The History Behind Recurring UTI Treatments

If you suffer with recurring UTIs, you probably find yourself asking “how did people deal with this horrible pain in the ‘olden days’”?   The answer is that they may have gotten some temporary relief from the symptoms, but their infection never went away.

Journal of Urology research shows that urinary tract infections (UTIs) were first documented in Egypt in 1550 BC. The Ebers papyrus from ancient Egypt recommended herbal remedies to soothe urinary symptoms.

By the 19^th century, treatments had evolved to include: bed rest, healthy dieting, plasters, narcotics, and herbal enemas and douches.  Physicians also began using bleeding with cupping and leeches to treat infections.

In the 20^th century scientists eventually discovered that UTIs were caused by bacteria, which led to treatment with antibiotics and curing the infection.

Ironically, now that antibiotics are no longer as effective as they once were, we’ve come full cycle and are using herbal supplements such as mannose, turmeric, hibiscus, cranberry, garlic, uva ursi and other remedies to stop recurring UTIs.

Thankfully the medical community is now taking these natural supplements seriously and conducting clinical trials to prove their efficacy.  Here’s a new article on the power of D-Mannose combined with Cranberry.

The good news is that they are not recommending that we go back to using leeches!