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A woman viewer asks, "Are there any tips to keep my bladder healthy, and are their natural
remedies for beginnings or a problem with a bladder infection?" Well this is an important
question, because it it is a common problem in women. And it often relates to *** activity,
because that's when the very short urethra can have bacteria driven into the bladder.
So it's it is important. The common bacteria infection is e. coli, which is a bowel bacteria.
So it gets on the skin and it's important and women are often guided to, you know, wipe
from front to back and not back to front, so you're not bringing that bacteria up toward
the urethra. And some women with increased *** activity. And women have more bladder
infections as they're older with *** activity. But, there's a problem called we call honey
honeymoon cystitis so it goes along with increased *** activity and incidents of bladder infection.
There's a number antibiotics that are used to treat it. But you wanna talk to your doctor
and get your urine tested for white blood cells and bacteria. And then there's something
called a culture and sensitivity where they identify the bacteria and then look at what
antibiotics will help get rid of it. So if it's really bad, often we're finding that
we don't have to do a long course that many women and or men, but mostly women, don't
need to do a long course of antibiotics, because if you get it early, sometimes even a few
days may be enough to eradicate the bacteria there. Common antibiotics are sulfa medicines
or nitrofurantoin, which is a macrobid. So there's a number of antibiotics. Some people
use penicillin or, you know, cipro even. But the natural remedies are, number one is cranberry
juice. And that's, you know, pretty popular and common. It helps, it's kind of an antiseptic
in the urinary tract. And, you know, helps reduce the amount of e. coli there. D-mannose
is a sugar that somehow alters the ability of the e. coli to duplicate as rapidly and
affects the cell structure. The other is. Then there's herbs that can be used to help,
kind of help clear clear the bladder and help disinfect it. Uva ursi is one. Corn silk,
plantain leaf. And and others. Marshmallow root that's for soothing for irritation. But
one of the keys is hydration. We need to drink enough water. All of us do. Because one of
my favorite sayings is dilution is the solution to pollution. So if we're getting bacteria
into the bladder and we're drinking more fluid then we can help kind of remove it. We can
help kind of cleanse the body and do that. But of course if there's bacteria in there
we have to be a little bit more proactive. And again if you think you have a urinary
tract infection, many women know how to manage this. I get calls from patients saying I know
I have a bladder infection and I'll just treat them on the phone you know. And then I'll
have them come check their culture afterwards to make sure they're clear. So those are some
ideas about taking care of your bladder. Talking to your doctor about if you do have an infection.
And just keeping yourself healthy.