Looking For More Natural Remedies
As you may know, I’m extremely passionate about providing women with all the details they need to make informed decisions about their reproductive health.
I’m not in any way against pharmaceuticals when they are necessary and indicated for a particular treatment. Antibiotics have a time and a place in our health. But when other options are safe and effective, I like to offer women choices that include natural options they can administer themselves.
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Natural Ways To Treat An Overactive Bladder
About a year ago, I began noticing I was getting up several times a night to pee. Once I thought about it, I realized I was peeing a lot during the day, too. The problem escalated and escalated until I was getting up three to five times a night, leading to severe sleep deprivation. Desperate for a solution, I got tested for interstitial cystitis, ovarian cysts, diabetes, kidney stones, you name it. But with all the results negative, I instead got the frustrating diagnosis of overactive bladder .
I describe an OAB diagnosis as frustrating because it doesnât have a simple cure. Your options are to go on medication, to see a physical therapist who can teach you helpful exercises or an osteopath who can manipulate your nerves, to try a more drastic treatment like Bladder Botox injections or electrical bladder stimulation, or to make a bunch of small changes to your lifestyle that can gradually alleviate the problem. âEven though treatment options exist, many patients opt for natural and homeopathic remedies, since no single treatment has been proven to be most effective,â Caleb Backe, Health and Wellness Expert for Maple Holistics, tells Bustle.
There are two main symptoms of OAB,Los Angeles-based urologist S. Adam Ramin, MD tells Bustle: urgency frequency and urgency incontinence . Some people with OAB only have the first symptom, while others have both.
What Is A Urinary Tract Infection
A urinary tract infection occurs when a bacterial infection affects your urinary system, causing problems like discomfort during urination, frequent urination, urgency, and other symptoms. The most common culprits causing the problem are the microbes Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus saprophyticus.
Why do Urinary Tract Infections Occur?
Studies suggest that when women are encouraged to drink morewater, they are less likely to develop a UTI.
Practicing good sex hygiene and always wiping from front to back when using the bathroom can help prevent this contamination. Sometimes, even if you’re diligent, bacteria can still find its way to where it shouldn’t be.
If you’re just starting to suspect that you have a UTI, chances are good that it’s only affecting your lower urinary tract that is to say, your bladder and urethra. This is why UTIs are commonly referred to as bladder infections. Technically, a bladder infection is a type of UTI, but most women use the term interchangeably.
In the later stages of a more severe UTI infection, the whole urinary system can be compromised, including your kidneys.
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Soothe Uti Pain With Heat
Inflammation and irritation from UTIs cause burning, pressure, and pain around your pubic area, says Kandis Rivers, MD, a urologist in the Henry Ford Health System in Wast Bloomfield, Michigan. Applying a heating pad can help soothe the area. Keep the heat setting low, dont apply it directly to the skin, and limit your use to 15 minutes at a time to avoid burns.
Is Overactive Bladder Common In Young Adults
Its possible to have overactive bladder in your 20s, but its uncommon.
Research from 2015 found that among nearly 2,000 women averaging age 21, 12.4% reported having urinary incontinence. Of those, 3.4% had urge urinary incontinence , while another 1.9% experienced multiple types of urinary incontinence.
Another study from 2016 found that among men in their 30s and 40s, only around 5% experienced urge incontinence.
OAB is more common in older women in particular because the muscles controlling urination may weaken over time. Factors contributing to weakened muscles include pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause.
Overactive bladder occurs less often among young adults, but it can still happen. Causes may include:
- weak bladder muscles, which can be caused by being overweight
- damage to nerves that control urination, which may result from conditions including diabetes, stroke, and multiple sclerosis
- surgery that damages the pelvic floor muscles
- blockage from an enlarged prostate in men, though this is more common in older adults
Its important for men who develop OAB to have a prostate exam to check whether the urinary tract is constricted.
With overactive bladder, youll experience at least two of the following:
- urinating at least eight times during the day or at least twice at night
- feeling a sudden need to urinate
- leaking urine after feeling the need to urinate
Your doctor may check for overactive bladder using the following tests:
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Add Vitamin C To Your Diet
Not only does vitamin C help strengthen your immune system, but it may also acidify your urine, which limits the growth of some bacteria and may prevent urinary tract infections from occurring. Just be careful of eating too many acidic foods when you have a UTI, as they can potentially irritate your bladder, which may only make your UTI symptoms worse.
Cut Back On These Bladder Irritants
Just this evening, I realized my bladder was feeling much more irritated than usual. Then, I thought back to what Id just eaten: Thai curry and a smoothie containing orange juice. Curry, oranges, and juice are all on Urology San Antonios list of bladder irritants. Studies show that spicy foods can sometimes be an irritant to the lining of the bladder, says Ramin. Fare like spicy chili, chili peppers, or horseradish are examples of foods that can cause such irritation. Likewise, highly acidic foods can trigger a similar response.
It may not be realistic for you to give up all foods that could irritate your bladder, but you can start to take note of which foods are worst for you, and avoid those when you can .
And a word to the wise: People often say you should drink cranberry juice for bladder health, but thats to ward off UTIs. When it comes to bladder irritation, cranberry juice â along with most kinds of juice â could have the opposite effect you want. Due to its high acidity, it can actually worsen the condition, says Ramin.
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How To Treat My Dogs Urinary Tract Infection
What can you give a dog for urinary tract infection?
Here a some natural treatments and home remedies over the counter that can greatly help your dog fight a bacterial UTI or blood in dog urine.
In early cases of the disease, these remedies may be particularly effective. For more advanced cases, they are an important asset in completing a vet treatment.
Its important to act early, noting that a bladder infection can gradually evolve into a kidney infection.
Noninvasive Treatments For Urinary Incontinence
After your diagnosis, we determine a plan for treatment based on the type and cause of urinary incontinence youre experiencing. Your treatment plan depends on your age, overall physical condition, and the severity of your symptoms.
If you have a mild to moderate case of urinary incontinence, we may recommend conservative, non-invasive treatment. This can include behavior changes, medication, and/or medical devices to treat your symptoms.
If noninvasive treatment is right for you, you may be advised to do one or more of the following:
- Perform Kegel exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor and urinary sphincter
- Limit your consumption of fluids
- Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can stimulate urine production
- Lose weight to remove unnecessary pressure on your bladder
- Take medication approved for your type of urinary incontinence
- Urinate on a schedule that trains your bladder to extend the time between voiding
- Wear a vaginal pessary, a soft internal device that supports your bladder
- Use urethral inserts, tampon-like devices that can prevent embarrassing incontinence for a specific time or activity
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Altering The Bladder With Bladder Augmentation Surgery
When all other approaches to strengthen and retrain the bladder have failed, you may need to alter the bladder itself. This surgery is typically used as a last resort and in only the most severe cases of an overactive bladder.
Bladder augmentation involves enlarging the bladder with a section of your large intestine, so theres more physical space to store urine in and less pressure to urinate frequently. The surgery is the most invasive and complicated procedure for solving overactive bladder problems, and includes a long recovery time and possible lasting consequences. Once you have bladder augmentation surgery, you will cease to be able to urinate naturally you will have to use a catheter or stoma.
The good news is that many, if not most cases of an overactive bladder can be very well controlled with healthy lifestyle changes, and natural and traditional medical treatments. Its important to remember that not all of the listed treatment options may work for everyone.
Remember to discuss the above overactive bladder treatment options with your doctor before beginning them.
Add Fiber To Your Diet
Relieving constipation with a little extra fiber and three glasses of water daily ends bladder mishaps for one in four women studied. Thats because strained bowel movements can weaken your pelvic floor staying regular reduces pressure on the tiny muscles that hold your bladder shut.
With these simple tricks, youll beat that incontinence in no time!
This story originally appeared in our sister print magazine, Womans World.
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How To Use It And How Much
You can consume green tea orally. Mix a teaspoon of green tea to a cup of hot water. Let it steep for 5-7 minutes. Filter it through a sieve and add a small amount of honey to create some delicious green tea. You can drink it twice a day.
Remember that green tea wont be of much help if your frequent urination is a consequence of some other condition rather than a UTI. The tea is a powerful diuretic, so it may increase your frequency of urination in cases other than UTIs.
Try Taking A Probiotic
Introducing a probiotic to your system may help to replenish the naturally occurring, healthy bacteria that live in the gut. It is thought that probiotics may prevent harmful bacteria from attaching to the urinary tract cells, and may also lower the urine Ph, making it less hospitable to harmful bacteria. And, if you have taken an antibiotic to treat a UTI, taking a probiotic is a great way to build up the healthy bacteria that may have been killed during your course of treatment. Probiotics are found in supplement form , or they occur naturally in some types of food, including certain yogurts, kombucha, or kefir.
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Frequent Urination Causes And Natural Treatments
Frequent urination is a symptom of many conditions and it can lead to sleep deprivation and affect your ability to work, exercise or perform daily functions. For people dealing with nocturia, or frequent urination in middle of the night, this issue can affect their quality of life, leading to fatigue, mood changes, appetite changes and brain fog.
Usually, by dealing with the underlying condition thats causing frequent urination, you can manage and improve this very inconvenient symptom. Knowing the potential causes of frequent urination can help you to determine what exactly is causing the issue, so you can consult with your healthcare provider about a treatment plan.
There are also natural treatments for frequent urination that will help you to build pelvic muscle strength, avoid food triggers and re-train your bladder to use the bathroom less frequently.
Load Up On Vitamin C For A Healthy Urinary Tract
Getting plenty of foods high in vitamin C is important because large amounts of vitamin C make urine more acidic. This inhibits the growth of bacteria in your urinary tract, according to Johns Hopkins Medicineâs health library. However, if you have an active UTI, you may want to avoid citrus or other acidic foods. These foods are known to irritate the bladder, which is the last thing you need when youre having pain urinating.
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Herbs The Word: Help For Overactive Bladder
Overactive bladder , a condition that causes a sudden urge to urinate, is most commonly treated with prescription medications to control bladder muscles. However, herbal remedies are becoming more common as natural treatment options.
You may see herbs as natural ways to prevent bladder problems, but they arent always safe and effective.
The Food and Drug Administration regulates herbs as dietary supplements but doesnt approve any herbs as medications to treat specific illnesses or medical conditions.
Though these herbs do show some promise in helping to treat OAB, you should always consult your healthcare provider before starting any complementary treatments.
% Of Women Cant Do A Kegel Properly We Do Them For You
Stress Urinary Incontinence is surprisingly common and affects 1 in 3 women. Your pelvic floor is a powerful set of muscles that play an important role in bladder control, core stability and intimate wellbeing. INNOVO takes the guesswork out of strengthening your tricky to isolate pelvic floor muscles, all from the comfort of your own home.
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Causticum For Managing Urinary Incontinence
Causticum is a top grade medicine for managing urinary incontinence from chronic retention of urine. The bladder muscles get weak as a result of prolonged urine retention and the urine tends to pass involuntarily. A burning sensation may be felt when passing urine and itching of the orifice of the urethra may appear.
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Dietary Changes And Fluid Management
One of the most straightforward methods in the treatment of OAB involves making dietary changes. This involves cutting out several known food irritants from the diet and limiting fluid intake.
Foods to avoid
Foods and drinks, which are known to cause or worsen the symptoms of OAB include:
As triggers from food vary from person to person, it can be helpful for people to keep a diary detailing food intake and bladder symptoms. A diary can help people work out which foods are causing the greatest problems.
Manage fluid intake
Drinking enough water is essential for health. Too little water can lead to concentrated urine, which can irritate the bladder lining, increasing urgency. Too many liquids may worsen frequency symptoms. Fluid intake before bed can contribute to urinating during the night.
A , published in Research and Reports in Urology, recommends limiting fluid intake to 6 to 8 glasses of water daily, and avoiding liquids for 2 to 3 hours before bedtime.
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Common Herbal Remedies For An Overactive Bladder
Common herbal treatments for overactive bladder include:
Can Drinking Apple Cider Vinegar Treat Utis
Studies, such as one published in January 2018 in Scientific Reports, have shown that apple cider vinegar has some antibacterial and antifungal properties, but theres no scientific or medical evidence that drinking apple cider vinegar cures UTIs. Drinking large amounts of apple cider vinegar could lead to throat irritation and tooth decay.
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Best Ways To Stop Urine Leakage Naturally
No one wants to live with leakage forever. Fortunately, you can make some small changes to your diet, lifestyle and exercise regime to remedy urine leakage naturally. The treatments below have benefits beyond reducing leakage, so you can address the problem while enhancing your overall health. A win-win!
What Is Urinary Urgency
Urinary urgency is the sensation that the bladder must be emptied immediately regardless of bladder volume. Urinary urgency can occasionally wake a person from sleep and is sometimes accompanied by urinary incontinence, or the loss of urine. Other symptoms that may accompany urinary urgency include bloody or pink-colored urine cloudy urine difficulty urinating fever foul-smelling urine frequent urination lower abdominal, pelvic or back pain pain or burning with urination and penile or vaginal discharge.
Urinary urgency can be caused by conditions affecting nearby structures, infection, inflammation, injury, irritation, kidney or bladder stones, nervous system abnormalities, and tumors. Irritation of the bladder and urethra can result from trauma or can be due to chemicals in soaps, spermicides, lubricants, bubble baths, or other substances. Inflammatory causes of urinary urgency include inflammation of the urethra , prostate , or bladder . Infections of the bladder or prostate and sexually transmitted diseases, such as gonorrhea and Chlamydia, can also cause urinary urgency.
Conditions that can obstruct urine flow, such as benign prostatic hypertrophy , kidney or bladder stones, and tumors of the bladder or urethra, can sometimes cause urinary urgency.
Overactive bladder syndrome and nervous system abnormalities, such as spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis , can be associated with abnormal bladder contractions and urgency.
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