Do home remedies work?

Home remedies
Urinary tract infections have bothered countless women over the years. Home remedies have been handed down for generations. Whether they actually work is a matter of opinion. Science has not proven this.

Cranberries. One age-old home remedy for urinary tract infections is to drink cranberry juice (not cranberry "cocktail") or eat raw cranberries (perhaps stirred into yogurt and sweetened with honey). Some women say it helps, but there is little scientific data to prove this.

Drinking a lot of water. Another way that people try to prevent or relieve urinary tract infections is to drink a lot of water and other fluids.

Though not scientifically proven, drinking a lot of water may help prevent infection

The idea is that the extra water will be eliminated through the kidneys, and the increased volume of urine will flush the bacteria out of the bladder.

This may sound logical, but scientifically, it is not expected to make a difference in urinary tract infection treatment. Once the symptoms of bladder infection (cystitis) have started, the bacteria have already stuck to the bladder wall. No amount of water can flush them away. However, drinking a lot of water may help to prevent infection.

Urinating immediately before or after sex. Women who find that they often get urinary tract infections a day or two after having sexual intercourse should try urinating immediately before or after sex. Doing this may remove any undesirable bacteria that have entered the urinary tract before they have time to start an infection.

Personal hygiene. Health care professionals often recommend wiping from front to back after urinating. While there is no scientific proof that this helps, it is still a good practice and can help prevent infection-causing bacteria such as E. coli from multiplying in and near the vagina.

If you tend to get urinary tract infections again and again, taking showers instead of baths may help. Don't take bubble baths, which remove natural protective secretions.

Medication
If you get urinary tract infections over and over, your health care professional may be willing to prescribe an antibiotic medication for you to keep at home. You can then take it right away when the familiar symptoms start again. The sooner the antibiotic gets into your system, the sooner it can start to work—before the bacteria have had time to multiply very much.

 Alert: If you keep antibiotics at home and besides the usual symptoms you also feel chills, a fever, a backache, or as if you are catching a cold, contact your health care professional as soon as possible. These extra symptoms suggest that something more serious than a urinary tract infection may be going on.

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