolfberry juice. Alternatively, you can take diluted apple cider vinegar with honey. As meat and fats are 'acid-producing food', they should be reduced during the UTI. Caffeine should also be avoided as it can aggravate the UTI condition.

4) Massage your abdomen or visit a reflexologist

Use your favourite massage oil to massage the painful related areas can help to relief the pain and discomfort effectively. My favourite massage oil is lavender. Seeking a reflexologist to massage on the bladder acupoints on the back of your feet could help you to relief the pain as well.

5) There is always the doctor

For serious UTI conditions, I would advise you to visit the doctor as they would obtain a specimen to determine the culture before they administer the anti-biotics together with pain killers. Sometimes, the culture may be different so determining the culture can be useful for a more accurate diagnosis. Typical bacterial cultures that causes UTIs are be Ecoli, chlamydia or Mycoplasma.


Related references

1) US National Institute of Health - Urinary Tract Infections

2) Home remedies for Urinary Tract Infection

3) Mike Morin's GOJI juice website

4) Urinally Tract Infections