Home remedies · Cycle & women’s health
No home remedy here replaces treatment, and none is talked down. What has done good for generations does good — even if no one ever measured it. Where something is well studied, it says so. Where it is only experience, it says that too.
Drink plenty so things get flushed through, and empty the bladder regularly rather than holding on. A hot water bottle on the lower belly or between the thighs, warm feet.
Diluted urine irritates the inflamed lining less, and frequent emptying carries germs out. Warmth relaxes the bladder muscle and eases the cramp.
Some uncomplicated bladder infections settle this way, some do not. It does not replace treatment if things are not improving.
See a doctor with fever, flank pain, blood in the urine, in pregnancy, in men and children — and if it is not better after two to three days.
Have it assessed: bleeding outside the cycle or after the menopause, strong one-sided lower abdominal pain, fever with discharge, any new lump in the breast. In pregnancy almost anything is a reason to call. With mastitis and fever, do not wait longer than a day.