Home Remedies for Bladder Infection: Effective Ways to Get Relief

Looking for some effective home remedies for bladder infection? Surprisingly, there are many natural home-based remedies that can provide you with quick relief. While anyone can have a bladder infection, it is particularly common among women, with approximately 40 to 60 per cent of women developing UTIs in their lifetime.

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What are Bladder Infections?

Bladder infections are basically a very common type of urinary tract infection (UTI), caused by the E. coli bacterium. They develop when bacteria enter the urethra and travel into the bladder. Once bacteria enter the urethra, they attach to the bladder walls and multiply quickly. This, in return, causes several uncomfortable symptoms.

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What Are Some Common Symptoms of a Bladder Infection?

Common symptoms of a bladder infection include the following:

• painful urination
• blood in the urine
• pain in the abdomen, pelvis, or bladder
• feelings of frequent urination
• burning sensation when urinating
• urine that smells foul

Symptoms of bladder infection includes pain in the abdomen and pelvis. (Photo via Pexels/Sora Shimazaki)

While taking antibiotics is the best treatment for a urinary tract infection, it isn’t the only way to treat the symptoms of a UTI. There are several natural remedies for a bladder infection, too. These remedies can be easily followed at home, in addition to other treatments and medicines that your doctor has prescribed.

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What Are Some Good Home Remedies for Bladder Infection?

Cure bladder infection at home with the following treatment options:

Drink lots of water

One of the best home remedies for bladder infection is to drink more water. Drinking lots of water helps flush the bacteria out of your bladder and reduces the infection faster. Drinking water also dilutes the urine, which in turn, makes urinating less painful and uncomfortable.

Alternatively, you can also include water-based foods in your diet to ease and prevent bladder infections. Examples of foods that are rich in water include oranges, watermelons, lettuce, and cucumbers.

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Drink cranberry juice

Cranberry juice is among the most effective home remedies for bladder infection. Cranberry has been used as a treatment to prevent UTIs for a long time, and studies have even shown that cranberry tablets and juices provide relief from bladder infections by preventing UTI-causing bacteria from sticking to the bladder walls.

However, always go for unsweetened cranberry juice as sugar may make your UTI worse.

Drinking cranberry juice is one of the best home remedies for bladder infection. (Photo via Pexels/Daria Andrievskaya)

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Take a probiotic

Adding probiotics such as yogurt, kombucha, and kefir to your diet can promote the formation of healthy bacteria in the gut and may also prevent harmful bacteria from sticking to the bladder walls.

Probiotic supplements can also improve the functioning of healthy bacteria in the genitals and urinary tract and may further protect against all kinds of bladder infections.

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Use a heating pad

Inflammation from UTIs can lead to pain, burning, and pressure around the genitals, making it difficult for you to even sit or stand. Applying a heating pad can calm the inflammation and soothe the area around your pubis.

However, do not apply the heating pad directly to the skin. Instead, apply it on top of a cloth and limit your use to 10 minutes at a time to avoid burns.

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How Can You Prevent Bladder Infections?

While the aforementioned home remedies for bladder infections can ease pain and discomfort, several lifestyle changes can prevent the occurrence of bladder infections in the first place. These include:

• drinking at least eight glasses of water every day
• changing your underwear every day
• wearing cotton underpants
• taking proper showers
• urinating as soon as you feel the need
• urinating after s*xual activity
• washing your genitals after s*xual activity
• avoiding any kind of vaginal sprays
• avoiding caffeine, spicy foods, alcohol, carbonated drinks, and other bladder irritants

Drinking eight glasses of water every day can prevent UTIs. (Photo via Pexels/Adrienn)

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When to Consult a Doctor?

If the aforementioned home remedies for bladder infection don’t provide you with relief, or if your UTI symptoms persist for two days or more, it is best to see a doctor rightaway.

If an infection persists for too long, the bacteria can travel to other parts of the body, including your kidneys, leading to more serious health concerns. Therefore, it is important to seek medical attention immediately.