ok my friend has a urinary track infection. Problem is she doesnt have any insurance or money for a dr. visit.

Question

So does anyone know of any over the counter or help for her? Serious answers only! Please.

Answer 1

Unless treated promptly, a bladder infection can move to the kidneys, leading to a more serious condition called pyelonephritis.

Common signs and symptoms include pain and a burning sensation when urinating, urinating frequently, voiding just a few drops at a time or passing blood in the urine.

I really understand the situation with money, but seeing a doctor is best. See if you can find one with a payment plan and if so medications may be dispensed from his/her sample supply. You might look up free clinics in your area or contact chariety organizations for help, such as Catholic Charities.

You must understand that the symptoms mimic other conditions you would not want to overlook. Below are some suggestions you might take to help the symptoms only.
Fix yourself a baking soda cocktail. At the first sign of symptoms, mix half a teaspoon of baking soda in an eight-ounce glass of water and drink it,
The baking soda raises the pH (acid-base balance) of irritating, acidic urine.
Drink water, on the hour. Drink one glass of water every hour for eight hours, drinking a lot of fluids will increase urine flow, this will wash out the bacteria that are attempting to adhere to the cells lining your urethra. Drinking plenty of water will also help dilute and flush out the substances that are causing the irritation. Drink enough water so that your urine is clear. Aim for at least eight or ten glasses of water a day. According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, cranberry juice can prevent bacteria from sticking to cells that line the urinary tract, plenty of anecdotal evidence says that cranberry juice works. In some women with urinary tract sensitivity, cranberry juice can act as an irritant.

Whether you have a simple irritation or an infected urinary tract, the last thing that you need are known bladder irritants. The most notorious bladder irritants are citrus, tomatoes, aged cheeses, chocolate, spicy foods, caffeine, alcohol and nicotine. Artificial sweeteners are among the worst offenders. To ease the pain sometimes associated with urinary tract problems, place a heating pad on your lower abdominal area. If you have an infection, wearing tight undergarments and jeans forces the bacteria that normally line your vaginal area up into your urine tube, so wear loose clothing.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Tons of water and cranberry juice as well as apple juice preferably unsweetened the sugar will feed the infection. It works on fagocytosis. also try Azo they are Over the counter pills for UTI's I believe they can be bought at most pharmacies ,walmart etc.... You may also try health stores and ask for urinary tract infection preparations. If there is a fever involved especially more than 2degrees above the normal she will have to seek medical attention and ask to speak with a social worker to make arrangements for payment. Also a womens clinic may be able to help her ,since she has no way of paying . A bad UTI can lead to far worse things DO NOT put this off!!!

Answer 3

Yeah, there are some over the counter pills to help with the pain. I don't know the name, but my friend use to get those. She just needs to ask the pharmacist to show her where they are. You can get them at Wal-Mart or about any place.
Maybe your friend could go to the health department. She really needs antibiotics. I don't know, but they do help people with other medical problems, so she should try there as well.
Most doctor's offices will help her with a sliding fee scale--based on her income, if she has no insurance. She should call and find out about that--really.
I had a horrible UTI and I was so miserable that I ended up in the emergency room and vomiting even. They thought I might have kidney stones since I was sick at my stomach too, but luckily I just had an infection. They gave me a shot of antibiotics, a prescription for antibiotics and some other medicine. This is pretty serious and she needs to get treated for it soon. I hope she gets help.

Answer 4

1. Go to the local health dep. They charge based on your income, so if there is no income, there probably won't be a charge. I've heard that planned parenthood offers financial assistance as well, but I have no experience with them myself.

2. Do a search for "free medical clinics" in your area. Quite a few churches in my area have free clinics and free pharmacies.

3. As everyone else has said, drink tons of water, cranberry juice, and eat yogurt. As much as you can stand. Yogurt has live bacteria in it that naturally lives in the nether regions of a woman's body. When infection happens, that bacteria gets killed. Yogurt will replace the good bacteria and help fight off the infection.

4. Are you sure it's a UTI and not an STD or a yeast infection? Make sure before you buy any OTC meds.

Answer 5

Actually what one person said is true. If you go to a family medicine/practice clinic alot of times they will charge you less if you don't have insurance. A lady I knew with out insurance was charged $25 per visit and the meds sometimes are really cheap if there is a generic availiable. Some between 5-15 dollars. Also, alot of times if you can't pay up front MAKE SURE that you let them know in advance and they may work out a payment plan.

Answer 6

she probably needs antibiotics to make sure it doesn't turn into a kidney infection as that might require hospitalisation and a lot more bills! She can go to a local health clinic or planned parenthood. Some planned parenthoods will do uti appointments and others require that you do std testing or something else at teh same time. Which is okay since utis can be caused by sexually transmitted infections. It's nothing a course of antibiotics won't clear up though.

Answer 7

She could go to the health department. That is free to cheap. Also, tell her to consume plenty of acidic foods, drinks (tomatoes, cranberry juice, yogurt). Drink lots of water. Buy over the counter Pyridium. This only helps with the burning, it does not treat the infection. To help avoid future infections, drink lots of water and don't try to hold urine for long.

Answer 8

Tell her to call a health unit and tell them she would like to get treated for an UTI. Over-the-counter pain relievers (e.g., Tylenol, Advil) and a heating pad may be used to relieve discomfort caused by UTI. Drinking plenty of water helps to cleanse bacteria out of the urinary tract. Coffee, alcohol, and smoking should be avoided.

Answer 9

Azo stops the pain, but not the infection. The last infection I had, I bought (from Wal-mart) "Super Concentrated Cranberry" supplements. You can find them with the vitamins. The ones I got have added vitamin C. I also drank lots of water. It knocked my UTI out. Hope she will be feeling better soon!

Answer 10

I always stop drinking anything with caffeine in it, and drink lots of water to flush out my system. It usually works for me in about 2 days or so. If she is hurting a lot, any over the counter pain medicine should help with that. Hope she feels better soon!