Help for UTIs from Chinese Medicine

If you’ve suffered from UTI pain, you can understand why a friend of mine once referred to having a bladder infection as being visited by “Blad the Impaler”--a monstrous moniker inspired by the infamous Romanian tyrant known for his acts of outlandish cruelty. 

Anyone who considers the comparison too dramatic has not experienced the sudden, calamitous pain of an acute urinary tract infection. Typical symptoms include:

• Pain or burning while urinating

• Passing frequent, small amounts of urine

• Persistent urge to urinate despite having an empty bladder

• Low fever (less than 101℉)

• Pelvic pain

• Cloudy, strong-smelling, or bloody urine

Because cisgender women and trans men have a shorter urethra, bacteria from the nearby rectum can be transferred relatively easily to the bladder and take up residence, making people in these groups especially susceptible. And for trans folks, having to hold urine because of lack of access to safe public restrooms compounds the risk. Adding insult to injury, recurrence of infection within six months is common. 

Multiple different germs can cause UTI’s; the most common of these by far is E. coli. Untreated, a bladder infection that does not resolve can spread, causing a potentially dangerous kidney infection. Antibiotics are commonly prescribed–but they are no magic pill for every patient with a burning bladder. And unfortunately, due to the overuse of antibiotics in humans and farmed animals, UTIs are now considered the single biggest risk to healthy people from drug-resistant germs (Richtel, 2019). Bladder infections that were once easily treated have, over the past 15 years, seen a sharp rise in resistance to what were previously gold standard antibiotic cures. Even when antibiotics hit their target, they take a toll on the body’s microbiome, wiping out “good bacteria” along with the bad--which depletes the body’s natural ability to keep infection and inflammation at bay. 

Meanwhile, it is also possible for a woman to experience the unmistakable pain of a UTI, only to be told by her doctor that no bacteria are detected in her urine culture. Interstitial cystitis is the diagnosis used to describe an inflamed, irritated bladder when a bacterial infection has been ruled out and standard antibiotic treatments fail to resolve symptoms. Effective Western treatments for interstitial cystitis, also called painful bladder syndrome, are elusive.

Acupuncture and Herbs for UTIs

Fortunately, Chinese medicine has effective treatment alternatives to offer UTI sufferers. Unlike Western medicine, Chinese medicine treatment principles consider the overall functional state of the patient and attempt to restore it to balance, rather than narrowly targeting a specific pathogen like E. coli. This approach means that germs can’t develop “resistance” to Chinese medicine’s time-tested treatments, which include herbal formulas and acupuncture. And because Chinese herbs have therapeutic functions different from merely inhibiting bacterial activity, formulas that address UTIs can also effectively treat interstitial cystitis.

In Chinese medicine, both conditions are attributed to “damp-heat,” and herbs are selected that clear heat, dry dampness, and have a primary action on the urinary system. A licensed acupuncturist can recommend a formula based on a patient’s unique symptoms--some likely candidates include, but are definitely not limited to, Ba Zheng San and Long Dan Xie Gan Tang. Not only can herbal formulas provide symptomatic relief to UTI sufferers; one study also found patients taking Chinese herbs for stubborn UTIs experienced a much lower 6-month recurrence rate that those treated with antibiotics (Zhang, 2013). 

Acupuncture can also help the UTI sufferer, and is especially indicated for acute symptoms. Points like Liver 8 and Spleen 9, located near the knee, can clear damp-heat and might even be tender or sore if a UTI is present. A number of points located in the region of the bladder, both on the lower abdomen and on the lower back, can be needled to provide relief from urinary pain and urgency by blocking excessive nerve impulses in the pelvic region (Dharmananda, 2003). 

UTIs: Holistic Prevention and Treatment Tips

Recommendations drawn from both Western and Chinese medicine, as well as nutrition and other complementary approaches, can help fortify your bladder’s battlements against UTIs--and even drive a strategic stake, if Blad the Bad should rear his dastardly head. 

Prevention Pointers

• Urinate when you need to--the longer urine stays in the bladder, the more time bacteria have to set up shop. 

• Urinate before and immediately after sexual activity. 

• Wash your genital and anal areas before and after sex. 

• After urinating, always wipe from front to back, to avoid spreading germs from the anus to the urethra. 

• Choose birth control methods other than diaphragms and spermicides.

• Regularly incorporate probiotic foods into your diet, and/or take a probiotic supplement--especially if you have recently taken a course of antibiotics. 

• Unsweetened cranberry juice or cranberry tablets may help prevent bacteria from adhering to the urinary tract and causing infection. Taken on its own as a supplement, D-mannose, an active component of cranberries, can also help prevent and treat UTIs for some women

Treatment Tips

• Stay hydrated and drink plenty of water, which helps to flush your urinary tract.

• Avoid penetrative sex if possible.

• Get an acupuncture treatment to help with your acute symptoms, and ask your practitioner to recommend an herbal formula. You may wish to keep a formula prescribed by your acupuncturist on standby to take at the first sign of symptoms. 

• Avoid foods known to irritate the bladder and exacerbate UTI symptoms, especially coffee, tea, soda, alcoholic beverages, tomatoes and tomato products, hot peppers, and spicy foods. Also avoid sugar and refined flour, to balance blood sugar levels. 

• Yoga can relax pelvic floor muscles, which can help with chronic bladder pain.

• Consult your M.D. if symptoms persist or worsen. 

SOURCES

Dharmananda, S. (2003, May.) Treatment of Interstitial Cystitis with Chinese Medicine. Retrieved from http://www.itmonline.org/arts/cystitis.htm 

Pang, R. & Ali, A. (2015, Dec.) The Chinese approach to complementary and alternative medicine treatment for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome. Translational Andrology and Urology, 4(6), 653-661. doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2223-4683.2015.08.10

Richtel, M. (2019, July 13.) Urinary Tract Infections Affect Millions. The Cures Are Faltering. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/13/health/urinary-infections-drug-resistant.html

Urinary Tract Infection. (2015, April 17.) Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/community/for-patients/common-illnesses/uti.html

Zhang, N., et al. (2013). Traditional Chinese Medicine: An Alternative Treatment Option for Refractory Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 56(9), 1355. doi: 10.1093/cid/cit029

Dr. Lisa Franzetta is a licensed acupuncturist in Oakland, California specializing in pain management, internal medicine, integrative cancer support, and stress management and emotional wellness.