Well that was good to know
Sooooo, apparently drinking unsweetened cranberry or blueberry juice WHILE you have a UTI can actually exacerbate the infection because it causes urine to become more acidic. When you have a UTI you want to try to make your urine more alkaline. The juices and pills are good for prevention (they make the cells that line the bladder more difficult for bacteria to adhere to over a prolonged period of time).
FYI.
You can add 1/4 tsp. of baking soda to a room temperature glass of water (and obviously drink it) to help make your urine more alkaline so it doesn't sting when you void.
UTI stuff that may or may not be helpful to you:
-Barley water - drink it when you feel a UTI coming on. I don't know how it works or what but I notice that some people are doing this. I didn't try it.
-Saw Palmetto - a handy herb to help prevent or get rid of UTIs
-Corn silk - technically a diuretic and is found in herbal teas used to "detox" or whatever. It's in the Yogi Tea specified for "detoxing" which is NOT why I originally picked up but anyway. Since you would be drinking a massive amount of fluids is is just another thing you could use to help flush things out to bring a little relief.
-The tinctures that I mentioned before (Marshmallow* [no this is not the same as marshmellows], Uva Ursi and Goldenseal) are good, especially Uva Ursi. You can get them in pill form but I don't know what you need to look for. Sometimes there is a difference in potency between the leaf and root of a plant. That's why I went with the tincture but the tinctures are so bad tasting that I think most people would prefer to go the pill route.
-Vitamin C - people who suffer from UTIs seem to recommend taking 1,000 mg every 3 hours or so when you feel that you have one or it's coming on. You should know that increased ingestion of Vitamin C might give you diarrhea.
-Garlic - not really surprising. Cut up some cloves and swallow them. Garlic is a good antimicrobial/fungal agent.
-Obvious things you already know - don't consume caffeine and limit your sugar consumption (including alcohol) during treatment of a UTI or YI. wipe front to back, pee after sex, wash your bits and pieces on a regular basis (you probably know if you can use soap or not - if you don't know, soap can cause infections for some people when used on sensitive areas), have clean bits and pieces, hands and fingers (and whatever/whoever else you are going to include) for sex, drink a lot of water.
-If you try treating things on your own and they don't get better or become worse, see a damn doctor and get some antibiotics. You should be concerned if there is blood present in your urine.
*Marshmallow root was used by Egyptians and Greeks to treat various ailments. The root produces a gooey gel that was also used to make a confection that the marshmellows we know today are VERY LOOSELY based on.
FYI.
You can add 1/4 tsp. of baking soda to a room temperature glass of water (and obviously drink it) to help make your urine more alkaline so it doesn't sting when you void.
UTI stuff that may or may not be helpful to you:
-Barley water - drink it when you feel a UTI coming on. I don't know how it works or what but I notice that some people are doing this. I didn't try it.
-Saw Palmetto - a handy herb to help prevent or get rid of UTIs
-Corn silk - technically a diuretic and is found in herbal teas used to "detox" or whatever. It's in the Yogi Tea specified for "detoxing" which is NOT why I originally picked up but anyway. Since you would be drinking a massive amount of fluids is is just another thing you could use to help flush things out to bring a little relief.
-The tinctures that I mentioned before (Marshmallow* [no this is not the same as marshmellows], Uva Ursi and Goldenseal) are good, especially Uva Ursi. You can get them in pill form but I don't know what you need to look for. Sometimes there is a difference in potency between the leaf and root of a plant. That's why I went with the tincture but the tinctures are so bad tasting that I think most people would prefer to go the pill route.
-Vitamin C - people who suffer from UTIs seem to recommend taking 1,000 mg every 3 hours or so when you feel that you have one or it's coming on. You should know that increased ingestion of Vitamin C might give you diarrhea.
-Garlic - not really surprising. Cut up some cloves and swallow them. Garlic is a good antimicrobial/fungal agent.
-Obvious things you already know - don't consume caffeine and limit your sugar consumption (including alcohol) during treatment of a UTI or YI. wipe front to back, pee after sex, wash your bits and pieces on a regular basis (you probably know if you can use soap or not - if you don't know, soap can cause infections for some people when used on sensitive areas), have clean bits and pieces, hands and fingers (and whatever/whoever else you are going to include) for sex, drink a lot of water.
-If you try treating things on your own and they don't get better or become worse, see a damn doctor and get some antibiotics. You should be concerned if there is blood present in your urine.
*Marshmallow root was used by Egyptians and Greeks to treat various ailments. The root produces a gooey gel that was also used to make a confection that the marshmellows we know today are VERY LOOSELY based on.