# What did people do about urinary tract infections in pre anti bio days? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374 "2009-03-13T22:31:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/1 "2009-03-13T22:31:40Z")
I asked about this in the thread about when people would have died if they’d lived in the days before modern medicine, but I think it went unanswered. A lot of people mentioned that things like UTIs that could have (or did) turned into kidney infections might have carried them off. But what did people do before they could just take a round of Cipro or Bactrim? Sometimes I’ve had good luck with just taking a lot of cranberry juice/water/vitamin C when the symptoms are very early on, but if you’ve got a full blown one, you pretty much just need anti bios. Annoying today, but usually not deadly once diagnosed. What did you do back then? ---
**Author:** ![MeDrewNotYou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@MeDrewNotYou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeDrewNotYou)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/2 "2009-03-13T23:21:15Z")
IANAMD, but in the past, with a minor UTI, the doctor told me to drink up (water, of course) instead of giving me antibiotics. I’m not sure, but I would guess it was to flush out the system, so to speak. As for the pain, I just feel sorry for our poor ancestors. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/3 "2009-03-13T23:34:05Z")
99% of uncomplicated bladder infections (in females) will clear on their own, especially if the person is healthy, and pushes fluids. Unfortunately, that other 1% may lead to a lifetime of trouble, without antibiotics. And sometimes, that lifetime will be short. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/4 "2009-03-14T04:31:26Z")
I assume they would have used diuretics. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/5 "2009-03-14T07:03:23Z")
Paging John Coffey 😃 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/6 "2009-03-14T13:30:58Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > . . . taking a lot of cranberry juice/water/vitamin C . . . It wasn’t that long ago that few people had access to cranberries, and vitamins were unknown. So even these “simple cures” were unavailable. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/7 "2009-03-14T13:55:33Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I assume they would have used diuretics. It’s far, far simpler and safer to just drink more fluids. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/8 "2009-03-14T14:19:57Z")
witch hazel douche ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/9 "2009-03-14T14:57:14Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > It’s far, far simpler and safer to just drink more fluids. Well, it was also simpler and safer to NOT put on leeches and administer a strong purgative, but they didn’t let that stop them for much of history. What about vaginal yeast or bacterial infections? Were those simply chronic? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/10 "2009-03-14T15:09:01Z")
WARNING: TMI & IMNAD I had one urinary tract infection and if I never have another I wll be very happy. At the time I didn’t have insurance so I decided to see how bad it would get. Four days later, after peeing 4 times in a hour with very little pee and too much pain, I just said “That’s it. I’m not going again until I’m peeing my pants.” I then proceeded to drink about a half gallon of iced tea. 7 hours later I peed and everything was fine. Problem solved and it never came back. I wouldn’t recommend it, but it worked out fine. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/11 "2009-03-14T15:44:24Z")
UTIs aren’t always very symptomatic. I had one once while pregnant and the only reason I found out I had it was through the regular pee tests at the midwife’s office. We let it go for a while to see if it would clear up on it’s own, but after a couple of weeks, when i was getting close to my due date, the midwife decided antibiotics were in order. I’ve only had one other UTI diagnosed. My then boyfriend called the doctor one morning when my back was killing me, I had a fever, and my pee was a lovely shade of coral. I never had any of the classic UTI symptoms, though, so I had no idea what was wrong with me. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/12 "2009-03-14T16:09:24Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > Paging John Coffey 😃 In “The Green Mile” apparently, the recommended prescription are Sulfa tablets. > **[Sulfonamide (medicine)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfa)** > > Sulfonamide is a functional group (a part of a molecule) that is the basis of several groups of drugs, which are called sulphonamides, sulfa drugs or sulpha drugs. The original antibacterial sulfonamides are synthetic antimicrobial agents that contain the sulfonamide group. Some sulfonamides are also devoid of antibacterial activity, e.g., the anticonvulsant sultiame. The sulfonylureas and thiazide diuretics are newer drug groups based upon the antibacterial sulfonamides. > Allergies to sulfona... ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/13 "2009-03-14T16:14:26Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > UTIs aren’t always very symptomatic. I had one once while pregnant and the only reason I found out I had it was through the regular pee tests at the midwife’s office. We let it go for a while to see if it would clear up on it’s own, but after a couple of weeks, when i was getting close to my due date, the midwife decided antibiotics were in order. > > I’ve only had one other UTI diagnosed. My then boyfriend called the doctor one morning when my back was killing me, I had a fever, and my pee was a lovely shade of coral. I never had any of the classic UTI symptoms, though, so I had no idea what was wrong with me. I am that way, totally asymptomatic until my back goes from the normal level of chronic pain to HOLY FUCK WHO JUST HIT ME WITH A BASEBALL BAT type pain in the area over the kidneys. At about that time it dawns on me that I need to get to a doctor because Im now tossing up food I ate a month previously [with whole corn, i never eat corn where does it come from:confused:] and look like a junkie in withdrawl. My doc will randomly piss test me for UTIs when I come in, and he has actually caught them before they got out of hand. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/14 "2009-03-14T16:17:56Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > In “The Green Mile” apparently, the recommended prescription are Sulfa tablets. Trimethoprim/Sulfa is still an effective treatment for uncomplicated UTIs. The events in “The Green Mile” occurred at the dawn of the antibiotic era. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/15 "2009-03-14T17:05:46Z")
Pepy’s wife is now thought to have suffered from Bartholin’s Cyst - easily curable now with antibiotics but something that just had to be endured and probably made sex painful for her. Pepys himself suffered from kidney stones, and eventually opted for a dangerous (and more-or-less successful) operation to remove them - you had to be in great pain or very desperate to risk that. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/16 "2009-03-14T19:08:44Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > In “The Green Mile” apparently, the recommended prescription are Sulfa tablets. > > [Sulfonamide (medicine) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfa) Maybe so but they didn’t work so well. Now John Coffey, that’s a different matter, boy that guy was good 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/17 "2009-03-17T15:25:49Z")
Thanks for the answers, all. > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > 99% of uncomplicated bladder infections (in females) will clear on their own, especially if the person is healthy, and pushes fluids. I found this out actually, when I got one and was all freaked out last year. Well, I found out that some will pass–I didn’t realize that so many did. I went to the doctor and got tested but in the days before I could get an appointment, I did what I read you’re supposed to do (lots of water, cranberry juice, vitamin C) and peed a LOT. By the time I had the appointment, I was still peeing so much from all the fluids, so I assumed I still had something. But my tests came back negative, so I guess I just got rid of it. And now usually when I get symptoms, I just try to get a lot of fluids and it goes away. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/18 "2009-03-17T15:46:07Z")
That’s how I found out I was allergic to Sulfa (circa 1980). ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-people-do-about-urinary-tract-infections-in-pre-anti-bio-days/489374/19 "2009-03-17T16:09:24Z")
Uh, what about stinging nettle? It’s a very old therapeutic plant, and tea from it has been recommended for a long time for kidney or bladder troubles because it has ingredients that force you to pee more (don’t know the english medical term for it). [Wikipedia here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle#Medicinal_uses).