Does Prune Juice Help Bladder Infections?

A bladder infection is one of the several types of urinary tract infections you can experience. These infections occur when bacteria build up in the bladder, leading to painful symptoms like pelvic pressure, discomfort in your lower abdomen, painful urination and blood in your urine. If you experience a bladder infection, one of the remedies your physician may recommend is increasing the amount of prune juice you drink. Prune juice has a few components that make it a good treatment for bladder infections. Always speak to your physician before using any remedies to relieve your bladder infection.

Acidity

One of the chief aspects of drinking prune juice to help with bladder infections is that prune juice is naturally acidic. This acidity is helpful because bacteria that cause a urinary tract infection do not thrive in an acidic environment. While it can depend upon the type of bacteria causing the infection, prune juice as a therapy may have some benefits in eliminating bacteria or preventing them from multiplying. Drinking cranberry juice or taking vitamin C also can have similar effects.

Fluids

Can Cranberry Juice Treat Gonorrhea?

Learn More

Increasing your fluids intake can be helpful in reducing bacteria in your bladder, which can reduce symptoms. Prune juice is an example of a drink that can dilute your urine and stimulate your kidneys to release urine and the bacteria contained within your urinary tract 3. While prune juice should not replace water as your chief drinking method for fluid intake, making it a priority to drink prune juice can help you to increase your overall fluids.

Encopresis

Drinking prune juice may be helpful if you have a child with encopresis. This condition is characterized by having frequent “accidents” where your child passes a stool at a place other than the restroom. The root cause of encopresis is functional constipation, which means your child is experiencing constipation that has no medical cause. In addition to passing stools with little control, your child also may experience increased incidence of bladder infections due to holding her urine and/or stool. In these instances, encouraging your child to drink more prune juice can both help reduce constipation and the symptoms of an accompanying bladder infection. Because children may dislike the taste of prune juice, KidsHealth recommends mixing it with other 100 percent juice choices to enhance flavor.

Considerations

Metronidazole for a Strep B Infection

Learn More

Prune juice is not considered a treatment that can replace antibiotics or other physician-prescribed medications. If you physician prescribed a medication to treat your bladder infection, take this medication to its recommended dosage and supplement your treatment plan by drinking more prune juice.