Alternative Medicine
Do you know this feeling? When conventional medicine has no more answers, often any remedy will do if it promises relief.
Even though the saying
"Whoever heals is right"
certainly has some merit, I want to warn you about questionable practices and dubious remedies. "All that glitters is not gold." Your alarm bells should ring when it comes to alternative medicine if: there are quick & unbelievable promises, extremely expensive treatments, methods that defy logic without evidence from studies, or unregulated medicines/supplements.
My tip: Try recognised alternative medicine like TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and discover what works for you.
Many roads lead to Rome, not just conventional Western medicine. In China, for instance, TCM is studied as a state-recognised medical discipline - equal to conventional medicine.
Cystitis from the perspective of TCM
In TCM, two forms of cystitis are distinguished:
- Damp Cold Type
- Damp Heat Type
Depending on the form, either cooling or warming herbs are used for treatment.
In cases of an irritable bladder, TCM sees a link to heart heat. Dietary mistakes and psycho-emotional influences are considered the main factors behind bladder problems.
Damp Cold
This, according to TCM, is related to internal cold. If you tend to feel cold and have cold feet, additional external cold (e.g. sitting on cold surfaces, wet swimsuits) can trigger a bladder infection. In the case of damp cold, there is no burning during urination yet, and the infection is not acute.
The treatment for bladder-damp-cold: Avoid external cold, eat more warm foods with warming spices (thyme, rosemary, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, cumin, caraway, coriander), and eliminate dampness (with rice, barley, cooked root vegetables, lentils, beans, polenta, millet).
Damp Heat
This is, according to TCM, the classic acute bladder infection with pain, burning, and bacterial findings. Burning always indicates the involvement of heat.
The treatment for bladder-damp-heat: As a quick remedy, you can drink heat-clearing herbal teas (goldenrod, birch leaves, bearberry leaves, corn silk, horsetail, black tea, green tea) and eat foods like berries, barley soup or water, pumpkin seeds, mung beans and mung bean sprouts, rice, radish, celery, and grapes.
Heart Heat
Irritable bladder – The symptoms are similar to those of a bladder infection, but conventional medicine finds no bacteria.
Asian doctors would say that what's burning below has been burning above (in the heart) for a long time.
Try to bring more calm into your daily routine. Take breaks and go to bed earlier. Drink gently cooling herbal teas (lavender, lemon balm, passionflower, hops, rose) and eat foods that reduce heart heat (green salads, cucumbers, mung beans and mung bean sprouts, watermelon, cantaloupe).
TCM Decoction (Herbal Brew)
This is a cooked brew/tea made from a mixture of dried Chinese herbs, roots, mushrooms, etc., tailored to the condition of your organs and overall body state.
TCM Acupuncture Secret Weapon
"Therapy with needles" is a method of traditional Chinese medicine. However, acupuncture points can also be stimulated through finger pressure (acupressure), heat treatments (moxibustion), or soft laser beams (laser acupuncture).
By inserting needles into the acupuncture point, an attempt is made to influence the energy flow in the meridian and to resolve blockages or stagnation caused by pain, cold & heat. Sterile single-use steel needles are used, left in place for 20 to 30 minutes.
Sometimes the bladder infection can disappear completely after one session, sometimes you only feel improvement after the third treatment. However, it shouldn't take more than a few sessions to notice an improvement.
A study from Norway (2013) showed that acupuncture could halve the rate of recurring bladder infections.
A study from Turkey (2017) treated 12 women with interstitial cystitis with acupuncture 10 times over 5 weeks. The results showed that within 3 months of starting therapy, all participants responded to the acupuncture, and various pain/symptom assessment systems showed statistically significant improvements.
A large study from China (2017) showed that using electroacupuncture could halve urine leakage from stress incontinence after 6 weeks of treatment.
It is important to place the intersection points accurately. My tip: Definitely find a specialist in this field.
Acupressure for children: The combination of conventional medicine and acupressure helped me break through when I suffered from recurring bladder infections as a 10-year-old girl.
TCM Nutrition
Another important part of TCM is Chinese nutritional science, the nutrition based on the five elements. An individual dietary recommendation aims to bring Yin, Yang, and Qi (energy flow) back into balance. A simple example: In TCM, one mainly eats warm meals (porridge, rice, and millet porridge) in the morning and evening, instead of cereals with milk or bread with cold cuts. You can find lots of information about TCM nutrition on Anna Reschreiter - Annatsu's website.
Costs
The costs for complementary medical treatments are generally NOT covered by health insurance. However, it's worth asking your relevant health insurance provider.
There are voluntary additional insurance plans with complementary medicine tariffs. If you wish to receive ongoing alternative medicine treatment, ask for quotes from various insurers and then calculate whether it’s worth it in your case.
Homeopathy
In 1796, Dr. Hahnemann, a physician, pharmacist, and chemist, founded the healing method of homeopathy. A medical therapy form with single remedies, which are prescribed in potentised form (diluted and shaken due to the high toxicity of many base substances) according to the principle of similarity. A remedy heals the complaints in sick people that it would cause in healthy individuals. The medicines used (from animal, plant, and mineral sources) give the body the stimulus to heal (regulate) according to the stimulus-response principle.
There is no scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of homeopathy. But there are many proponents who are convinced of its success. I personally know several cases, especially children, where homeopathic treatment brought improvement without burdening the body with conventional medicines such as antibiotics.
As with TCM, it is also better here to consult a specialist rather than self-diagnosing with various homeopathic remedies. In Austria, homeopathic treatment is reserved for doctors, secured by the Homeopathy Diploma of the Austrian Medical Association.
Self-use
There are many homeopathic remedies
that are used for various bladder complaints. For self-treatment, the lower potencies D6 and D12 are recommended.
The higher the potency (from C30), the stronger the effect. Do not count globules by hand (sweat on the hand inhibits the active ingredient), either dissolve them in water or let them dissolve in the mouth.
Below is a narrower selection:
- Cantharis D6: Always suitable for acute bladder infection (3x5 globules daily)
- Belladonna D6: Bladder infection with constant urge to urinate (3x5 globules daily)
- Dulcamara D6: Bladder infection due to cold, damp weather (3x5 globules daily)
- Pulsatilla D6: Bladder infection with painful urge to urinate (3x5 globules daily)
- Staphisagria D6: Bladder infection after intercourse (3 globules several times a day)
- Badiaga D12 or Barium carbonicum D12: Aftercare for a bladder infection (2x5 globules daily for 4 weeks)
Homeopathy for children: Infants up to 1 year old: 1/3 of the adult dose, toddlers up to 6 years old: half the adult dose, children aged 6 to 12 years: 2/3 of the adult dose.
Schüssler Salts
In the 19th century, the German doctor Dr. Schüssler developed his healing method "The Chemistry of Life" with homeopathic mineral salts, a less complex system compared to classical homeopathy. It is based on the assumption that many diseases arise from a disrupted intake or distribution of specific mineral salts in the body's cells. The use of Schüssler salts aims to naturally balance mineral deficiencies. You can find more on the subject in the books Bladder infection - Treatment with homeopathy, medicinal plants, Schüssler salts, and naturopathy* or Self-treatment with Schüssler Salts: Safe, Simple, Effective*
"The combination of conventional medicine and acupressure helped me break through when I suffered from recurring bladder infections as a 10-year-old girl. Personally, I haven't had much experience with TCM, but I know several women and men who regularly visit a TCM doctor and benefit both physically and mentally. When it comes to homeopathy, I hear mixed opinions: for treating children, I hear a lot of positive feedback - I think it's something you have to try and see if it works."
