Herbalist Lily Canetty-Clarke is here to rescue you from the pains of UTI's - look no further for the herbal remedies that WORK... 

Having witnessed the power of this four-dose punch myself recently, I thought it would be a great one to share. UTI’s or urinary tract infections affect 50% of the female population and can be a right old painFULL nuisance. The trick is to nip it in the bud before it has a chance to develop. 

Any signs of blood in the urine are a sign that the infection has travelled up to your kidneys, a more serious infection that needs the attention of a medical professional.

However, the next time you get the early warning signs, sore lower back, burning pee and an urgency to go to the loo ALL THE TIME, load yourself up with this four dose punch and hopefully we can stop the infection in its tracks.

1. My UTI tea: a mixture of bearberry (Arctostaphylos Uva ursi), buchu (Agothosma betulina) and cornsilk (Zea mays). These herbs are not only aimed at fighting the infection but also soothing the urinary tract. Buying the loose-leaf herbs individually and then mixing them together to create your own UTI tea to be drunk 3-4 times daily (brewed in a tea pot, with a lid on, for 10-15 minutes before straining). These herbs can be brought from herbal manufacturing companies like indigo herbs and, organic herb trading company.
2. D-Mannose: is a miracle supplement for UTI’s. It is a compound found in fruit and veg like cranberries and packs a real positive punch in the direction of the infection. It can be taken both as a preventative (smaller doses over the longer term) and as a relief aid (larger doses for shorter periods of time). When using it in times of infection follow the highest dosage on the box. I like to take them with a little bit of water and then abstain from drinking any water for an hour or so to hold the D-mannose in a concentrated way in the body and then flush the body with lots of water for the next few hours before the next daily dose. 
3. Echinacea: to boost your bodies overall immune system to help fight the infection. Take 5ml of an Echinacea tincture four times daily with water. Echinacea can be found in health food shops across the world- a sign of a good quality tincture is one that makes your tongue tingle, this is due to the alyklamides which are responsible for its immune modulating activity.
4. Remove ALL irritants- that means no coffee, alcohol, sugar or black tea and replace them with WATER WATER WATER.

The above advice is largely symptomatic relief but for anyone experiencing recurrent UTI’s needs to seek further advice. Medical Herbalists aim to look at the root cause of illness and so together you can determine what is the source of the problem. It could be a generally weak immune system that needs boosting, a lack of sexual hygiene or even harsh chemicals in your washing machine, bath oils or soaps. 

The National Institute of Medical Herbalists provide a service to find your local herbalist or if you are local to Bristol email herbalistlily@gmail.com and we can arrange a consultation.

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