Apple Cider Vinegar Baths for Urinary Tract Infections: Benefits & How-To

A urinary tract infection (UTI) can be bothersome and frustrating to deal with. You know you might have a UTI if you have a frequent urge to urinate, a burning sensation when you do urinate, you have foul smelling or red colored urine, pain in your lower abdomen or pelvic area and when you try to urinate you can only pass a few drops at a time. While there are many treatments for a UTI, an apple cider vinegar bath is a strategy that can be used at home.

Vinegar Bath

• Make sure that you urinate before using the bath and if you are female, wipe from front to back. Draw a hot bath and add one quart of apple cider vinegar to the water. Soak in the tub for half an hour. The apple cider vinegar acts as a detoxing cleanser, relieving the UTI symptoms and taming the bacteria from the outside of the urethra. Keep the water hot to keep the bacteria at bay.

Benefits

• The apple cider vinegar bath can help relieve symptoms of the UTI temporarily. It will cleanse the entrance of the urethra from any more bacteria. Pain and burning from the UTI can be relieved within 20 minutes of the bath.

Risks

• The apple cider vinegar may cure the symptoms of a UTI, but the bacteria will still be alive in your system. Antibiotics may be needed to fully kill the virus in your bladder before it travels to your kidneys. The only way to receive this medication is through a doctor's prescription.