Herbals and Urinary Tract Infections
Herbals and Urinary Tract Infections
There are many herbal remedies for infections of the urinary tract or bladder. Always check with your medical provider before trying any herbal remedy.
Uva ursi (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
Known as bearberry for the love bears seem to have for its bright berries, this evergreen shrub has a long history of being a popular method for the care and treatment of urinary tract infections. Physician handbooks list it as a urinary antiseptic as far back as the 1920s. Its leaves serve as an antiseptic, antibacterial, and an astringent. Other uses have been for cystitis, vaginitis, bedwetting, fluid retention, diarrhea, toothache, and urethritis. The common manner of taking uva ursi is through pill form, decoction or infusion.
Side effects occur in very high doses and include nausea, ringing of the ears, vomiting, green-brown urine discoloration, and shortness of breath, convulsions, and collapse. Extreme high doses can bring about liver damage, so see your physician before you take this or any herbal supplement. It should not be used in people who are pregnant, nursing, or those with kidney disease.
In an article in Let’s Live Magazine (July 2000) Naturopathic Doctor Kathi Head recommends using it to fight existing infections at a dosage of 250-500 mg (20% arbutin, the antiseptic compound of uva ursi) three times a day. She also recommends discontinuing cranberry juice or concentrate during this time. Uva Ursi was shown to have anti-bacterial effects on Staph infections and in E. coli infections. It was the treatment of choice in Europe and the United States for urinary tract infections, and still in an integral part of drug formulas in the United Kingdom.
For uva ursi to work properly, the patient must have alkaline urine. Uva ursi should not be taken with any substance that acidifies the urine such as tomatoes and citrus juice. Do not take these supplements for more than seven to ten days at a time and for more than five treatment cycles a year.
Pipsissewa (Chimaphila Umbellata)
An evergreen shrub native to woody areas, pipsissewa has been traditionally used by Native Americans to treat fevers and to induce sweating. Primarily it is the leaves, twigs and flowers that make up the herbal remedies. It makes a good disinfectant for the urinary tract and herbalist use this plant specifically for that. The plant contains hydroquinones which is why the plant makes a good disinfectant and antimicrobial, but not good for any long term treatment usage. This herbal may interfere with birth control pills due to the phytoestrogenic properties, so talk to your doctor before taking this or any herb remedy. This can be found in tincture, extract, tablet, and tea form.
Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens, Serenoa serrulata)
This herb is derived from the berries of the saw palm tree which bears a fern like appearance. It is native and will grow naturally only in Florida, but is sold around the world. Native Americans used this herb as food and as a medicine. Although, knowing its pungent taste, I am sure it made a better medicine than it did a food source.
In 1908, saw palmetto was listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia as a urinary tract medicine. Even when it wasn’t seeing much popularity in the U.S. it was finding mass appeal in Europe. Europe, being known for more homeopathic means of treatment, was much more open for the options of saw palmetto than in the U.S. This is abundant in that the United States exports about 15 million pounds of saw palm fruit to Europe every year.
Saw Palmetto is known as “the prostate herb” although in the treatment of IC, some women are finding relief as well. In women it is primarily used as a urinary antiseptic. For men, its claim is to shrink the prostate and to reduce symptoms associated with Prostatitis and Pelvic Pain Syndrome. According to the American Urologic Association and the Pelvic Floor Institute, while conducting a placebo controlled study where 142 men enrolled, the men reported good improvement in symptoms at the 12 and 18 month marker. If you take Saw Palmetto make sure to tell your primary care physician because it can alter the results of a PSA test which will make a diagnosis of prostate cancer more difficult to obtain.
For More Information:
The IC Community
http://the-ic-community.com
National Association for Continence
http://www.nafc.org
Bladder Pain Syndrome Association
http://www.b-p-s-a.org.uk
