I am ridiculously prone to infection and cystitis has been something I've gotten since a young age! It always comes and goes and I live off cranberry juice top stop it. What else is there I can do? Here are the three main causes of reinfection:
You aren't treating the infection correctly in the first place, either because your doctor misdiagnosed the type of infection or because you've been treating it yourself without knowing exactly what type of infection you have.
Your infection has become a systemic infection that can't be cleared up with local treatment. This is common with candidiasis.
Your boyfriend or husband is infected and keeps reinfecting you. If this is the case, you must be sure that your partner is treated along with you.
The mainstay of prevention is to keep the urine dilute by drinking fluids and urinating often. Added water consumption during an infection will help flush out the problem bacteria. Repeated infections may require that routine water consumption be increased to prevent their recurrence.
Coffee, soda and other caffeinated beverages may irritate the bladder lining and are not recommended.
While natural means may prevent as well as treat cystitis, there are times when the judicious use of antibiotics is the best treatment choice. Natural means alone will often prevent recurrence and in some cases resolve bladder infections that have resisted antibiotic treatment.
The urine pH is often elevated in times of bacterial infection but can be lowered by some medications or unbuffered vitamin C. This produces a less favorable growth environment for some bacteria. Take 1000 mg vitamin C four to five times daily.
It has been reported that cranberries contain more mannose than any other food. This sugar, D-mannose, blocks E. coli attachment. Since the mannose content in cranberries is relatively low, many natural doctors now use supplemental D-mannose to deal with the most common form of cystitis, an E. coli infection.
D-mannose can be used for preventive purposes also. Take 500 mg four times daily.
Horsetail: take 500mg of the capsule or 2 ml of the tincture four times daily. This herb has a long history of use for urinary tract infection.
Probiotic contains friendly bacteria that prevent the overgrowth of harmful bacteria. It's important to take if you are using antibiotics. take it at a separate time during the day, and continue for two months. Take a painkiller, such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or aspirin, to reduce discomfort. Holding a covered hot water bottle over your abdomen may also help.
Make the urine less acidic by drinking a glass of water with a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda dissolved in it. Products from the pharmacist that contain sodium citrate (such as Cystemme) have the same effect. However, neither of these treatments is suitable if you have high blood pressure or heart trouble, so ask your pharmacist for advice.
Don't have sex or drink alcohol while the attack lasts.
Some doctors recommend that you drink lots of water to help flush out the infection, to dilute the urine and reduce the burning sensation. There is no evidence that this is helpful, although drinking at least two litres of fresh water per day is generally good for your health.
Drink cranberry juice or take capsules of cranberry concentrate. There is some scientific evidence that cranberry helps to prevent but not treat cystitis. However, it won't do you any harm to try it as treatment. But tell your GP if you plan to take cranberry supplements as they may interfere with other medications that you are taking.
sometimes cystitis clears up but a tiny bit of the infection is still present, because of this antibiotics are the best treatment and relief of alot of pain
good luck, all the best! There is a product that you can take called D-Mannose that will help to prevent bladder infections. I helps by making it difficult for the bacteria to adhere to the walls of the bladder.
This is one option.
http://www.iherb.com/Search.aspx?c=1&st=...
I have had lots of problems with bladder infections in the past. Done the antibiotic thing. But still they came back. Finally I went to a homeopath and he had be cured in about 24 hours.
Since then I have learned to use the homeopathic remedies by myself. The great thing about the remedies is that they strengthen your immune system regarding this problem and the infections tend not to return so it would be a better choice than the d mannose.
The two leading remedies are:
Cantharsis
Staphysigria
Choose one or the other but Staphysigria cures more cases than cantharsis does.
Most healthfood stores sell them in what is called the 30c potency. You will have to take it at least 3 times a day. If you do not have symptoms do not take it.
You can learn a lot about homeoapthy at this site:
http://www.healthsalon.org/80/homeopathy...
http://www.healthsalon.org/92/homeopathy...
If these remedies do not work adequately for you you will need a homeopathic consultation for your case may be more complex than ususal.
Another option is using Lugols Iodine. Take 6 drops 3 times a day till your symptoms are gone for at least one day. It ususally only takes 2 to 3 days to cure.
You can find further info about using lugols here:
http://www.healthsalon.org/278/iodine-vi...
Antibiotics are very dangerous drugs. They can cause drug resistant infections in the bladder as well as other parts of the body. I would do all that I can to avoid using them Here is a list of herbal teas that help the kidneys. Cloves, cinnamon bark, Fenugreek, garlic; ginger; raspberry; blackberry; Schisandra; gravel root; rose hips; dandelion; Uva ursi (in capsule form 500 mg).
Here is a list of supplements Magnesium (300 mg twice a day)
Horsetail (500 mg twice a day).
Also aspirin or tylenol for discomfort; hot water bottle; avoid sex while you have one...always void before and after sex; drink a cup of water with baking soda...or apple cider vinegar. Acupuncture and herbs and a food therapy session to find out if there are any food triggers | 