Bladder infections or cystitis are very common. Anyone can get them, but women are more prone to get as compared to men.
When bacteria enters the urethra (the tube that is used to remove urine from the body) it can get attached to the inner bladder wall to cause infection by multiplication. Even yeast can enter bladder that is why it is classified under urinary tract infections (UTI).
As a result of the infection you may get a sudden urge to urinate, feel abdominal pain and cramping.
Sometimes simple home remedies can treat your bladder infections easily, but you may require proper medical attention ;in some cases.
Table of Contents
- What are Bladder infections?
- Home Remedies for Bladder Infection
- How to Prevent Bladder Infections?
- Other Tips and Precautions
What are Bladder infections?
Bladder infections are bacterial or yeast infections. Knowing the exact causes can help in its prevention.
Main Causes
- Kidney stones
- Constipation
- Sexual intercourse
- Longer withholding of urine (particularly in men)
- Pregnancy
Symptoms
You can get a combination of many different symptoms but the most common one is pain during urination. Others are as under:
- Frequent urges to urinate
- Very little quantity of pee
- Cloudy urine with occasional traces of blood in it
- Pain in the pelvic area
- Bad smelling urine
- Pressure on lower abdomen
If you also get fever then it is an indication that the infection might have spread to the kidney. It requires immediate medical attention.
Home Remedies for Bladder Infection
1. Drink Plenty of Water
Drinking a lot of water is a necessary requirement to quickly recover from the bladder infection. It is also a good preventative measure. Water flushes out bacteria stuck in the bladder wall.
Water also dilutes the dark concentrated urine as a result it reduces pain and irritation during urination.
You will be peeing more as you are drinking more water but the most important thing is your bladder contents are replaced regularly and bacterial concentration keeps falling due to flushing out of some bacteria everytime you pee.
This gives you quick pain relief as well as speeds you the process of recovery.
2. Cucumber
Eating cucumber is one of the best ways to get rid of bladder infection fast. Cucumber contains lots of water so if you don't enjoy drinking lots of water then eating cucumber meets your water requirements.
Slice a cucumber and enjoy eating it. If you feel lazy to slice it then eat it just as it is. Important thing is to eat it to meet the water requirements to fight infection. How you eat is irrelevant.
Cucumber is a low calorie rich with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It also helps in lowering blood sugar and reduces weight. So keep eating it even after recovery from bladder infection.
3. Parsley Water
Parsley is a powerful diuretic which helps in flushing out fluids through urination. When you have a bladder infection or UTI your goal should be to keep the body fluids replaced regularly. If you drink more water and a natural diuretic like parsley help you to excrete water fast then you have a fast mechanism to replace water in the bladder. Fast replacement of bladder fluids will flush out lots if bacteria with it.
- Chop a cup of parsley and toss into a saucepan or a pot
- Pour two cups of water and bring it to boil
- Let it dinner for 5 minutes on low heat
- Remove the saucepan or pot from heat and let it cool to palatable temperature
- Strain, drink warm and enjoy
- Do it 2-3 times daily
4. Ginger Tea
Ginger tea will help to relieve inflammation and pain caused by a bladder infection. It also acts as a mild diuretic to flush out urine fast from the body.
Ginger tea is also good to reduce nausea and vomiting, increase blood circulation and improve digestion.
- Pour two cups of water in a heating pot
- Add small pieces sliced, grated or minced of about an inch of ginger root
- Bring the water to boil
- Lower the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes
- Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool to palatable temperatures
- Strain drink and enjoy
- Do it twice daily
5. Lemon Water
Lemon water is a natural diuretic to flush out toxins from your bladder through urine. Drinking lots of plain water can be boring but adding other natural helpful ingredients like lemon makes it easy to drink more water.
You don't have to overboard by adding lemon to every glass of water you drink during the day. But you can certainly add lemon to 2-3 glasses of water daily. You still should have more water throughout the day.
Start your day with lemon water for best results.
- Take a glass of slightly warm mineral water. Don't take cold or refrigerated water.
- Cut a lemon and squeeze the juice from half to add to the water
- Mix it well
- Don't add anything to improve taste. We are trying to resolve bladder infection and for that just lemon and water are good.
- Drink 2-3 times daily
6. Cranberry Juice
Cranberry juice is an excellent drink to detach the bacteria from the inner lining of your bladder and flush them out through urine to get rid of the infection.
Cranberry juice can be better so dilute it and drink it but never add sugar or any other sweetener to improve its taste. Sugar is bad for bladder infection if it is a food for the bacteria to thrive.
Packaged Cranberry juice is not your best bet as it invariably has preservatives and sweeteners added.
Make your own cranberry juice as under for the best results. You can make juice and store it in the refrigerator for a couple days.
- Wash and rinse 400 grams of cranberries
- Pour 1 litre water in a large heating pot
- Add cleaned cranberries
- Bring it boil
- Lower the heat and let it simmer until cranberries pop
- Turn off the heat and let it steep for 30 minutes.
- Put the mix in a blender and blend it until it becomes smooth mixture
- Strain through a cheesecloth
- Put it in sealed glass bottle in refrigerator.
- Take out half a glass
- Add warm water to fill the glass and mix well
- Drink it. If you find the taste too sour add more water to dilute it further but don't add any sweetner
- Do it 2-3 times daily. The quantity in the fridge should last 3-4 days by that time your bladder infection should completely go
How to Prevent Bladder Infections?
Most of the following prevention measures simple common sense.
- Drink 8-10 glasses of water during the day everyday
- Do not withhold urine. Pee when you feel the need
- Wear cotton underwear and change them daily
- Use non spermicidal lubricated condoms
- Urinate before and after sex
Other Tips and Precautions
Bladder infections are completely avoidable infections. In addition to taking the above preventative measures eat a diet which does not produce acidic urine.
Certain medications can be responsible for such infections. Check with your doctor and replace them with safer medicines.
When you get infection then quickly act on it to get rid of it. If home remedies work then great but if they don't then consult a doctor immediately to avoid serious complications like kidney infection and others.