Treating Infections Naturally

About a week ago, I had a health issue going on and was afraid of what it might be. I was having abdominal pain, back pain and I felt like I needed to use the bathroom constantly! I was afraid it might be a bladder infection. I knew the symptoms well since I have had two UTIs (both during pregnancy) in the past. As I tried to figure out what I should do, I weighed my options:

Option 1: Go to a doctor.....ok, scratch "doctor" since I don't have one....I could probably go back to the midwife practice at the hospital....or a walk-in clinic....or something. Regardless, I know what the outcome will be: they will write a prescription for antibiotics, which I don't want to take.....ok, let's move on to another option. (cost of this option would be $35 copay + cost of antibiotics so probably = $40-50 total).

Option 2: Go to my naturopathic physician, Dr. Jen. I LOVE Dr. Jen! I'm sure she could whip up some great herbal concoction and my bladder infection would be under control in no time! Cons to this plan are that since my insurance doesn't cover naturopathic, I'd have to pay out of pocket, so with the office visit plus the cost of the herbs, it'll probably be over $100.

Option 3: I could search the internet for home remedies for a bladder infection. This would definitely be the lowest cost option and if it doesn't work, then maybe I'll have to bite the bullet and go for either option 1 or 2 (preferably option 2 if we can scrape together the money).

So, I started Googling away to find ideas for battling this infection naturally. Here is what I did:

1. Drink LOTS of water! When you are sick, water can be your best friend! Drinking lots of it is always a good idea, but especially when you are ill! It flushes your body of all the nasty stuff that invades it and (in my opinion) is the BEST way to get well naturally. I read recently that you should drink half your body weight in ounces of water. For me, that means at least 65 oz. of water per day. (For perspective, a 2 liter pop bottle is 64 oz.)

2. Cranberry juice. Now, I'll have to be honest. I went out and bought 100% cranberry juice at Trader Joes....however, it is still sitting in my kitchen unopened. My bladder infection was gone before I even had the chance to try this remedy to see if it worked. But, since its a popular remedy, I'll share it here. You're supposed to drink 24 oz. of unsweetened cranberry juice (very important that it says 100% juice and not a cocktail) in 24 hours. Of course, you can break it up (someone suggested drinking 3 8-oz. glasses every 6-8 hours.) Some enzyme or something in the juice is supposed to kill the bacteria that causes the infection..... or something like that.

3. Up your vitamins! Super important to take extra vitamins when you are sick. I started taking Airborne again, mainly for the super high amounts of Vit. C and the many immune-system-boosting herbs that it contains. I made sure to take my Vit. D supplement, fish oil and probiotics.

4. Nix the sugar! This has definitely been my struggle. I *love* sugar!!! I know its horrible for me, but its the one temptation I give into over and over again. I also crave it when I am sick (comfort!) which is the WORST time to give in and consume it. Sugar actually shuts your immune system down, did you know that? Since I felt horrible and was trying to avoid medicating myself, I asked myself if I could give up sweets for one day. So, I did. It was hard and I was tempted to cheat, but I held my ground. I wish I could say that I haven't had sugar since, but I have. Some day I hope to cut out sweets completely (or only have an occasional dessert) but its a process. Side note: please understand that there *is* a hierarchy of sugar. Some are better than others. Natural forms of sugar (as in fruit, honey, molasses, agave, etc.) does not harm your body in nearly the dramatic way that refined sugars do (white table sugar, high fructose corn syrup, etc.).

5. Take Garlic! I know what you're thinking...."Ok, now she's gone off the deep end." Trust me, when I first heard of taking garlic to treat illness, I wasn't really buying it either....but then I tried it. I now swear by garlic! The more I learn about certain foods, the more I realize that God gave to us *so many* natural foods and herbs to heal our bodies. Garlic is just one...but its a biggie! Garlic is a natural antibiotic and wonderful at treating infections. Its also a natural anti-fungal, which is great news for me as I've had issues with toenail fungus for most of my life! Now, there's many ways to take garlic. You can go to a vitamin store and buy pricey capsules. I prefer to go the cheap route and spend $1 (or less!) on a bulb of fresh organic garlic. When treating for illness, its important to take garlic in its raw form. Cooking it neutralizes the properties that make it so wonderfully healthy (not that it becomes unhealthy....its just not as potent). Once I actually tried to eat a clove of raw garlic and it almost made me throw up! So, now I advise against that (lol)! The best way I have found to take it is to mince up 2 or 3 cloves (or one very large clove) and put it on a teaspoon. I then grab a tall glass of water, put the garlic in my mouth, take a large sip of water and swallow. HUGELY IMPORTANT NOTE: Do Not Chew the Garlic! If you do, it will be like biting into a raw onion, your face will feel like its on fire and you will probably either throw up or impulsively spit it out. That was my experience, anyway. I have found that as long as I swallow without chewing, I barely taste it on its way down. Funny though, Chad assures me that my breath smells like garlic for hours afterward, so now I've learned to only take it right before bed (and not face the hubby while sleeping!).

So, there are the five things I did to successfully treat my bladder infection naturally. (Well, ok, I really only did 4 since I never did the cranberry juice!) It only took about one day....the second day I felt amazingly better. As a disclaimer, please don't substitute my judgement for your own and always discuss health matters with your health care provider, whether that be a traditional MD or a naturopathic physician. I really don't see any harm in trying these ideas first and then you can always see a doctor if these remedies don't work. This is a sensitive issue locally here in Portland because there was a very recent, highly publicized case of parents who were found guilty because they didn't take their son to a doctor and he died of a (very treatable) urinary blockage. My heart goes out to this family and although I believe strongly in the power of prayer, obviously more needed to be done for this boy. I do wonder if they had tried some natural remedies along with praying for him, if that would have saved his life....we'll never know.

In closing, I found this video that offered another natural treatment for urinary tract infections (bladder infections). This one I haven't tried, but if I ever have another one, I may give it a shot, just to see if it works.