Lower High Blood
Pressure Down Below 120/80 - How High Blood Pressure Causes Cancer
It’s great to know that more
people than ever before are beating cancer and that we’re now more educated
than ever about the positive diet and lifestyle choices which can reduce the
risk of it developing in the first place.
Now, we don’t want to sound
the alarm, but if you suffer from high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes then one new piece of
information needs to prompt you to take action soon. Researchers studied data from
the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results
program and from Medicare. They looked at 36,079 patients aged 66 or over with
colon cancer. 7,024 of them also suffered with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.
The
important finding here is that people with these conditions were more likely to
die sooner than those without them. Five years after diagnosis, six percent
fewer of them had survived compared to people without the conditions.
Also,
eight percent more high blood pressure and diabetes sufferers had more episodes of
colon cancer five years after diagnosis, than people without the conditions.
Race,
gender, marital status, income, and education were all taken into account.
Everyone in the study was
undergoing cancer treatments like chemotherapy, so it could be inferred that
cancer treatment is more effective for people without diabetes and high blood pressure than for those with
them. Colon cancer is number three
on the list of the most common cancers in the US, and number two on the
list of causes of cancer-related deaths.
Around
100,000 new cases appear each year resulting in 50,000 deaths.
Lower High Blood
Pressure Down Below 120/80 - Heal High Blood Pressure – Just with a Sound
It seems like the kind of
claim a snake-oil salesman would make: “This sound can lower your blood pressure!” But according
to an article in the International
Journal of Cardiology, it’s perfectly true. Not only that, it’s effective
even for people who couldn’t quite bring themselves to ditch all their old bad
diet and lifestyle habits or whose medications didn’t help their hypertension. Researchers at Japan’s Tohoku
University studied 212 people with type 2 diabetes and hypertension who weren’t responding to
treatment. They were taking the drugs, but they hadn’t cleaned up their diets
and started exercising (which is very common).
The
team gave one group 20 minutes of 800 kHz (low frequency) ultrasound to the
forearm, another got 20 minutes of 500 kHz (very low frequency) ultrasound to
the forearm, and two received fake treatments.
Ultrasound
is what bats and dolphins use to navigate, and we humans use it to take
radar-style pictures of the insides of living bodies without causing harm like
x-rays do.
The
machine sends out high-frequency sound waves that can’t be heard; they bounce
back and are interpreted by the hardware to show moving images of what’s going
on.
Results:
The
500 and 800khz groups both experienced lower blood pressure and pulse rates, but
the placebo group did not. And for some reason, the 500khz ultrasound was the
most effective.
Forearm
nerves— like all nerves—originate in the spinal column, and researchers think
that the high-frequency sound works by suppressing the sympathetic nerve
activity that triggers the fight or flight response.
This is what the body uses to
prepare us to deal with danger—increasing blood pressure so that there’s
enough oxygen getting to the muscles to run away or fight and increasing blood sugar so there’s enough
energy for that imminent exertion. There’s more it does besides, as it gets us
ready to run away or tangle with our attacker.
Stress
is ever-present in the modern world, even though we don’t have to face hungry
wild animals anymore. For example, stress at work and at home can affect our
emotions in a negative way and sitting around too much stresses the body too.
The
constant diet of bad news we see around us leaves us feeling powerless and is
another cause of stress. These are almost worse than being stalked by
sabertooth tiger, because they are constant sources of stress, and the fight or
flight response wasn’t meant to be activate all of the time.
Lower High Blood
Pressure Down Below 120/80 - Why High Blood Pressure Isn’t Always Bad
There’s no doubt that high blood pressure is dangerous, but a
study in the Annals of
Emergency Medicine suggests that you don’t always need to panic at
the first sign of a high reading. The Canadian team behind the
study set out to look at how often high blood pressure patients were going to
emergency rooms (ER) and how often they were being hospitalized. Their main interest was to
see if the ER visitors were going on to be hospitalized for their high blood pressure and to learn how
serious the outcome was. They did this by examining
206,147 ER visits across 180 locations in Canada from 200 to 2012, and they
found that hospitalizations due to high blood pressure went down by 28%. Sounds like good news doesn’t
it? Well, it would have been if there hadn’t also been a 64% increase in ER
visits for high blood pressure at the same time. What it means is that while
fewer people were hospitalized for hypertension every year, more people were
rushing to ERs with it to get it checked.
The
researchers were keen to learn what might have been causing this, so they
looked at the long-term health outcomes, to see if they should have been
treated in hospital but weren’t.
The
key finding here is that virtually nobody died within the first 90 days after
their ER visit, which shows that the reason for going was not as serious as
they’d first thought. It looks like patients were panicking and going to the
hospital when their personal doctor could probably have helped them just as
well.
That
said, the people who did end up staying in hospital showed definite signs that
they’d suffered heart attack and stroke.
If you think either of those things are happening to you then don’t
delay. Red flags include chest pain, intense headache, nausea, and shortness of
breath.
It
looks like people using home blood pressure monitors were reacting to
high readings and rushing to the hospital, but one reading is not going to give
the full picture.
It’s
best to record readings at set times, three times a day, and use them to find
an average. Once you have 7 days’ worth of data that’s enough to give you a
better overview of what’s going on.
So, high blood pressure isn’t always an
emergency, but it is serious, and needs your active attention.
This post is from the High Blood Pressure Exercise
Program.It was made by Christian Goodman Blue Heron health news
that has been recognized as one of the top quality national health information
websites.
This program will
provide you the natural high blood pressure treatments, natural recipes to cook
healthy meals and useful strategies to build a healthy diet with the aim to
help you to maintain, stabilize and get your blood pressure down in minutes
permanently and naturally.
Preventing
Asthma Attacks - Daily Supplements Which Prevent or Even Treat Asthma
Asthmatics need proper treatment in order to cope with their ailment. They need
their medication as well as an inhaler to help them make it through the day.
However, their body also needs much more vitamins and minerals which shall
strengthen it and give it energy to stay active all day long. This is why,
taking supplements is advisable if you suffer from asthma.
Not
all the supplements are suitable for asthma patients and not all of them have any
effect in treating or alleviating this condition. The proper supplements must
necessary contain antioxidants, such as Vitamin E and selenium. Vitamin C,
which is a very effective antihistaminic, must also be included in the daily
recipe of supplements. These vitamins will decrease the occurrence of the
asthma attacks and alleviate their symptoms when they do occur.
Fish
oil, if taken daily is great as anti-inflammatory, so include 2 or 4 mg of fish
oil into your diet, too. Also, magnesium, glutamine and pantothenic acid are
also substances which should be supplemented if you suffer from asthma. They
will not only protect your body from the outer factors, but they will also
prevent the occurrence of asthma attack.
A
complex of vitamins and minerals is also necessary to support the body. This
complex should include folic acid, the Vitamin B complex and zinc. These
substances are more likely to miss from an asthmatic's body or their quantity
is relatively low, so they will need to be supplemented in order for the body
to function properly.
In
order to find out which is the perfect recipe for your body and which of these
supplements you will have to take, it is advisable that you first take some
blood tests and see what your body lacks the most.
According
to the results given by those tests, a doctor will be able to prescribe you the
necessary amount of substances that you will have to take each day so that your
body can work normally day after day. Do not let asthma rule your life when you
can take some daily supplements and feel great all day long.
Are
Air Filters Good in Preventing Asthma Attacks?
Asthma sufferers know better how hard it is to cope with the imminence of an
asthma attack each and every day. They know better how many things they have to
sacrifice in order to be at least a little bit safe, the pleasure they are
deprived of in order to avoid an attack and the precaution measures they have
to take each and every time they want to go out. Yet, their home should be the
place in which all people should feel good and comfortable.
In
order to make the house a proper environment for an asthmatic, it is absolutely
necessary that you offer them a clear air to breathe, safe from any kind of
allergens (such as dirt, pollen, mould or animal hair).
You
can do that by cleaning the house regularly, throwing away the wall to wall
carpets, washing the fabric items every week and cleaning all the other
surfaces as often as possible with cleaning projects which are specifically
designed for sensitive people.
Even
though the above-mentioned methods are quite effective in keeping allergens
away, there are still particles of dust, mould or animal hair which can be left
unnoticed or which remain in the air. These allergens can easily trigger an
adverse reaction from an asthmatic. Thus, filtering the air periodically will
be one of the necessary steps which have to be taken in order to make the house
a safe environment for an asthmatic.
There
are two ways in which you can keep the air from a room clean. The first one is
to buy an air cleaner. Depending on how large the air cleaner is, it will
filter the air from a room or from the entire house. Also, the filters can be
replaced or cleaned when they get dirty, so that the breathable air is as clean
as possible.
The
other method through which you can obtain a clean air inside the house is to
install an air filter inside the air conditioning or inside the source of
heating. Choose a permanent electrostatic filter for a better filtration and
run the air conditioning even when is not very hot outside or even use it for
warming the room. This way it will be able to filter more air and reserve all
the allergens inside the filters.
So,
if you have an asthmatic living in your house or you are suffering from asthma,
make sure that the air you breathe inside the house is fresh, clean and safe
all the time, by filtering it continuously.
This
post is from the Asthma Relief Forever Program. It is created by Jerry Ericson,
Alternative Medical Practitioner, Researcher and Author of Asthma Free Forever.
As a former asthma suffer for over 30 years, Jerry will share with you his
all-natural, no side-effect solution to cure asthma for good. He is no longer a
slave to his inhaler.
Child
Asthma Treatment - Which Are the Signs Telling You That Your Child Has Asthma
Sometimes, understanding what troubles your children can be quite a difficult
task. This is mainly because children find it hard to explain the sensations
they get when doing one or another thing and most of the times do not find the
words to explain what exactly do they feel. Thus, discovering which the cause
of your children's "pains" is, may not be a very pleasant or
rewarding exercise.
Yet,
when your child is not feeling good, you will have to observe them and ask them
basic questions about the sensations they get when doing particular things,
like running, playing or sleeping.
Asthma is one of the most common diseases which
affects children. This is why it is highly important to know which its symptoms
are. This will give you a clear idea about what you have to do next, plus it
will function as a basis on which you can set your further observations.
The
first thing you will have to know about asthma is that it affects your children's capacity
of breathing. Thus, if your little one coughs frequently, has a rapid breathing
or a whistling sound can be heard when breathing normally, then you should take
your child to a doctor, who can confirm if what your child has is asthma. Most
of the children usually have these symptoms when playing, sleeping or when
laughing or crying, so you should pay attention to the way they act in each and
every situation.
Also,
asthma is associated with pains in the chest and tightened neck and chest
muscles, so you should inquire your child if they feel some kind of pain or tightness
when breathing or playing. These symptoms may vary from child to child, so that
it is not necessary for all children to experience these pains in order to be
asthmatics.
Child
Asthma Treatment – How Do I Know If My Child Has Asthma?
Shortness
of breathing, tiredness, lack of energy, as well as periods of weakness can
also be part of the asthma symptomatology. Yet, before actually jumping to the
conclusion that your child has asthma, make sure that you also take them to a
doctor, which can confirm or infirm the diagnosis. But it is absolutely
necessary that you visit a doctor when your child has one (sometimes even cough
alone can be a sign of asthma) or more of these symptoms.
Child
Asthma Treatment – How to Treat Children Suffering of Asthma
Asthma is a condition with which gets hard to live even for an adult. The
younger the person suffering of asthma is, the more problematic will be to live
with this ailment. Thus, children find it extremely hard to cope with this
situation, especially because they do not fully understand their condition and
are not able to control their emotions. This is why, asthmatic children need to
be given special attention, both when they are at home or with their parents
and when they are at school.
In
order to prepare your child to cope with asthma as good as possible, it is necessary
to explain them, as much as they can understand, what is asthma, what it will
happen to them during and asthma attack and what are they supposed to do in
severe cases or in the situations when their parents are no around. This will
enable the child to regain some of their confidence and to start regarding
asthma as something they will have to face without being afraid of it.
Once
your child knows exactly what they have to do when they are left alone, it is
absolutely necessary to start cleaning the toys, throw those that cannot be
cleaned in hot water, clean the entire house and eliminate all the dust mites
and bacteria which may be stored inside the house. It may take a little time to
get used with all these routines, but always keep in mind that the less your
child will come in contact with allergens, bacteria and dust mites, the rarer
the asthma attacks will be.
In
addition to cleaning your house it is also important to see where your child
learns and if the classrooms are clean enough to offer your child a proper
breathing. Ask the teachers to show you the classroom and if you spot any dust
mites or other similar allergens which may threaten your child's health, ask
for permission to clean the room yourself.
Also,
let the teachers, nurses and even school bus drive know that your child has
asthma and share with them their asthma action plan. Thus, you will be sure
that they know exactly how to act in case your child has an asthma attack while
they are away from home.
Children
asthmatic children can have a relatively normal life if minimal hygiene
measures are taken and if the people around them are informed about the way in
which these children should be treated.
This
post is from the Asthma Relief Forever Program. It is created by Jerry Ericson,
Alternative Medical Practitioner, Researcher and Author of Asthma Free Forever.
As a former asthma suffer for over 30 years, Jerry will share with you his
all-natural, no side-effect solution to cure asthma for good. He is no longer a
slave to his inhaler.
Eliminate
Psoriasis for Good -Deadly Psoriasis Consequences Revealed (study)
Most
people think of psoriasis as annoying skin disease, nothing
worse than that, and certainly not something that could be fatal.
But a new study reveals psoriasis can lay the groundwork for
something that might kill you. In July 2019, British
scientists presented an eye-opening study at the British Association of
Dermatologist’s 99th Annual Meeting in Liverpool. It shows that people who
suffer from psoriasis are more likely than the general
population is to develop certain types of cancer.
The
study is not yet available for us to analyze properly, but we expect to be able
to do that soon when it appears in the American Journal of Managed Care.
The new study was a literature review.
It looked at 50 previous studies on the relationship between psoriasis and cancer. Altogether, the surveyed studies
had 919,883 subjects in nine different countries.
People with severe psoriasis had a 22 percent higher risk of
developing all cancer types. When those with all different
severities of psoriasis were included, the increased risk
dropped to 18 percent.
People
with severe psoriasis were 7.7 times more likely than
the general population to have squamous cell carcinoma, which can occur almost
anywhere in the body. They were also 3.4 times more likely to have lymphoma,
and 3.17 times more likely to have basal cell carcinoma.
When subjects with all
severities of psoriasis were included, they found a 2.8
times higher risk for oral cavity cancer, a 2.15 times higher
risk of squamous cell carcinoma, and a twofold risk in esophageal cancer. There were also smaller
increased risks for liver, laryngeal, keratinocyte, pancreatic, colorectal, and
colon cancers, plus lymphoma, regardless of how severe the psoriasis was.
So
why is this happening? Well, it’s not well understood at this stage, but at
least two obvious reasons are known.
Those
tiny tumors often die of starvation, but if your immune system feeds them with
inflammatory cells then they thrive.
Once
inside a tumor, they call more immune cells which causes more inflammation and,
even worse, they call molecules called cytokines. These build new blood vessels
to nourish the tumor, and so it balloons.
Secondly,
many people with psoriasis take drugs to suppress their immune systems and turn
down the inflammatory response. But if you suppress your immune system, it
can’t do all its jobs properly, and one of those jobs is fighting tumours.
That’s
why it’s so important to get the inflammation of this skin condition under
control. You need to drop alcohol, smoking, and foods that can all contribute
to the development of inflammation and cancer.
But
a new study in the latest edition of the Journal of Dermatology suggests that
there could be a new trigger to add to the list.
And
it’s not one you’d think of.
Researchers
have known for some time that people who are in the obese category (i.e. with a
BMI of 30+) are more likely to develop psoriasis than people with a lower body weight.
In fact, the red scaly patches that come with the condition often appear in the
skin folds that are common with obese people.
The
scientists decided to look at people who had received health screenings between
2009 and 2012 for clues, and on average, they were followed for 5.32 years.
That
meant there were more than two million subjects in the group, and 399,461 of
them were newly diagnosed with psoriasis during the follow-up period.
They
found that compared with people who had a body mass index between 18 and 23,
people with a body mass index over 30 were 11 percent more likely to develop psoriasis.
But
waist circumference turned out to be even more important than body mass index.
Those
who measured more than 41.3 inches around the belly had a 35 percent greater
risk of getting psoriasis than those with more modest
measurements between 29.5 and 31.5 inches.
The
most interesting thing they found was that the risk was highest for men with a
normal body mass index but a large waist circumference. Their risk increased by
75 percent.
This
shows (and not for the first time) why body mass index is not a good indicator
of either obesity or of health risk. It can’t measure where the fat sits on your
body, so it misses abdominal fat, which is one of the unhealthiest types, and
it doesn’t take account of extra muscle mass either.
Up
to now, researchers haven’t been entirely sure whether obesity causes psoriasis, whether psoriasis causes obesity, or whether the
relationship works in both directions.
In
this study, the abdominal obesity probably caused most of the psoriasis, as the fat was there before the
skin complaint appeared, but it’s also likely that each of them reinforces the
other, too.
In the one “direction”, fat
cells tend to turn on inflammation and compromise immune system function, which
can then cause psoriasis. And going the other way, psoriasis can contribute to obesity by
putting people off taking exercise. Also, getting hot and sweaty can make
clothing feel uncomfortable against the skin, so sufferers are less likely to
exert themselves and may end up comfort eating too.
If
you suffer from obesity and psoriasis, then this information is probably enough
to get you down! But on the positive side, another study (in the journal JAMA
Dermatology) found that following a Mediterranean diet can help. People who did
so were much less likely to have the serious form of psoriasis.
The
Mediterranean diet also helps you to maintain a healthy weight and it contains
foods that fight inflammation.
Eliminate
Psoriasis for Good - The Risk Factor Behind Psoriasis
Obesity
is well known for being on the increase in the 21st century, but psoriasis not
so much. It certainly is though.
Researchers
are aware that they’re both rising, and this made them wonder whether there is
some sort of link between them.
A
new study published in the Journal PLOS Medicine by University of Bristol, the
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and Norway’s K.G. Jebsen Center
for Genetic Epidemiology reveals that scientists have just answered this
question in a unique and creative way.
The
problem for scientists when they ask this kind of question is how to separate a
pair of conditions from all the other ones that are related to them.
Think
about it this way: obesity increases inflammation, which then increases your
risk of psoriasis. Therefore, obesity may increase the likelihood of psoriasis,
but not because obesity causes psoriasis directly.
It’s
just that obesity causes inflammation and psoriasis is sometimes the result of
that.
Or
you can look at it from a different angle. Psoriasis is unsightly,
uncomfortable and sometimes painful. This might put people off exercise, which
in turn could lead to obesity. In this case, too, the obesity and psoriasis are
not directly related, but there’s a kind of ‘stepping stone’ connection there,
with one leading to the other. The lack of exercise causes the obesity, and the
psoriasis causes the lack of exercise.
In
cases like these, the only way to be sure of whether two conditions are
causally related is by examining genes. This approach is called Mendelian
randomization.
In
other words, researchers check whether people with genes related to condition X
are more likely to have genes related to condition Y.
Focusing
on the genes cuts out the external factors, so things like physical exercise
and inflammation don’t skew the results, because they were there all along,
before any external factors entered the mix.
The
researchers got hold of genetic information for 753,421 people from the U.K.
Biobank and the Health Survey in Nord-Trøndelag.
They
did find that people who were overweight or obese had an increased risk of
psoriasis. It seems that the higher your body mass index score, the higher the
likelihood that you will have psoriasis.
To
be precise, for every single extra number on the body mass index scale, you
have a nine percent higher risk of developing psoriasis.
This
removes all doubt and clearly settles the question: there is a direct causal
link between the two conditions.
It
also tells us which one is the guilty party here: obesity is the one that
causes psoriasis, rather than the other way around.
This
doesn’t tell us anything about why this relationship exists or what mechanisms
lie behind it, but it’s still good to know.
It’s
worth mentioning that some studies show that the risk of psoriasis decreases
with weight loss, so inflammation almost certainly plays some role in enforcing
the relationship. This still doesn’t tell us why the genetic relationship is
present before the inflammation occurs though.
Given
the fact that psoriasis in Norway, for example, has increased by almost seven
percent in the last 40 years alongside the well-documented increase in obesity,
it is time that scientists improve their understanding of this relationship.
This
post is from the Psoriasis Program created by Julissa Clay. She provides you
with tips and techniques which she used while struggling with psoriasis.
Julissa is a natural health researcher and has written many health program
e-books and digital guides. She spent all her life to the service of all the
people and helped them to recover from various health issues naturally. You can
easily avoid the side effects of the medications by following her.
Most people suffering of asthma have
similar symptoms like coughing, wheezing, a feeling of pain or pressure in the
chest and shortness of breath.
These symptoms become more acute when
the imminence of an asthma attack is higher and other symptoms, such as
difficulty in talking, pale lips, feelings of fear and panic are added to
these.
Yet, even though generally these
symptoms are characteristic for almost all asthmatics, there are more types of
asthma which can be encountered.
Depending on the moment of the day when
asthma is triggered or the factors which provoke it, there can be individuated
about five types of asthma. One of the most common types of asthma is the
allergic asthma.
In this case the allergies and asthma
go hand in hand, causing asthma attacks whenever the individual comes in
contact with the allergens to which they are sensitive to. In this case, to the
common symptoms of asthma are also added those of allergy rhinitis, such as
runny and swollen nose, continuous sneezing, weepy eyes and excessive mucus.
Another very frequent type of asthma is
the exercise-induced asthma. This type of ailment is mainly triggered by
physical exercises. If you have noticed that the asthma attacks are only
happening when you run or do physical exercises, then you are probably
suffering of exercise-induced asthma. In order to be able to breath normally
when exercising you may need to get an inhaler and use it before actually
starting your daily exercise routine.
The cough-variant asthma is triggered
by extremely powerful coughing, which will simply not stop. There are many
factors which can stay behind the extreme cough, such as rhinitis, sinusitis or heartburn. Thus, if you cough a lot and
feel like you are choking during the periods with excessive cough, make sure
you visit a doctor.
The occupational asthma and the night
time asthma are the last two types of asthma. They occur only in particular times
of the day (the working hours in case of the occupational asthma and the night
time during the night time asthma). If your asthma attacks are getting more
acute in these periods, then you are suffering of one of these two types of
ailments.
No matter which type of asthma you
(think) you have, it is highly important to go to the doctor for an accurate
diagnostic, which will enable you to start the right treatment for your type of
asthma.
For many people asthma is a condition with which they will have to live with
all their lives. They will have to get used to being caught by surprise by an
asthma attack. Yet, learning how to live with asthma is not an easy thing to do
and even for asthmatics who have long dealt with disease coping with it is
difficult.
The first thing that you will have to
do after you discover your asthma is to make sure you take your medicine
whenever you have to. Not taking them may have serious consequences and
sometimes results in even more serious symptoms and an aggravation of this
condition, as the inflammation starts developing immunity to medicine, of these
are not taken regularly.
Then, you will have to tell all those
living and working besides you that you are an asthmatic and that you may need
help in case of an attack. Suffering from this ailment is not a shame, so
keeping it to yourself will not help you in any way.
Instead of trying to hide your state of
health from the others, explain them what they should do in case of emergency
and how should they react if you are not feeling well.
It is also highly important that you do
not stop doing all your current activities. You will be encouraged to get out
of the house and do physical movement.
Even though it may be a little more
difficult at the beginning, especially for those suffering from
exercise-induced asthmatics, things will get easier and more fun with time.
Time will also make the medicine routine easier and will make you understand
better your condition.
What is highly important is to never
give it up. Asthma is an ailment which with you can live. There have not been
reported any people who have died because of asthma, so you will not have to
panic about this either.
Moreover, if you have a healthy
nutrition, make regular exercises and take your medicine in due time, you
condition may improve and you will be able to live your life as an active,
normal person for a long period of time.
This post is from the Asthma Relief Forever Program. It is
created by Jerry Ericson, Alternative Medical Practitioner, Researcher and
Author of Asthma Free Forever. As a former asthma suffer for over 30 years,
Jerry will share with you his all-natural, no side-effect solution to cure
asthma for good. He is no longer a slave to his inhaler.
If you’ve experienced a urinary tract infection
(UTI), well, you understand there’s a reason the acronym rhymes with “cry.” You
sit on the toilet darn near blubbering because you can’t pee but you feel like
you have to-oh how you feel like you have to! And when/if you do manage to get
a little out, it burns with the fire of ten thousand suns. Then you go about
your day crunched over and cramping and absolutely miserable.
So what evil forces are at work here when you
are suffering like that? Your urinary system is made up of your urethra, which
carries urine out of the bladder when you pee, your bladder, which holds your
urine, your ureters, which carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder, and your
kidneys, which filter waste from the blood to produce urine.
A UTI happens when bacteria makes its way up
the urethra. This can happen in any number of ways… you hold in urine instead
of going to the bathroom, having a catheter, and for women not peeing after
intercourse increases the risk. But no matter the case the result is the same -
misery.
If your UTI goes on for more than a few days or
gets worse, it is important to see your doctor. If the infection spreads
through your urinary system and to your kidneys, you can end up with a nasty
situation on your hands. But to fight them off in the beginning, here are some
home remedies for UTI’s that can help get things flowing smoothly (and
painlessly) once again.
When
it comes to herbs that ease UTI’s, here are the main properties to look for:
Anti-microbial
properties: Helps to wipe out the bacteria causing the infection.
Diuretic properties:Diuretics are used to treat a number of problems, and
work by increasing the amount of sodium your kidneys excrete in urine. When
they excrete sodium, they take water along with it, and the amount of fluid in
your blood goes down.
Less fluid means less pressure on the arteries, this is why it’s
used to treat high blood pressure. In the case of UTI’s we just want to
encourage an increased amount of urine to keep flushing out bacteria and
relieving discomfort.
Anti-inflammatory
properties:When
the lining of the urethra becomes inflamed it can cause serious discomfort. By lessening the irritating inflammation, you
can relieve the associated pain. It’s no fun feeling scared every time you need
to pee.
Anti-spasmodic
properties: Anti-spasmodics can help relieve any painful spasm or
cramp caused by a UTI. Generally, a spasm takes place in the bladder.
Home
Remedies for UTI Pain - Tip #1 - Drink Water - A lot of Water
This may not sound like the most extraordinary remedy, but it is
one of the most important things you can do when you have a UTI. It can help
flush out bacteria, and (almost) more importantly, it gives you something to
actually push out when you pee!
A lot of home remedies for urinary tract infections are drinks
because you should always be flushing fluid through your system to give it a
helping hand in getting rid of the nasty bacteria.
You
will need…
-An ice cold glass of fresh water
Directions
Drink like a fish stranded in the desert at the first hint of an infection. Get
your 8 glasses, and then some more. Keep clearing out your urinary tract and
you may be able to bounce back rather quickly-or at least be comfortable!
Home
Remedies for UTI Pain - Tip #2 - Go Pee!
It may sound obvious, but when you need to pee-UTI or not- do
it! If you hold it in, you increase the chance that bacteria will develop and
multiply and cause an infection. If you do have a UTI, every time you pee you
get out a little bit more of that bacteria. Even though it can be
uncomfortable, peeing every chance you get is a vital part of recovering.
Home
Remedies for UTI Pain - Tip #3 - Drink ‘Soda
No, not soda as in a sugary soft drink, soda as in baking soda,
that miraculous substance that can help anything from heartburn to, of course,
UTI’s. Baking soda is an alkaline substance-the opposite of
acidic-which means it can help neutralize or lessen the acidity of your urine.
If you find yourself resisting the urge to pee because of a
burning sensation, baking soda can help ease the discomfort.
You
will need…
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-8 ounces of fresh water
Directions
Stir the baking soda into the water until it dissolves, and then drink the whole
glass. Do this first thing in the morning. Don’t do this for more than a week,
or if you are trying to avoid salt, since baking soda is high in sodium.
Home
Remedies for UTI Pain - Tip #4 - Enjoy Parsley Water
Aside from the fact that it makes a wonderfully refreshing after
dinner drink, parsley water can help relieve a urinary tract infection and
speed up the healing process by acting as a diuretic. Diuretics are used to
treat a number of problems, and work by increasing the amount of sodium your
kidneys excrete in urine.
When they excrete sodium, they take water along with it, and the
amount of fluid in your blood goes down. Less fluid means less pressure on the
arteries, this is why it’s used to treat high blood pressure.
In the case of UTI’s we just want to encourage an increased
amount of urine to keep flushing out bacteria and relieving discomfort. Parsley
is thought to work by inhibiting a Na+-K+ (sodium and potassium) pump. By
inhibiting the reabsorption, sodium levels rise.
To balance out the concentration, kidneys excrete more sodium in
the urine. More sodium means more water which means an overall increased output
of urine.
You
will need…
-Roughly 1 cup of fresh parsley OR 2 tablespoons of dried parsley
-1-2 cups of water
Directions
Bring water to a boil and add the parsley if you are using
fresh-which is preferable in my opinion. Reduce the heat so it simmers steadily
and let the leaves infuse the water like this for 6-10 minutes. Strain the
leaves out and drink the water hot. If it’s a hot summer day, pop it in the
fridge for refreshing parsley “iced tea.”
If you use dried parsley, simply place it in a cup of boiling
water, cover, and steep for 8 minutes before straining and drinking.
Home
Remedies for UTI Pain - Tip #5 - Chew Some Celery Seeds
Celery seeds also act as a diuretic, due mainly to one of the
constituents of celery oil, butylphthalide. If parsley water just isn’t your
thing, chewing a handful of celery seeds can help increase the production of
urine. If you want to get some more fluid, make celery seed water (follow the
method for dried parsley.)
You
will need…
-A handful of celery seeds
Directions
Once or twice a day, snack on celery seeds right after a meal-it can also help
with digestion, so why not? If you do this daily, some anecdotal evidence
suggests it can help prevent UTI’s.
Home
Remedies for UTI Pain - Tip #6 – Cucumbers
This is an easy one for me- I love cucumbers! I don’t know why,
but they’re one of my favorite snacks. While other kids at lunch were busy
swapping candy bars, I was eyeing the cucumber slices.
Thanks to their high-water content, cucumbers are a great way to
get to get extra fluid through your system when you find yourself having a hard
time drinking enough water.
You
will need…
-1 cucumber, sliced
Directions
Rinse and slice a cucumber - enjoy!
Home
Remedies for UTI Pain - Tip #7- Maybe Avoid the 4 C’s
Chocolate, citrus, carbonation, and caffeine - these are 4
things that you should avoid if you find yourself getting UTI’s frequently. All
of them can irritate the lining of the bladder, and potentially make it easier
for bacteria to adhere.
Citrus will increase the acidity of your urine, which will make
it even more painful to pee. When possible, try to steer clear of as much of
these as you can - it’s not easy, but it can make life more bearable. On the
other hand, some people can find citrus actually helps, hence the “maybe” in
the title.
Home
Remedies for UTI Pain - Tip #8 - Use Heat
It’s not just peeing that hurts when you have a urinary tract
infection-the inflammation and irritation can cause a constant, nagging
discomfort that makes you feel painfully cramped up.
When this happens, applying heat over your bladder can bring
some serious relief. The gentle warmth will relax your muscles, melting away
the pain caused by spasms or inflammation.
You
will need…
-A hot water bottle (or something similar)
Directions
Fill up your bottle with water that is hot, but still
comfortable to the touch. It should be “toasty” not burning hot. It shouldn’t
feel like a hot hard lump, but rather feel like a waterbed. This way, the
surface of the bottle can lie flatter than if it was bulging and rounded with
water.
Wrap it in a dishtowel and lie down, placing it right over your
bladder. You can lightly rest your hands on it to increase contact, but don’t
press on it-when you’re so uncomfortable it can be tempting to try and “push”
the pain away, but it doesn’t work. Leave the bottle on for as long as needed.
Home
Remedies for UTI Pain - Tip #9 - Ginger Tea
No list dealing with any condition that involved any kind of
inflammation would be complete without ginger. Its chemical make-up allows it
to block prostaglandin synthesis, a process which creates little messengers
(aptly called prostaglandins.)
Prostaglandins communicate about a variety of biological
processes, such as inflammation. They also transmit pain signals to neurons. It
can therefore help to prevent inflammation, reduce current inflammation, and
reduce pain. This is the same process that OTC anti-inflammatory
medications-just without all the nasty side-effects!
Home
Remedies for UTI Pain - Tip #10 - Cranberry Juice
Cranberry juice is bit further down than you might expect on a
list of home remedies for a UTI, but its helpfulness is not set in stone as
much as people seem to think. The idea behind it is that the bacterium that
causes UTI’s have fimbria (hair-like) appendages-that make it possible to cling
onto the lining of the urethra. The combination of acidic substances in the
juice may make it harder for the fimbria to stick to things, thus reducing
chance of infection and/or making it harder for bacteria to multiply.
Studies seem to show that it does indeed help, however, it is
the most effective on women who have had UTI’s before or suffer reoccurring
infections. You also need to drink a decent amount of it to get the effects,
and many people in the studies withdrew because they found themselves with a
stomachache. All of that being said, it is worth trying-and you may just find
that it really does work for you.
You
will need…
-Cranberry Juice
Directions
If possible, get “real” cranberry juice, or at least juice that
isn’t loaded with sugar. Drink a full 8 ounces glass three times daily. To
potentially prevent infections, drink 1-2 daily.
Home
Remedies for UTI Pain - Tip #11- Blueberries
Blueberries are from the same genus as cranberries, Vaccinium,
and may also help ward off potential UTI’s by affecting the fimbria of the
bacteria trying to attach itself to the urinary tract.
Blueberry juice isn’t as easy to come by as cranberry juice (and
is usually mixed with things like grape or apple juice), so try consuming these
tasty berries whole instead.
You
will need…
-1-2 cups fresh blueberries
Directions
Rinse your berries and enjoy them daily. They make the perfect
addition to just about any breakfast; I absolutely love them in oatmeal.
Home
Remedies for UTI Pain - Tip #12 – Horseradish
Originally from Europe and a member of the cabbage family,
horseradish is known for spicy, pungent, sinus-clearing spread made from the
white roots of the plant. A natural compound in the plant, allyl isothiocyanate
(AITC), has a strong antimicrobial effect.
While cranberries and blueberries may be bacteriostatic, meaning
they inhibit the reproduction of bacteria, AITC is bactericidal, which means it
kills bacteria outright. It does so by attacking the cellular membrane of the
bacterium, making it impossible to be viable or survive.
You
will need…
-1/2 teaspoons fresh horseradish (root)
-A grater
-A glass of water or milk
Directions
Grate the fresh horseradish and start by taking 1 teaspoon twice
a day. The max dosage is 1 ½ teaspoons three times daily, stopping if stomach
upset occurs. If you have a hard time with the spice, a glass of water or milk
nearby can help. I find milk to be preferable as water can sometimes seem to
spread the spice around!
Home
Remedies for UTI Pain - Tip #13 - Cream of Tartar & Lemon
This is an old home remedy, not a shiny
“this-new-study-just-found” type of remedy, but I love it anyways. Sometimes
these old gems work better than anything else you can hunt down, and sometimes
they don’t make any difference at all.
Cream of tartar may work because it changes the pH of your
urine, making a less-friendly environment that makes it harder for bacteria to
thrive in. Add in a bit of lemon or lime juice for vitamin C, and you’ve got a
powerful bacteria-killing concoction that can dry a UTI right up.
You
will need…
-1 ½ teaspoons cream of tarter
-Lemon or lime juice (preferably fresh)
-Fresh water
Directions
Stir cream of tartar into ½-1 cup of warm water. Add a dash of
lemon or lime juice, and drink 1-2 times a day. This can also help prevent UTIs
when taken daily.
