Anti-inflammatory and antibacterial herbs for cystitis

An inflammatory process in the bladder indicates a painful condition of the body. On the one hand, this is its natural reaction. But on the other hand, if the body itself cannot cope with the infection, then without outside help the inflammation will become chronic, noticeably undermining the defenses, which is good for any other infection, especially a viral one.

In case of bacterial infection or acute inflammatory process, doctors do not recommend relying only on the body's forces. Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory treatment are an important point in the treatment of cystitis. And it is very good that these issues can be resolved with the help of herbal treatment in combination with antibiotic therapy (if we are talking about bacterial cystitis) or using herbs as the main treatment when the leading role of infection is not observed in the etiology of the disease.

By using herbs for cystitis, you can achieve a significant improvement in the patient's condition and his tests in a fairly short time. This is much better than enduring pain and waiting for everything to go away on its own. Moreover, in the arsenal of traditional medicine there are many herbs that have a complex effect on the genitourinary system. Such useful herbs include chamomile, St. John's wort, goldenrod, lingonberry, yarrow, wild rosemary, juniper and some other medicinal plants.

Many people know about the anti-inflammatory effect of chamomile, but how else can the herb help with bladder inflammation? Chamomile is good not only in bouquets, but also in the form of a decoction or infusion of inflorescences, which have antihistamine (reduces sensitivity to the irritant), antimicrobial (contains natural antibiotics - bioflavonoids), analgesic, sedative and antispasmodic effects (help reduce pain). Taking water-based chamomile can establish regular and full urination, especially if you prepare a decoction / infusion with chamomile and one of the diuretic herbs. [ 1 ]

The decoction is prepared by taking 1-2 tablespoons of dry inflorescences per glass of water heated to 90 degrees. This composition is kept in a water bath for about 15 minutes. Then the infusion should be cooled, filtered and brought to the original volume.

It is recommended to take this medicine 2-3 times a day. A single dose is ½ cup. The effect will be enhanced if you add 1 teaspoon of honey to the decoction, which is known to have a "killer" activity against microbes.

Instead of a decoction, you can take an infusion of inflorescences (2 tablespoons per glass of boiling water, leave for 1.5-2 hours in a warm place). The recommended single dose is ¼ glass. You can drink no more than 1 glass of infusion per day.

If you make the infusion weaker (take 1-2 teaspoons per glass and let it brew for 15 minutes), it will be called chamomile tea. This tea can be drunk throughout the day in small portions instead of other teas and drinks.

Warm compositions based on the above-mentioned herb will also be of great benefit in chronic cystitis. In this case, any hypothermia of the feet or the body as a whole can serve as a signal for an exacerbation of the disease. Warm decoctions and infusions taken immediately after exposure to cold are a good preventative for exacerbations and painful sensations.

But no matter how useful and safe chamomile may seem, the plant also has contraindications for use. Compositions based on it are not recommended for patients with a tendency to diarrhea and mental disorders. You should not take chamomile for a long time and for erosive and ulcerative stomach diseases, since its effect on stomach acidity is still a controversial issue among doctors. And, of course, pregnant women need to be careful, especially in the early stages, because the increased production of estrogens stimulated by chamomile can become one of the causes of miscarriage.

St. John's wort can also be actively used for cystitis due to its healing properties. St. John's wort even in large quantities contains flavonoids, which provide the herb with an antimicrobial effect. The plant effectively relieves inflammation, shows a moderate diuretic effect, which, in combination with the antiseptic effect, helps to effectively cleanse the bladder from pathogens and attached microbes. St. John's wort herb and flowers have a hemostatic and wound-healing effect, which is very valuable if the inflammation is caused by the irritating effect of urinary sediment (sand, stones) with the formation of bleeding micro-wounds on the mucous membrane (blood elements appear in the urine). [ 2 ]

Urolithiasis often becomes one of the causes of chronic cystitis, which worsens with the formation of stones that injure the mucous membrane. Strong diuretics can only worsen the condition, but St. John's wort-based formulations will help to gently remove painful symptoms, especially if the herb is used in combination with chamomile, which provides an analgesic effect.

Most often, a decoction of the herb is used to treat cystitis. It can be prepared by taking 1 tablespoon of chopped herbal raw material per glass of water. Boil the decoction for a quarter of an hour. After that, remove from the stove and allow to cool at room temperature. Take the pre-filtered composition 50 ml three times a day.

You can also prepare a medicinal infusion of St. John's wort. To do this, take 1.5 tablespoons of the herb, pour a glass of boiling water and keep it in a water bath for half an hour. Cool and strain the decoction and bring it to 200 ml with boiled water. Drink a glass of the decoction in three doses, which should be done half an hour before meals.

It should be said that pure decoction or infusion of St. John's wort is not often used in the treatment of cystitis. Usually this herb is included in medicinal mixtures together with chamomile, yarrow, knotweed, goldenrod and other herbs.

Contraindications to the use of St. John's wort formulations may include: high blood pressure (persistent arterial hypertension), exacerbation of vascular problems, and a tendency to constipation. The herb is also not recommended for pregnant women. There may also be problems with breastfeeding, since St. John's wort tends to give milk a bitter taste.

Goldenrod (also known as goldenrod) can be called the gold standard for treating cystitis in folk medicine. This plant is one of the best herbal antibiotics, which, among other things, has a pronounced anti-inflammatory and diuretic effect.

Goldenrod is used both in the form of a decoction or tea, and in the form of a cold infusion.

A decoction is usually called an infusion prepared in a water bath. For it, take 1 tablespoon of dry plant material per glass of boiling water. The composition is kept in a water bath for 10 minutes, after which it is left to cool in a warm place and filtered.

This decoction is useful for cystitis caused by kidney or urolithiasis. The composition should be taken in small portions, no more than 50 ml per day, since the plant is quite poisonous.

Cold infusion has a pronounced antimicrobial effect, close to pharmaceutical antibiotics. To prepare it, take a glass of cold boiled water and 2 teaspoons of herbs. Infuse the remedy for four hours, then strain and drink during the day in 3-4 doses. Take the infusion before meals.

Goldenrod is an excellent bladder cleanser, actively used in homeopathy. But due to the high toxicity of the plant, it is necessary to take compositions based on it with great caution, after consulting a doctor.

It is clear that goldenrod is not suitable for treating pregnant women and nursing mothers. It is contraindicated in glomerulonephritis (an inflammatory disease of the glomerular system of the kidneys). People with diabetes and high blood pressure should be careful when taking herbal infusions.

Another well-proven urinary antiseptic is lingonberry. In the treatment of cystitis, the leaves of the plant are used, which can relieve inflammation, having a bactericidal effect (phytoncides are especially active against staphylococcal infection), and also effectively cleanse the bladder, due to the complex antiseptic and diuretic effect.

An important point in lingonberry therapy is the fact that the plant, which is almost as good as goldenrod with its antibacterial effect, is non-toxic and can be taken in courses for a long time (more than six months without consequences, which is very important in the chronic course of the pathology). Good tolerance of lingonberry leaf-based compositions and the absence of side effects makes this natural "medicine" almost universal.

For cystitis, a lingonberry leaf infusion is popular (the whole plant can also be used). For 2 cups of boiling water, usually take 2 tablespoons of lingonberry leaves, leave for at least half an hour. Take the infusion before meals, half a glass at a time. The frequency of administration is 3-4 times a day.

You can also make a healing decoction. Pour 1 tbsp of leaves with hot water (half a glass) and keep the mixture on low heat for 15 minutes, then remove, cool and filter. The resulting infusion should be taken in the first half of the day before meals.

No less useful, but more delicious will be a decoction of lingonberry leaves and berries. For a glass of water you need to take 2 tablespoons of the herbal mixture, bring the composition to a boil and remove, leaving it to cool naturally.

For cystitis, you can take decoctions, teas, and fruit drinks made from lingonberries, which become even more useful if you add honey to them (if you tolerate bee products well).

Lingonberry is not recommended for patients with low blood pressure and severe kidney disease. Those who have high blood pressure or a history of gastritis with high acidity should take lingonberry formulations very carefully after consulting a doctor.

Juniper, considered an excellent natural antiseptic, is not used very often in the treatment of cystitis, however, experience shows that such treatment shows good results. In case of inflammation of the bladder, the greatest healing effect can be expected from an infusion of the plant's berries, prepared in a water bath. [ 3 ]

For 200-220 ml of hot boiled water, take 1 tbsp. of berries. Place the bowl with the hot mixture in another container with boiling water (water bath). Remove the mixture from the stove after a quarter of an hour and filter it through cheesecloth while cooled, carefully squeezing out the berries. During boiling, the volume of the infusion decreases. You will need to add boiled water so that the glass of infusion is full.

Take the infusion 4 times a day after meals in the amount of 1 tbsp. per dose. It has a diuretic effect and cleanses the urinary tract of pathogenic microbes, relieves inflammation, improves bowel function (this is also important, since when the rectum is overfilled and stretched, it creates an obstacle to the passage of urine).

Juniper is not suitable for pregnant women (risk of miscarriage), patients with chronic kidney and gastrointestinal pathologies in the acute stage (during remission, short-term treatment with small doses is allowed with the doctor's permission). Overdose of juniper-based compounds can cause problems with the heart and blood vessels.

Yarrow is a plant with anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. It is effective against both bacterial infections and fungal diseases. [ 4 ]

An infusion of yarrow is prepared from 1 cup of boiling water and 1.5 tbsp. of the herb. The composition should be infused for an hour, after which it is filtered and drunk in 4 doses.

This infusion can be prepared in a water bath. 15 minutes is enough, after which the composition should stand for another 45 minutes until it is ready for use. Considering that while in a water bath the volume of liquid decreases, the strained infusion is brought to the original volume with boiled water. Take this infusion warm 2-3 times a day half an hour before meals. The recommended single dose is 100 ml. If the bitter taste and specific smell of the medicine are difficult to tolerate, you can limit yourself to 1/3 of a glass per dose.

Yarrow decoction is a potent concentrated remedy that should be taken 3-4 times a day, 1 tbsp. It is prepared from 1 glass of water and 4 tbsp. of dry grass. The mixture is boiled for 10 minutes, then left to infuse for half an hour.

The herb should not be used in cases of increased blood viscosity and a tendency to form blood clots. Caution should be exercised by hypotensive patients, as well as people with acute gastrointestinal diseases (strong compositions are not indicated for gastritis and stomach ulcers). High doses of herbal compositions have a toxic effect.

Yarrow is also not suitable for treating cystitis in pregnant women and nursing mothers. In the first case, the risk of miscarriage increases, especially in the early stages, in the second - there is a high probability of the baby refusing to breastfeed due to the specific taste of milk.

Ledum can be considered an excellent antimicrobial and painkiller (antispasmodic effect) for cystitis. However, it is worth considering the toxicity of the plant when used in high doses or for a long time.

In the treatment of cystitis, a more popular infusion of the plant is prepared from 2-3 tbsp. (10 g) of finely chopped grass and 1 glass of boiling water. The composition should be sent to a water bath, where it should be for half an hour. After this, the herbal infusion should be cooled in natural conditions, filtered and add enough boiled water to it so that the total volume is 200 ml. The finished "medicine" is recommended to be taken after eating. A single dose of 3 - 2 tbsp. Frequency of administration - 3 times a day.

Contraindications to the use of marsh wild rosemary include hypotension and pregnancy. Since the plant is considered poisonous, nursing mothers should not take it either.

When using herbs for cystitis, one should not forget about nettle. Although this plant does not have a significant antimicrobial effect, it helps to strengthen the body and maintain its protective properties, which is very important in preventing complications (and in chronic cystitis - relapses). The beneficial properties of the herb are considered to be a diuretic and wound-healing effect (the latter property helps to relieve inflammation when microerosions appear on the mucous membrane of the bladder), the ability to reduce tissue swelling and pain.

Despite the stinging properties of young nettle leaves covered with tiny hairs, the plant is not poisonous, so treatment with it can be considered quite safe. If you pour boiling water over a spoonful of dry grass and let it brew for half an hour, you can get a pleasant-tasting nettle tea, which you can drink up to 3 glasses a day warm after meals.

By adding chamomile, raspberry, echinacea, and St. John's wort to nettle leaves, you can change the taste of the drink, while its healing qualities will be even higher.

Nettle for cystitis can be used in the form of decoctions and infusions, separately or in combination with other herbs, add fresh leaves to salads, soups and fresh juices, but it is important to remember that the plant has contraindications. [ 5 ]

The hemostatic property of nettle will not benefit people with a tendency to thrombosis and high blood viscosity. The herb is also not recommended for low blood pressure, as well as during pregnancy (increases uterine tone).

Horsetail also has a pronounced anti-inflammatory and diuretic effect. Like St. John's wort or nettle, this medicinal plant is able to stop bleeding and heal wounds, which is important in chronic cystitis associated with urolithiasis. [ 6 ]

A horsetail decoction is considered popular for bladder inflammation. It should be prepared at a rate of 2 tablespoons of grass per 1 liter of water. The composition is kept on the fire at a low boil for 5 minutes, then removed from the stove, allowed to cool and filtered.

This composition should be taken 3-4 times during the day, 3 tablespoons per dose.

Horsetail grass goes well with chamomile, bearberry, nettle. It is allowed to combine the grass with birch leaves, juniper. Such herbal collections have a comprehensive effect on the genitourinary and immune systems, so the effect of their use is stronger and faster.

Decoctions and infusions of horsetail, chamomile, yarrow and many other herbs can be used not only internally, but also used to prepare medicinal baths (warm foot baths that relieve spasms and pain, sitz baths with a temperature of about 37 degrees), added to a bath for bathing. But it is important to understand that thermal procedures are useful only in the absence of purulent processes in the organ and bleeding, so before practicing them, you must consult a doctor.