Urinary Tract Infection is classified into “ Painful Urination Syndrome” in TCM terminology. It is characterizes by the symptoms of frequent, scanty, painful and burning and obstructive urination, lower abdominal pain and discomfort. In severe cases, patient can have fever, aversion to cold and lower back pain. Through physical examination, raw, red and inflamed tissue around urethra can be seen and sometimes, some yellow discharge can also be present at the acute infection stage.

Traditionally in the west, Urinary Tract Infection is treated by antibiotics. Antibiotic treatment can reduce symptoms fairy quickly but it does have strong averse reaction such as oral or vaginal thrush, constipation and gastric problems due to lower level of friendly gut flora and also, the recurrent rate of UTI is very high. One of my female patients had 15 urinary tract infections in 2 years and she was prescribed 12 courses of antibiotics during 2 year period before she came to be treated by me. She was also put on antidepressive medication because she was so depressed with her recurrent infection. She could not have normal life, could not enjoy sexual activity, could not go on long trips for holidays, and could not live and work properly.

Traditional Chinese Medicine looks at the cause of the Urinary Tract Infection from different aspects. The main aspect of the infection is due to heat excess in the body. In the case of Urinary Tract Infection, it is due to the “ heat accumulating in the lower heater---bladder”.

1.Damp heat accumulation: external pathogenic factor such as dampness, phlegm and heat accumulating in the body from over consumption of fatty, oily, sweet or hot spicy, creamy food and alcohol. These factors damage the normal function of spleen and stomach. Damp and phlegm accumulates and generate heat. The density of the damp heat descends to the lower organ bladder and cause obstruction in the bladder, result in Urinary Tract Infection or Cystitis.

2.Heart fire and liver fire: emotional stress such as sorrow, sadness, jealousy, anger, frustration and so on negative emotion can cause damage to human spirit which is very much supported by the “ essence”—an yin aspect of human body. When yin is damaged or depleted, a condition called “ Yin deficiency” will give rise to a condition called “ yang rising” which is a heat condition. Chronic stress cause yin deficiency which cause heat rising, and heat dehydrate the body fluid and cause the overly concentration of urine. This condition in turn give a perfect environment for the growth of microorganism---thus result in Urinary Tract Infection or Cystitis.

The above two conditions can result without any sexual activities. Traditionally, women who present symptoms of UTI are usually considered to be sexually active. Frequent sexual contact can of course result in the tissue irritation especially if it is done when women have the condition of thrush or in the middle of the menstruation. But most women will experience the acute onset of UTI with frequent sexual activities together with alcohol consumption, late nights, rich food, or dehydration.

There is anther type of condition which quite often is wrongly treated as urinary tract infection. Patients mainly present symptoms of frequent and urgent urination, but there is no burning or pain. Their conditions do associate with lower back pain and general weakness.

This condition in TCM is ----Spleen and kidney both deficient due to overwork, over indulgence in sexual activities, old age, chronic sickness, bed bound, or weak bladder tone. The vital energy of spleen and kidneys are to hold, transporting and stabilizing body fluid, when this function collapses due to weakness, it results in urgent, frequent and scanty urination. The difference between this condition and that of the above two UTI are as follows:

Spleen and kidney deficiency----urine is clear like water, no strong odor, lab urine analysis show negative result.

UTI----Urine is dark, or yellow or cloudy, very concentrated, have strong odor, very painful and have severe burning when passing urine, lab urine analysis show positive result in leukocyte, blood or protein. Patient can have red complexion, hot to touch, and look irritable.

Traditional Chinese Treatment for Urinary Tract Infection is very simple and very successful. I have successfully helped a lot of people with acute and chronic UTI with Chinese herbs and acupuncture. In the old days, I used to prescribe Chinese herbal decoction as tea when modernized Chinese herbal formula was not available in this country. Now, I use a Chinese herbal complex called “ San Jin Complex”. This complex is a traditional Chinese formula which has been used in China for more than 80 years. It was a traditional folk remedy, then it was developed into a modernized herbal complex in China since 1760. This formula was trailed against antibiotic for the treatment of UTI, Cystitis, Polynepheritis, prostitis by 18 state owned hospitals with a effective rate of 96% which is far better then the antibiotics.

The beauty of this herbal complex is that not only it has anti microbial and anti inflammatory activities, energetically, it tonifies the kidneys, purifies the blood, and is a strong membrane tonic for urogenital organs. ( This herbal complex is called “ Uroplex” in Australia and is solely distributed by Health World Ltd in Brisbane).

For acute infection, the pain and burning can be controlled in a matter of two to four hours which is very remarkable, plenty of purified water is required of course. There are also Chinese herbal tea which I use in conjunction with herbal complexes. A few effective ones are: Jin Qian Cao---golden money grass, Andrographitis Paniculatae,Artemisiae and Jade grass. These herbs are boiled slightly for only two minutes, and drink as tea through the day.

Acute infection can be controlled and cured with above method quite quickly. With chronic infection, individual condition needs to be accessed. Some patient have chronic recurrent UTI or Cystitis for 15 years, and have used more than 30 courses of antibiotics. With chronic situation like that, the treatment will involve in-depth health analysis. I have to look into the bowel, the liver, the blood, the kidney. Generally, a systemic detoxification is necessary as well as urgently repairing the damaged and traumatized membrane in the urogenital area from so many infections.

Urogenital health is a issue, but it is not the most important issue like a lot of people think. As long as we keep the urogenital area clean with regular shower, always urinate and have a good wash after sexual activities, the body does have a powerful self cleaning function. The most important thing is to keep the body’s inner environment clean and free of toxins. Damp heat, phlegm heat are caused by our life style, especially what we eat. Heart fire and liver fire are also caused by our life style, especially what we think. Negative emotion contribute to liver congestion, kidney weakness.
This article was first published in the magazine “Nature and Health”

Contact us now for professional guidance.