A sitz bath is a warm, shallow bath that cleanses the exterior areas of the reproductive organs including the perineum (the space between the rectum and the vulva or scrotum) and provides soothing relief from pain, irritation, or itching.
Common reasons why you might want use a sitz bath:


Recent surgery (e.g.,hemorrhoids)
Recent childbirth
Recent urinary infection, gastrointestinal illness, diarrhea
As part of your personal preventative hygiene regimen

While taking a sitz bath doesn't require a doctor's prescription, be sure to check with your health practitioner about how soon after a medical procedure you can safely take one. Your doctor might prescribe medication to add to the sitz bath, or recommend a herbal preparation to create a more soothing solution for tender areas.

How to Take a Sitz Bath
The bath can be done in your regular bathtub. Be sure to thoroughly clean the tub with an environmentally friendly (non-bleach) cleanser or a solution of vinegar and water (ask your health practitioner how to prepare).

• Fill the tub with comfortably warm, not hot water.
• Add medicine or doctor-recommended remedies to the water. Step into the tub. Sit for 15 to 20 minutes, with bent knees, allowing water to flow around your perineum.
• When you get out of the bathtub, gently pat dry with a clean cotton towel. Don't rub or scrub the perineum, as this may cause pain and irritation.
• Finish by rinsing the bathtub thoroughly.

​You can also choose to use a sitz kit, a mini tub placed over your toilet seat. Make sure it's secure before you sit in it and the water is deep enough so the entire perineum is submerged. After 15-20 minutes, pat dry and follow the cleaning instructions that came with your kit.

Recurrent UTI are common among 20% of women, with many women experiencing three or more infections a year. The typical treatment is antibiotics, but long-term use increases the likelihood that those medicines won't work against future infections.

A natural and effective option is a supplement called D-Mannose, a naturally occurring sugar found in a variety of fruits such as blueberry, apple, and cranberry. This sugar is the reason that cranberry juice is commonly recommended as a UTI treatment.

Here's how D-mannose works and why it's so effective: it attaches itself to E. coli, a bacteria normally found in the intestinal tract but often proliferates in places it should not be, causing infections. D-Mannose triggers the bacteria to bind to it, instead of the urinary tract, and this helps your body flush out the bacteria during urination.

Natural medicine practitioners have long been using D-mannose to treat UTI in men and women. Recent studies comparing D-Mannose to both antibiotic and placebo have shown women taking D-Mannose had a significantly lower frequency of UTI and a lower incidence of side effects compared to those taking the antibiotic.
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Talk with your holistic physician before taking D-Mannose as dose differs based on frequency and duration of infection, age, and other health factors.

There are times when it feels like biology is destiny. And when it comes to women and urinary tract infections (UTI), there's some truth to that age-old observation. A woman's chance of contracting at least one UTI over her lifetime is close to 50%; once you've had a UTI, you know exactly what it is, how unpleasant and painful it can be and you'll do whatever you can to prevent another occurrence.

Here's an overview of the urinary system, how it flushes out waste, and how to help prevent infections.

• The kidneys sit just below your rib cage on either side of the spine. They play a major role in the body's detox process, helping flush waste from the body through urination. Every day, the kidneys draw out about 1-2 quarts of urine for every 120-150 quarts of blood.
• The ureters are thin muscular tubes on each side of your bladder that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder.
• Located in the pelvic region, the bladder is a hollow, muscular organ that expands as it fills with urine. Once full, it sends a signal to the brain, and we sense it's time to urinate. It can hold up to two cups of urine. However, every person is different in terms of how often they produce and hold urine and how frequently they urinate.
• During urination, the bladder empties through the urethra, located at the bottom of the bladder. The muscles of the pelvic region, the bladder muscles, and the urethra work together like a dam to hold urine between trips to the restroom.

When bacteria travel up the urethra into the bladder, this may cause a urinary tract infection. The most common type of bacteria found in UTIs is the E. coli bacteria. If the infection spreads to the kidneys and ureters this can cause an upper UTI or pyelonephritis; left untreated it can affect other body systems and lead to serious health problems.

Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Urinary Tract:

Maintain healthy flora in the body. Proper balance of flora is not only important for GI function but for other systems too, such as the urinary system. Consider adding fermented foods to your diet and/or taking a probiotic supplement. Check with your practitioner about the one best suited to your concerns.

Stay Hydrated. Fluid intake, especially water, is vital to the health of the urinary tract. Water helps flush bacteria and other waste products from your body. The typical recommendation is to drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water (e.g., body weight = 140 lbs., water intake = 70 oz. daily). Check with your doctor on the proper amount for you.

Detox your Diet. You may not think of sugar, caffeine, nicotine, or packaged food as toxic, but they have no nutritive value. Regular use of these items stresses the systems designed to cleanse and preserve the integrity of your health.
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Go Orange: Get your Vitamin C. Eating foods high in vitamin C has been shown to help promote urinary tract health and prevent UTI.

A plant in the mint family, Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)  gets its name from its ancient use: helping women who had a tendency to "over-mother" and thus experienced more stress, and less joy, in their maternal role. Today, throughout Europe and in Traditional Chinese Medicine, it's used as a medicinal herb to treat emotional conditions such as anxiety and depression. It also helps ease symptoms of menstrual distress, as well as physical and emotional exhaustion.

Motherwort can be prepared as a tea, tincture, or in capsule form. Depending on the the type of preparation, it can have a rather bitter taste and an odor some may find unpleasant. However, for many users, it becomes an "acquired taste" and the benefits outweigh any bitterness.

Motherwort has the ability to calm without causing drowsiness, and it has medicinal effects on circulation and heart rate. Because it can thin the blood, this herb should be used carefully and under the guidance of a qualified herbalist or natural health practitioner.

There's a long history to the medical uses of Black Cohosh (Actea racemosa). Native Americans have used it as a diuretic and to treat fatigue. European settlers used preparations of the roots to treat fever, menstrual problems, and pain following childbirth. Into the 19th century, black cohosh became a staple ingredient in medicines for "women's complaints." Over time, it faded from use in North America while still being used in Europe. New studies in the U.S., however, are investigating the safety and long-term effectiveness of black cohosh and there's an almost mainstream resurgence of its use for treatment of women's health concerns.
 
Black cohosh is considered a menopause tonic for a number of reasons. It can improve mood and soothe anxiety. Also, herbal practitioners recommend it for taming hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness. It's commonly prescribed for women who -  for medical reasons - don't take conventional hormone replacement therapy.
 
Tinctures, capsules and standardized extract are available for medicinal use. The specific dose of this herb will depend on your individual needs and health concerns. Black Cohosh should not be used during pregnancy or nursing. It is not recommended for persons who have a heart condition or liver disease. Always check with your holistic health practitioner before using an herbal remedy.

On any given day your poops are fantastic…you go twice a day and they are easy to pass, and are picture perfect with a nice shade of brown! However, once a month you find yourself with the sudden urge to go and it’s a sloppy mess. Not to mention it’s only 10am and you’ve run to the washroom three times already. Without a doubt you’ve noticed that this occurs with the onset of your monthly period as if riding the crimson tide wasn’t messy enough why do you have to deal with number 2 giving you grief?

In practice my patients ask me this question all of the time, “why do I get diarrhea/loose poops when I get my period?”  Often, these women think that there is something bigger going on with them, when in fact having a case of the period poops is more common than you think. Actually, according to one study, next to abdominal pain ,diarrhea is experienced in 28% of women during their menses.  While it is not exactly known why this occurs we do know that there is a lot of hormonal activity going on at this time, which can affect the digestive system.

Going way back to sex ed class we learned that if an egg does not get fertilized there is no need for that extra lining of the uterus so it must be shed. Well, this layer is not just going to fall off, it needs some encouragement. In walk the prostaglandins. These are hormone-like chemicals that have an affinity for smooth muscle and cause it to contract. So, as the uterus contains smooth muscle, prostaglandins cause it to tighten to help shed its lining. This tightening is what is also contributing to the cramps that come at this time of the month as well. Problem is, the uterus is not the only organ to have smooth muscle. The intestines contain this type of tissue as well to encourage your poops through the innards and on to the external world.  As your uterus is shedding, prostaglandins can enter the bloodstream and find themselves throughout the body. And in this case they stimulate the smooth muscle of the intestines to contract and expel its fowl contents.

What to do?
Junk foods, food sensitivities and caffeine can worsen bowels so stay away from these as best as you can (I know, this is the time of month when you are craving these foods the most). Fill up on plenty of fibre, which can help to bulk up those bowel movements and remember to always drink lots of water to replenish what is being lost in your loose stools. Naturopathic medicine is great at helping you balance out your hormones and relieve you of unpleasant periods, so take a trip to a Naturopathic Doctor so that you can start feeling better during your time of the month.