Lessen the Likelihood of Kidney Infection
After you have been accurately diagnosed and treated by a licensed health care practitioner, there are a number of things you can do to keep your urinary tract healthy and free of infection.
Contents
Steps
- Drink lots of water. Cranberry juice has been touted as useful for urinary tract problems, but in some cases it can be an irritant instead of a help. Water is best. Three to four quarts a day is how much you should aim for.
- Drinking citrus soda to help prevent kidney infection is also useful - often kidney infections can lead from bladder infections. Cranberry extract or pure cranberry juice is also useful, however cranberry can aggravate the condition in certain cases. Drinking apple cider vinegar is also a good preventative measure.
- Take vitamin C daily. The dose is variable. Some people can only tolerate 500mg a day, others take 4 to 5 grams without problem; check with your doctor first but a good dose is around a gram a day. This helps keep urine acid and prevent growth of organisms.
- Avoid taking bubble baths. The sudsy water helps break down the protective mucus at the opening of your urethra and allows germs to get in.
- Urinate. For females: after intercourse, get up and urinate as soon as you reasonably can. Urinating rinses away any germs which may have gotten to the urethra.
- Avoid wearing thongs. They provide a moist trail right from your anus to the urethra and those E. coli travel right to it. Instead, wear cotton underpants or at least cotton crotch panties. Cotton allows moisture to evaporate and prevents having a perfect environment for growth of organisms.
- Wipe the right way. After using the toilet, be sure to wipe from front to back, so as not to drag germs from the anal area to your urethra.
Tips
- An untreated kidney infection can be very serious! It is important to have your urine tested to see if an infection is the problem or if something else is going on. There are infections which simply cannot be treated with home remedies. An antibiotic may be necessary.
Warnings
- Always get professional medical advice for any illness.
- Avoid synthetic underwear and tight pants.
- Do not let a kidney or bladder problem go undiagnosed and untreated. You could end up with kidney failure, on dialysis or dead.
