Treating and Keeping BLADDER INFECTION or UTI at bay!

Treating Diseases of Kidney & Urinary System

The bacterial infection of the bladder, affecting millions each year, is also referred to as Bladder Infection or urinary tract infection UTI. It is called UTI as the entire urinary tract gets infected. This includes your bladder, urethra, the ureters, and the kidneys.

It is more prevalent in women than in men. At least about 55% of women experience UTI once in a lifetime. Bacteria easily reaches the bladder in women, as urethra- the tube carrying out urine from the bladder is much shorter.

CAUSES of UTI

BACTERIA

Bacteria from Bowel: “Bacteria from the bowel is one of the most common causes why people develop kidney infection,”- Dr. Pradeep Mathur, Sanjeevani Kaya Shodhan Sansthan. Dr. Dharmendra Vashisht added that some patients who have a medical history with the usage of urinary catheters for a long period are prone to UTI.

Besides this, viruses and fungi are also a predominant factor in causing UTI. Two main bacterias, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, and Escherichia coli are found in 75% cases.

SYMPTOMS

• While urinating, the patient feels a burning sensation
• The urine may be dark in color or cloudy
• The patient urinates frequently
• The patient may experience pain in the pelvic region
• There might be a strong prevalent odor
• A feeling that the bladder has not been emptied out

Curing UTI or Bladder Infection

Most people take antibiotics, but naturopathy can eliminate the infection. Naturopathy also provides precautionary remedies that can be practiced in your daily life.

Drink Lots of Water: Dr. Pradeep Mathur at Sanjeevani-Gohana emphasizes the need to have lots of water during UTI and urinate frequently. He adds, “It cleanses out the system and flushes out the bacteria from the urinary tract. And as a precautionary step, if you do not have UTI, it prevents the tract from getting infected.”

Dr. Dharmendra Vashisht advice the patients to “take water regularly throughout the day and stay hydrated. Also, you must drink water when you are thirsty.”

Treatment at Sanjeevani:
“The treatment at Sanjeevani – Gohana is geared to make you sweat in the steam, sauna, and other effective treatments. The glands relieve kidney from wastes.” Drinking water constantly keeps you hydrated.

– Dr. Pradeep Mathur

Consuming Vitamin C enriched fruits

Vitamin C can protect against urinary tract infection. “Taking more citrus fruits as papaya that provides 500% of daily vitamin C intake.” It increases the acidity in the urine and kills the bacteria.

– Dr. Dharmendra Vashisht

Everyday Health has provided the DV% of vitamin C present in different fruits and vegetables, presented in the tables below.

SNo.	Fruits	QTY	Vitamin C	DV%
1	Guava	1	125 mg	139%
2	Kiwi	1	72 mg	80%
3	lemons	1	19 mg	21%
4	Blackberries	1 cup	30 mg	33%
5	Papaya	1 large	475 mg	500%
6	Oranges	1	112 mg	124%
7	Strawberries (sliced)	1 cup	97 mg	107%

SNo.	Vegetables	QTY	Vitamin_C	DV%
1	Bell Peppers	1 cup	190 mg	211%
2	Red Green Chili Peppers	1	64.7 mg	100%
3	Potatoes	1 medium	42 mg	70%
4	Parsley and Thyme	1 tsp.	1.3 mg	1.4%
5	Dark Green Leafy Vegetables Kale, garden cress, Brussels sprouts, mustard greens, Broccoli, Cauliflower.
	Broccoli	1 stalk 1 + 2/3 cups	134 mg	148%

TAKING PROBIOTICS:

Taking probiotics taken in through foods and supplements maintain a healthy bacterial balance in the body. The following foods enhance the digestion and the immune system:

Probiotic Yogurt: “Any two bacteria must be included in your probiotic curd from Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, and Bifidobacterium—have been widely researched, and the data suggests they may improve immune and digestive health and protect against yeast infections in women,” as per  Reader’s Digest.

Kimchi: is part of the Korean side dish. It is a salted pickled dish with Korean radish, napa cabbage, chili powder-gochugaru, ginger, garlic, scallions, jeotgal- salted seafood…

Kefir: It is fermented milk drink made with adding with kefir grains. The drink originated in Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Russia. It is prepared with goat, sheep or cow milk.

Kombucha: refers to the tea fungus, tea mushroom, or Manchurian mushroom culture. The sugared tea is fermented by using a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) which is commonly called a “mother” or “mushroom”.

Other remedies include drinking unsweetened Cranberry juice. The cranberry juice prevents the bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract and thus prevents infection.

Following Food extracts are also useful in treating UTI.

Bearberry leaf or uva-ursi: a combination of bearberry leaf, dandelion leaf, and dandelion root.

D-Mannose: A kind of sugar found in cranberries prevents UTI from recurring. “It stops bacteria from adhering to cells and flushes them out of the body,” as per Dr. Axe.

Cranberry extract and garlic extract are very useful. Garlic has antimicrobial properties and thus prevents bacteria from growing.