Whenever a patient tells me about calling her doctor with symptoms of a urinary tract infection and being refused an antibiotic because he "never" prescribes one without a urine culture, I know the doctor has never experienced a UTI himself. Let’s face it....bladder infections are a girl thing, and most doctors are, well, male. So they haven’t experienced constantly racing to the john with this uncontrollable urge to pee, then managing to squeeze out a few drops of seemingly liquid fire.

Now, of course, the "correct" thing to do is try to get an appointment with your doctor. Problem is, bladder infections do begin in the middle of the night, and often on weekends, and oftener when you're on vacation.

So rather than suffer needlessly, begin some of the treatments that we recommend at WholeHealth Chicago, and you just might save yourself a trip to the emergency room. Certainly if things get worse, call the doctor. But you should be able to make signficant progress during the first 36 hours, especially if you have all the appropriate supplies handy.

Learn About Urinary Tract Infection