# Need home remedies for kidney infection pain... really badly **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 4, 2004, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-home-remedies-for-kidney-infection-pain-really-badly/272931 "2004-11-04T05:42:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-home-remedies-for-kidney-infection-pain-really-badly/272931/21 "2004-11-06T00:40:03Z")
Ok, now that you are under a MD’s care- a few things- since you are on Cipro- take Acidolpholous- the active part of Yogurt. Especially since you are female. A nasty yeast infection often comes after a regime of serious antibiotics, and Acidolpholous will help stave that off. Some even douche with live culture plain yogurt. Echinichea will help build up your immune system a bit. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-home-remedies-for-kidney-infection-pain-really-badly/272931/22 "2004-11-06T02:55:50Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > since you are on Cipro- take Acidolpholous I’ll second that. Strong antibiotics often kill the beneficial bacteria as well as the nasty stuff. Acidophilus helps re-populate the good bacteria. It’s cheap if you buy it at a drug store or Wally World (as opposed to a health food store). Take two capsules or tablets each time you take the antibiotic. ---
**Author:** ![quothz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/da6949/32.png) [@quothz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quothz)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-home-remedies-for-kidney-infection-pain-really-badly/272931/23 "2004-11-06T02:58:00Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > It does sound an awful lot like stone pain, in which case, it will pass (pun intended) but there’s no reason to suffer while you wait. Er, hiya, WhyNot, we meet again\*. That’s horrible advice, I must say\*\*. If it -is- stones, the pain will pass, but the stone might not. If the pain goes away on its own but the stone -doesn’t- pass, your kidney just died, which is in my estimation a Bad Thing. Hopefully, your doctor would’ve noticed the symptoms of a kidney stone. It’s a fairly common thing, and pretty easy to detect (by a doctor with a lab at her disposal). For the rest of you, if you experience horrific pain in the kidney-type-region of your back, see a doctor right away. Like, right now. A kidney stone is a medical emergency. If you want to go through life short a kidney, go for it, but donate yours rather than sit around sipping tea and hoping for the best. (My kidney stone was almost half a centimeter long and had a hook on it. I was vomiting before I could be coerced into the ER; I consider myself lucky to have two functional kidneys. And herbal remedies have nothin’ on modern Demero^M^M^M^M^M^M medicine.) As to the OP, I haven’t a clue, except to tell your doc how bad the pain is and see what she recommends. \*WN, just for your sake I omitted the naughty words this time, but, really. Kidney stones ain’t the flue. \*\* Not that -I’m- a doctor. But I have done a fair bit of reading on kidney stones. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-home-remedies-for-kidney-infection-pain-really-badly/272931/24 "2004-11-06T02:58:08Z")
> [@MinniePurl](#): > > I had a moderately bad bladder infection. I drank lot of fluid, unsweetened cranberry… a) Is your cranberry juice as close to 100% as possible? b) Are you sure it is not a kidney stone? c) Get to the Dr or Emergency Room! - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-home-remedies-for-kidney-infection-pain-really-badly/272931/25 "2004-11-06T03:33:59Z")
I see a lot of kidney pains. Pain from a kidney stone has been compared to labour, and an infection can be as bad. You have my sympathies. I’m glad a doctor is involved in your care. Kidney infections can be very serious. “Home remedies” are not a substitute for medical tests and treatment. I always offer pain meds for kidney problems. Your doctor might have done the same. In answer to your question, Advil 800mg would be a reasonable home choice for many people. Toradol, Naproxen, Pyridium or a narcotic would be reasonable in some cases. Cranberry juice would not help much. I would hae though a bag of frozen vegetables would work better than a heating pad, but whatever does the trick for you. Medical advice over the internet is not individualized, and may not be optimal care for you. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-home-remedies-for-kidney-infection-pain-really-badly/272931/26 "2004-11-06T05:48:49Z")
> [@quothz](#): > > Er, hiya, WhyNot, we meet again\*. That’s horrible advice, I must say\*\*. Good to see you again, **quothz**. I did tell the OP to get pain meds and get her situation checked out by her doctor to see if it was stones. Since she also asked for home remedies while she was negotiating pain meds in her mind and CT scans with her clinic, I provided her with a few noncontroversial, well-researched home remedies to use in the meantime. I stand by my answers and don’t see what was “horrible advice” there. **MinniePurl** is not a minor, and she is competent to make her own desicions on medical care. She was already under a doctor’s care, and showed no indication that she was going to fire her doctor in favor of a message board. I’m willing to be cautious in my posts, and always recommend a doctor’s care (as I did here) but I’m going to answer the questions she asks to the best of my knowledge and ability. ---
**Author:** ![quothz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/da6949/32.png) [@quothz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quothz)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-home-remedies-for-kidney-infection-pain-really-badly/272931/27 "2004-11-06T12:15:56Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Good to see you again, **quothz**. I did tell the OP to get pain meds and get her situation checked out by her doctor to see if it was stones. Hmm, I suppose you did tell her to call up the doc for advice, which is the Right Thing to do - and, as I noted, while under a doctor’s care one hopes a stone would be diagnosed if present. Still, it’s worth emphasizing that kidney stones don’t necessarily go away on their own, as you implied; that’s what I took issue with. Home treatments for this are, at best, supplemental to a doctor’s care - anything less is taking a chance with your kidney, and, in the most extreme cases, your life. ---
**Author:** ![MinniePurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@MinniePurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MinniePurl)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-home-remedies-for-kidney-infection-pain-really-badly/272931/28 "2004-11-06T13:18:04Z")
> [@quothz](#): > > Hmm, I suppose you did tell her to call up the doc for advice, which is the Right Thing to do - and, as I noted, while under a doctor’s care one hopes a stone would be diagnosed if present. > > Still, it’s worth emphasizing that kidney stones don’t necessarily go away on their own, as you implied; that’s what I took issue with. Home treatments for this are, at best, supplemental to a doctor’s care - anything less is taking a chance with your kidney, and, in the most extreme cases, your life. Chill, dude. Perhaps you should have read my first post a little more carefully. I was always under a doctor’s care for the infection. I was asking for home remedies to help with the pain WHILE I WAITED FOR THE ANTIBIOTICS TO TAKE EFFECT, because I suspected it would be a huge, giant pain in the ass to get them to give me painkillers, because I’m covered by an HMO. I eventually did try to get some pain meds from them, and just as I thought, it was a huge, giant pain in the ass, took me all day, dragged me, my husband and my baby all over town, and ended up with me getting NO pain meds because I felt too bad to continue to sit in the ER waiting room for hours on end, when I could feel at least a little better at home. When the antibiotics finally did take effect and the pain lessened, THEN I was offered pain meds by my clueless internist, after I no longer needed them. The home remedies gave me more pain relief than anything the two doctors, three nurses and innumerable “customer service agents” that I talked to either on the phone or in person ever did. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-home-remedies-for-kidney-infection-pain-really-badly/272931/30 "2016-12-17T16:48:07Z")
How is this coming upon my menu as a new posting, when there hasn’t been a post on it in 12 years? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-home-remedies-for-kidney-infection-pain-really-badly/272931/31 "2016-12-17T16:49:25Z")
D-mannose can help reduce the number of UTI’s that people get. Read the study at ncbi…gov It’s a preventative measure. If you have obvious UTI symptoms then see a doctor for antibiotics. I buy it in a powder from Amazon. 1 heaping teaspoon in a half glass of water every night. > **[D-MANNOSE: Overview, Uses, Side Effects, Precautions, Interactions, Dosing...](https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1114/d-mannose)** > > Learn more about D-MANNOSE uses, effectiveness, possible side effects, interactions, dosage, user ratings and products that contain D-MANNOSE. > **[D-mannose powder for prophylaxis of recurrent urinary tract infections in...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23633128/)** > > In our study, D-mannose powder had significantly reduced the risk of recurrent UTI which was no different than in Nitrofurantoin group. More studies will be needed to validate the results of this study, but initial findings show that D-mannose may be... ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-home-remedies-for-kidney-infection-pain-really-badly/272931/32 "2016-12-17T16:51:04Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > How is this coming upon my menu as a new posting, when there hasn’t been a post on it in 12 years? The thread was raised by a spammer who was wished away to the cornfield. Apparently you managed to view the forum list while they were still here, but by the time you got to the thread they were gone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-home-remedies-for-kidney-infection-pain-really-badly/272931.md?page=1)