How to Stop Recurring UTIs (Without Antibiotics or Drama)
My Story: Acne, Antibiotics, and a Gut Gone Rogue
Teenage me had a face full of acne and a lineup of dermatologists dishing out one miracle: antibiotics. Not a short course — years. My skin cleared, but my gut? Absolutely wrecked. And when your gut’s wrecked, everything else starts unraveling: energy, hormones, immunity… it’s a system-wide meltdown. Hello, histamine overload and more…
Turns out, your gut makes up 80% of your immune system. So while I was nuking the acne, I was also sabotaging my internal defenses. Great.
I wasn’t fixing the root problem — my liver was crying for help, and I kept handing it prescriptions. Until one day, something whispered, “This isn’t the way.” That whisper led me to the real healers: homeopaths, naturopaths, biochemists, integrative doctors — people who treat the whole picture.
They all told me the same thing. More importantly, they helped me heal.
Welcome to Whack-A-Mole: Thrush and UTIs on Repeat
Thanks to my gut chaos, I became a regular in the recurring UTI club. Knock one out with antibiotics? Another would pop up like clockwork. 🥴 Travel made it worse — different foods, disrupted sleep, extra wine… and boom: bladder fire.
By my late 40s, I was over it. Because, that’s when a doctor shared a game-changing nugget she got from a patient (because that’s how the best remedies are born).
The Secret Weapon: Raw Garlic (Yes, Really)
Not capsules. Not aged or fermented. Just plain, raw garlic — 2 to 3 cloves, organic and purple-skinned if possible.
My Ritual: I slice it up, put it on toast with butter, and call it medicinal garlic bread. My daughters do it too. It's strong. It’s smelly. It works.
And bonus? Garlic busts biofilms — the slimy bunkers bacteria hide inside.
Why Your UTI Keeps Coming Back (Spoiler: It's Biofilm)
Here’s the deal: when bacteria feel threatened (hello, antibiotics), they don’t vanish. They go stealth.
They build a biofilm — a sticky slime fortress inside your bladder or gut. Antibiotics can’t reach them in there. So they chill, multiply, and wait. Then when your immune system dips (stress, sugar, travel), they reappear. It’s not a new infection — just old squatters resurfacing.
Garlic destroys E. Coli biofilms by breaking the “little hands” bacteria use to grip your body. No grip, no fortress. Your body flushes them out.
My UTI Protocol (No Antibiotics Required)
When I feel the first twinge, here’s what I do:
2–3 raw garlic cloves/day sliced on toast with butter
D-Mannose powder — binds to E. coli and flushes it out via urine
Hydration — lots of water, nettle or dandelion tea (unsweetened!)
Alkalizing agents — Alkala N or bicarbonate of soda (bacteria hate alkaline environments)
If caught early, it clears in a day or two. No antibiotics. No drama.
What Is D-Mannose and Why It Works
D-Mannose is a natural sugar — your body doesn’t absorb it; it just escorts bacteria out the back door. It’s the active ingredient in cranberries. But avoid cranberry juice — it has sugar, which feeds the bacteria. Better to just take either cranberries (without sunflower oil-difficult to find) or D-Mannose.
E. coli (the main UTI culprit) clings to it like Velcro. You take it, it moves through your urinary tract, and E. coli sticks to it instead of your bladder walls. Then you pee the whole mess out.
It doesn’t kill bacteria (so no gut damage), it just evicts them.
A Little Extra Wisdom
Drink herbal teas freely — dandelion and nettle are bladder besties.
Prevention is easy: I take garlic weekly now, and I haven’t had a UTI since.
Final Thoughts
This isn’t medical advice — just what worked for me and my daughters. No side effects, no rebound infections. I tried every natural remedy under the sun, and this one is my golden ticket.
And honestly, there’s something kind of badass about curing a UTI with garlic toast. 😏
CANDIDA UTI-Candiduria
Most people automatically think all urinary tract infections (UTIs) are caused by bacteria (like E. coli), but there’s also such a thing as a Candida UTI — sometimes called candiduria.
What is a Candida UTI?
A Candida UTI happens when Candida yeast (most often Candida albicans) overgrows in the urinary tract — bladder, urethra, or sometimes even kidneys.
Normally, Candida lives harmlessly in the body (mouth, gut, vagina), but when immune balance, gut flora, or hormones shift, it can spread.
Candida in the urine is called candiduria — and while sometimes it’s just colonization, it can also mean an actual infection, especially if there are symptoms.
Why not all UTIs are Candida-based
Most UTIs are bacterial, with E. coli responsible for up to 80–90%.
These bacterial infections respond well to antibiotics (though resistance is a growing issue).
Candida UTIs don’t respond to antibiotics — in fact, antibiotics can make them worse by wiping out good bacteria, allowing yeast to overgrow.
That’s why a “mystery UTI” that doesn’t clear with antibiotics or tests negative for bacteria although you have symptoms, could actually be yeast-related.
Who is more likely to get Candida UTIs?
Women with recurrent antibiotic use (wipes out protective flora).
Diabetes (sugar in urine feeds yeast).
Weakened immune system (chronic illness, cancer treatment, steroids).
Catheter use (Candida can form biofilms on catheters).
Women in peri- or post-menopause (hormone changes alter vaginal + urinary flora).
Key Difference: Symptoms
Bacterial and Candida UTIs can feel similar — urgency, burning, frequent urination. But sometimes Candida causes:
More persistent, low-grade irritation instead of sharp bacterial-type pain.
Symptoms that don’t improve with antibiotics.
Co-existing vaginal yeast symptoms (itching, discharge).
Bottom line:
Not all UTIs are bacterial. A Candida UTI happens when yeast overgrows in the urinary tract — more likely in women with antibiotics use, immune imbalance, or Candida overgrowth elsewhere. Treatment is different (antifungals or lifestyle/diet changes), which is why misdiagnosis is common.