Medication plays an important role in the treatment of urethritis. But also home remedies and some hygiene measures can help to support the therapy or prevent urethritis. What you can do against urethritis, read here.
Therapy and preventive measures against urethritis.
How urethritis is treated depends on the cause. Germs are fought with appropriate antibiotics or fungicides. Indispensable is the co-treatment of the sexual partner to avoid a “ping-pong effect” (i.e., mutual re-infection). It is advisable to abstain from sexual intercourse until the infection has subsided.
Suppositories containing estrogen may be indicated for senile urethritis.
Home remedies for urethritis.
Studies have shown that cranberry or cranberry juice prevents germs from adhering to the lining of the urethra and bladder. Thus, in patients prone to repeated urinary tract infections, regular drinking of the juice could positively influence the course of the disease.
Preventing urethritis – here’s how!
Other “home remedies” for prevention are:
- Emptying the bladder after sexual intercourse.
- The avoidance of hypothermia
- The renunciation of excessive genital hygiene
- The intake of more than two liters of fluid daily
However, the effectiveness of these measures has not yet been verified in studies.
Use of medicinal plants
In folk medicine, various medicinal plants are used, which can be drunk, for example, as a tea, and some are also available as finished medicines. Classic medicinal herbs for urethritis are, for example:
- Field horsetail
- Bearberry leaves
- Birch leaves
- Nettle
- Goldenrod
- Rosehip
- Hackle
- Juniper
Cantharis is often used in homeopathy.
What is the course and prognosis?
If an infection is treated in time, the prognosis is good. If therapy begins too late or – for example, because of a lack of symptoms – not at all, the germs may continue to spread. This can lead to abscesses, infections of the kidneys, epididymis, prostate, uterus, fallopian tubes or ovaries, or even acute urinary retention. As a result of the inflammatory processes, scarring and narrowing of the urethra or adhesion of the fallopian tubes and infertility may occur.
Pregnant women can transmit the germs to their child during birth, which – in the case of chlamydia and gonococci – can lead to serious conjunctivitis of the newborn. Some germs are also suspected of increasing the risk of premature rupture of the membranes and miscarriage.
