Infections of the urinary tract are common, only respiratory infections occur more often. Women are especially prone to urinary tract infections (UTIs) for reasons that are poorly understood. One woman in five develops a UTI during her lifetime. UTIs in men are not so common, but they can be very serious when they do occur.

Many women suffer from frequent UTIs. Nearly 20 percent of women who have a UTI will have another and 30 percent of those will have yet another. Of the last group, 80 percent will have recurrences. One factor behind recurrent UTIs may be the ability of bacteria to attach to cells lining the urinary tract.

Conventional treatment generally consists of pharmaceuticals of some type such as trimethoprim (Trimpex), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra, Cotrim), amoxicillin (Amoxil, Trimox, Wymox), nitrofurantoin (Macrodantin, Furadantin), and ampicillin. There are many others as well.
Common side effects for many of these drugs are an itchy rash appearing on the trunk about 10 days after starting therapy. Other side effects include rust-colored or brownish urine, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, and incorrect results with some urine sugar tests. This is not all the drugs there are other more toxic ones as well.

This just goes to show you that any potentially effective drug has possible side effects. In fact, no medication, whether it is by prescription or available over the counter, should be utilized without some consideration of the potential for toxic effects.

Homeopathic medicine is extremely effective when it comes to any type of bladder infection, which is also known as cystitis or UTI, whether chronic or acute. An acute infection means that it is self-limiting there is a definite beginning and a definite end. Chronic disease implies long term or recurring, meaning it will and probably has been with you for a long time.
Chronic infections are treated somewhat differently, at least as far as homeopathy is concerned. In a chronic situation the vital force is weak, that is to say, a person generally becomes more susceptible to imbalance and disease more frequently. This means that a person may experience recurring infections that just seem to run into one another as if it was one continuous episode. For these types of situations, it is best to seek the advice of a professional homeopath for constitutional treatment.

In acute situations, meaning infections that do not occur more than a few times within a year, there are some great effective and safe homeopathic remedies that you can self-prescribe based on your individual symptoms. In the list that follows, take the indicated remedy every four hours for at least 24 hours. Take a 30CH potency, if you find no relief after 24 hours, most likely another remedy is indicated.

Cantharsis - If this remedy is indicated in an acute case, the urethra will burn upon urination, which may be very well described as violent burning and a cutting sensation or pain in the neck of the bladder and in the region of the kidneys extending to the abdomen. Urging is worse from standing and still more from walking. The pain is better from sitting, and the pain can be described as raw with extreme itching.

Sarsparilla - If Sarsaparilla is indicated, the urine may be bloody and the pain is usually severe at end of urination. The patient may notice a chill in the bladder that moves to the back.

Terebinthina - If Terebinthina is indicated in cystitis the patient may complain of a violent burning and cutting in bladder that is accompanied by the same type of pain in the navel area. Urine may be described as having an odor of violets, and may have some blood mixed with it or a smoky dark cloudy nature to it.

These homeopathic remedies are just a few of the most common homeopathic remedies that may be indicated for treatment of a bladder infection or UTI. Always remember that antibiotics have their place, but chronic overuse can cause resistance and this is how “super bugs” are born.