Non-prescription Treatment and Home Remedies for UTI

An existing urinary tract infection (UTI) in older adults likely cannot be cured with home remedies or non-prescription products.

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UTI Non-Rx and Home Remedies

Helpful Highlights

While about half of urinary tract infections will resolve without prescription treatment in young, healthy people, this is not likely among the older adult population. Likewise, while over-the-counter UTI products may appear to help younger, healthier people, they are unlikely to make a difference in older adults.

Uncomplicated versus complicated UTI

Younger, healthier people typically experience lower urinary tract infection, meaning it remains only in the urethra and/or bladder and does not climb the ureters to the kidneys. They also generally have uncomplicated UTIs, meaning they do not have risk factors that increase the likelihood and severity of infection, as well as increase the chances that treatment with antibiotics will fail. The exceptions are males, who by default have complicated UTIs, and pregnant women.

Uncomplicated (or simple)

A complicated UTI means risk factors are present that increase the likelihood and severity of infection, complications from infection, repeat infections, and increased chances that treatment with antibiotics will fail. It is important to determine if the infection resulted from one of these risk factors and whether it can be cured with first-line antibiotics.

Males who have a UTI, by default of their anatomy, are considered to have complicated UTIs. Older adults are also more likely to have a complicated UTI.

Complicated

Over-the-counter (OTC) products

Some people (predominantly women) purchase OTC products without medical advice to treat a UTI.

PAIN RELIEVERS

There are no pain relievers capable of preventing or curing a UTI, prescription or non-prescription.

SUPPLEMENTS

Some supplements may be helpful in preventing UTIs, but there is no evidence to support their effectiveness in treating them.

Home remedies

Urosepsis

UTIs are among the most common causes of sepsis in hospitals. Contrary to popular belief, sepsis is not a raging infection. Rather, it is the body's dysfunctional and dysregulated response to an infection. In other words, the body starts fighting itself rather than fighting the infection and destroys itself. Sepsis can happen quickly, requires immediate hospitalization and intense treatment, and can cause permanent organ injury or even death.

If you think that your loved one might have a UTI, promptly seek treatment, since an untreated infection in older adults could lead to permanent kidney damage, sepsis, or many other dangerous complications.

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RESOURCES

Ala-Jaakkola, R., Laitila, A., Ouwehand, A.C., & Lehtoranta, L. (2022). Role of D-mannose in urinary tract infections – A narrative review. Nutrition Journal, 21, 18. Link

Cystex

Das, S.(2020). Natural therapeutics for urinary tract infections - A review. Future Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 6(1), 64. doi: 10.1186/s43094-020-00086-2

Dispatch Health

Grady, D. (2018). Drinking more water for prevention of recurrent cystitis. JAMA Internal Medicine, 178(11), 1515. DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.4195

Harvard Health - More Water, Fewer UTIs?

Harvard Health - New Thinking About Urinary Tract Infections

Juthani-Mehta, M., Van Ness, P.H., Bianco, L., Rink, A., Rubeck, S., Ginter, S. ... Peduzzi, P. (2016). Effect of cranberry capsules on bacteriuria plus pyuria among older women in nursing homes: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 316(18), 1879-1887. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2016.16141

Li, R., & Leslie, S.W. (2023, May 30). Cystitis. National Institutes of Health - National Library of Medicine: StatPearls [Internet]. Link

Loubet, P., Ranfaing, J., Dinh, A., Dunyach-Remy, C., Bernard, L., Bruyere, F., Lavigne, J-P., & Sotto, A. (2020). Alternative therapeutic options to antibiotics for the treatment of urinary tract infections. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11, 1509. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01509

Mayo Clinic

Nebraska Medicine

Sabih, A., & Leslie, S.W. (2023, January 18). Complicated urinary tract infections. National Institutes of Health - National Library of Medicine: StatPearls [Internet]. Link

U.S. Pharmacist

Wagenlehner, F., Lorenz, H., Ewold, O., & Gerke, P. (2022). Why D-Mannose may be as efficient as antibiotics in the treatment of acute uncomplicated lower urinary tract infections—Preliminary considerations and conclusions from a non-interventional study. Antibiotics (Basel), 11(3), 314. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics11030314

No content in this app, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

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