The first time my daughter was diagnosed with a Urinary Tract Infection, I hesitantly gave her the antibiotics the doctor prescribed. Of course, then we had to deal with the unpleasant side effects of the antibiotics as well as the lingering feeling that if there was a next time, she might not respond as well to the antibiotics.
I comforted myself with the fact that my children rarely get sick. As a matter of fact, I couldn't even remember the last time I had to take her to the doctor! Unfortunately, several months later, she had a recurrence of the UTI. This time I decided I was going to attempt to go to war myself. Here's what I did:
First of all I gave my daughter a few carefully chosen supplements
- Probiotics, not just any but a special high powered probiotic specially designed for children, HERE (I am not an affiliate, the product simply works, it helped treat my candida several years ago and is the best quality I have found for severe needs, I do not take it on a regular basis due to the cost, but if I am in serious need of probiotics due to an illness, this is the brand I use, my children use the “junior” version and the adults use the “regular” it is also available in “prescription” strength)
- Vibrant Health, U.T. Vibrance, Version 1.1, 50 Vegipure Tablets a special formula which is high in D-Mannose, the substance in cranberries that make them effective against UTI (this is an iHerb link, if you do buy from this website, consider using my referral code HUF894 so that I can earn 2% back as a reward, as a benefit to you new customers will save $10 on purchase of $40 or more or $5 if the order is less than $40.00
- Collodial Silver (Sovereign Silver) from the Health Ranger's website, HERE (I am not an affiliate, this product simply works) Also, if you like scientific-y stuff, you should read Mike's article on stocking Silver in your home HERE
A supplement I believe would help due to the high amounts of digestive enzymes, especially bromelain, which is said to help reduce the symptoms of UTI is Garden of Life O-Zyme Ultra. I will be keeping this supplement on hand in case we have a recurrence.
In addition to these three supplements, I instructed my daughter to avoid all sweets, including fruit. I know what you're thinking, drink cranberry juice, right? Well, after doing some research I decided while there are some benefits to drinking cranberry juice for a UTI, there are also some drawbacks. The main ingredient in cranberry juice that is effective on UTI's is D-Mannose, however, believe it or not, it is also high in fructose (a type of sugar that comes from fruit) which can fuel the regrowth of bacteria, completely defeating the purpose of drinking it in the first place! The Vibrant Health product above is basically D-Mannose. Not only that, cranberry juice is hard to drink in the amounts that it would take to cure a full-blown UTI. (For more details on D-Mannose, read an in-depth article
The main ingredient in cranberry juice that is effective on UTI's is D-Mannose, however, believe it or not, it is also high in fructose (a type of sugar that comes from fruit) which can fuel the regrowth of bacteria, completely defeating the purpose of drinking it in the first place! The Vibrant Health product above is basically D-Mannose. Not only that, cranberry juice is hard to drink in the amounts that it would take to cure a full-blown UTI. (For more details on D-Mannose, read an in-depth article HERE)
I instructed my daughter to drink as much water as she could stand but not within the half hour before and after taking the supplement as we didn't want to dilute the D-Mannose while it was passing through her kidneys. I also instructed her to relieve herself as soon as she felt the urge.
I think part of the problem when teenagers have recurrent UTI is that in high school they have so little time in between classes, my daughter had told me that she only went to the restroom once in an entire day of school! From 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 pm, only going to the restroom one time is NOT healthy!
In addition, I asked her to avoid coffee. she usually would drink a small cup in the morning with us at breakfast, however, coffee and alcohol are both known to aggravate the bladder. No one in my family drinks soda, but if they did, I would curtail it immediately.
I also tried to prepare foods with plenty of garlic and oregano as both of these foods are known to fight infections. I would have given her supplements of these foods in addition to the above, but I was trying to stay in a budget and I didn't want her to have to take too many different things. If she had a minor UTI or if I had caught it earlier, I might have started off with some garlic capsules as well as some oregano soft-gels. I had previously taken all of
I had previously taken all of mine when I thought I might be getting a sore throat! I did have some oregano essential oil, which I instructed her to rub on the bottom of her feet at night in a carrier oil. I also daily had her rub on some “On-Guard” essential oil from my doTerra collection. (I do have a doTerra website HERE if you are interested) She also consumed a quart of water to which she added 2-3 tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon of freshly juiced ginger, daily.
Because she is susceptible to recurring UTI's I encourage her to follow certain measures to reduce the risk of another infection, such as, wearing cotton underwear, using a fresh towel after every shower, and avoiding tight clothing. I also encouraged her to make a way to go to the restroom in between classes, to which she still tells me she doesn't have enough time. I think that's ridiculous, and if she happens to have this problem again, I won't have any qualms about meeting with her teachers to make special arrangements for her to be late to classes if she needs to go!
After about a week on this protocol, she informed me that she was feeling much better. We did take her to the doctor where she was tested and the doctor found a very small amount of bacteria still present. Of course, he wanted her to take an antibiotic, but I knew that it was almost gone at that point, so I continued with my own treatment.
The following week she was completely symptom-free, however, I continued with the above just to be on the safe side. For us, this has worked without the risks of taking antibiotics. If at any point my daughter had felt uncomfortable with my suggestions, I would have taken her immediately to the physician.
I asked her several times a day how she was feeling and if she felt she should see a doctor. I gauged her responses as a parent, knowing her general personality and level of pain tolerance. If it had been myself, I would have followed an even more extensive protocol, perhaps even a broth fast or detox or cleanse.
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