If you are reading this, chances are high that you are in pain and trying to understand what are the first steps in UTI treatment.

When you need UTI treatment

• Do you feel like you need to pee all the time, even if you just did?
• Does it hurt to pee? In my case it was sharp, stabbing pain…brr.
• Is there any blood in your urine? (Don’t freak out!)
• Lower abdomen discomfort or pain?
• Urine that appears cola-colored or pink— also a sign of blood in the urine.
• Strong-smelling urine.

Read more about UTI symptoms here.

If your temperature is rising, you have pain in your back, chills, nausea or vomiting you must to go to urgent care immediately or call 911. 

Otherwise, don’t panic.

Eight steps of UTI treatment

Pardon me for starting with the least popular advice on the Internet, which is “call a doctor”. Please read on to understand why.

#1 Get antibiotics for UTI treatment

Let me make a case for seeing a doctor and being treated with antibiotics if it is your first UTI.

I am a strong believer in natural healing and home remedies, I am not a big fan of drugs. However, the almighty Internet can’t tell you how your body will manifest the UTI symptoms and how fast the infection will spread.

An untreated UTI may spread to the kidneys, and it could also cause sepsis. People die from sepsis. It is rare, but why play Russian roulette?

Also, about half of women with symptoms of UTI actually have some other condition (irritation of the urethra, vaginitis, interstitial cystitis or a sexually transmitted disease (STD)).

Please call a doctor, if this is your first UTI.

Here is a list of antibiotics that you could discuss with your doctor for UTI treatment.

Where to get antibiotics for UTI treatment:

• Do you have a primary care physician or a gynecologist? Call their office and see if they can send a prescription to your local pharmacy.
• No insurance, no doctor? Find Planned Parenthood (prices depend, but could be pretty cheap depending on your income) or go to the nearest Urgent Care ($75-150 for the visit plus about $40 for the antibiotics).

While your situation with the antibiotics is being sorted out, try the following to inhibit the growth of the bacteria.

Some of the following are referred online as an over the counter UTI treatment products, and in some cases of a minor infection, these remedies might indeed do the trick. If you simply stuck with no access to medical help, this could be a good start as well as this post about UTI remedies. However, keep in mind that the only FDA approved treatment for UTI is antibiotic treatment.

#2 Water and soda

Drink one cup of cold water and 1 tsp. of baking soda. Warning: it’s disgusting! Repeat this several times over the next few hours – this will dilute your urine, reduce acidity and help to flush out germs. It is not a UTI treatment but it might also diminish the symptoms and make it easier to tolerate the wait.

#3 Ibuprofen

Consider taking Ibuprofen to decrease inflammation and relieve pain.

#4: Garlic 

Crush 2-3 garlic cloves and swallow (garlic has antibacterial properties and can help to slow down the growth of the bacteria). Not for people with liver or stomach problems!

#5 No more sugar

Stop drinking or eating anything with sugar (bacteria “loves sugar” and grows faster). You need to eliminate soda, sweet tea, and coffee, candies. Watch out for sweet “healthy” drinks such as cranberry juice (yep, don’t drink it!) or aloe vera juice with sugar.

#6: Increase water intake 

Drink a lot of water. Can you do 2 full glasses in an hour? But no more than 3 glasses per hour, even water could be bad for your kidneys if consumed in large amounts.

#7: Apply heat

Get a heating pad or a hot water bottle on your lower abdomen to decrease the pain. A warm puppy or a cat could help too.

#8: Plan ahead

Order BulkSupplements Pure D-mannose Powder (250 grams) and  RepHresh Pro-B Probiotic Feminine Supplement, 30-Count Capsules. This will help you to prevent UTIs in the future.

These steps should help to decrease the symptoms until you get your hands on the antibiotics. Step eight is critical to stop your UTIs forever, since restoring your natural vaginal flora after a course of antibiotics should be part of your UTI prevention strategy.

Hopefully, you have all or some of the above at home, to begin with. Traveling to a nearby pharmacy with UTI symptoms could be a tough task! But if your appointment is the next day and your pharmacy is around the corner, there are products, which you can buy over the counter to help you out ASAP and prevent UTIs in the future.