Last updated on 30 December 2025 by Brisbane Livewell Clinic Editorial Team
Why Do UTIs Keep Coming Back?
If you’re dealing with repeated urinary tract infections, you’re not alone. UTIs that keep returning are one of the most common and frustrating health complaints among women. While antibiotics may help short-term, many patients experience infections that return weeks or months later. Our Naturopaths at Brisbane Livewell Clinic (Wavell Heights) focus on identifying the root causes and supporting your body’s natural defences for long-term relief.
Key Takeaways
Reoccurring UTIs are often linked to bladder biofilms, stress, diet and immune imbalances
Antibiotics can provide short-term help but often fail to address the deeper problem
Our Naturopaths assess microbiome health, urinary tract resilience and nervous system function
A personalised Wellness Plan helps prevent reinfection and restore urinary wellbeing
What Are Reoccurring UTIs?
Reoccurring urinary tract infections usually refer to two or more UTIs in six months or three or more in a year. These infections can disrupt your daily life, cause discomfort, and impact your energy and wellbeing. Many patients find that antibiotics work initially but don’t stop the cycle
The Role of Biofilms
One major reason UTIs return is because of bacterial biofilms. These are communities of bacteria that attach to your bladder wall and protect themselves from antibiotics and immune cells.
“Bacteria like E. coli embed themselves in the bladder lining and form colonies that are very hard to reach. That’s why antibiotics often give temporary relief but don’t solve the problem,” explains Shella.
Hygiene and Lifestyle Factors
Small everyday habits can increase the likelihood of UTIs returning. These include poor post-intercourse hygiene, wearing tight synthetic underwear, using bubble baths or swimming frequently in chlorinated pools.
“We ask about everything, underwear fabric, hygiene after sex, even how long someone sits in wet swimwear. These things affect the pH and microbial balance in the urinary tract,” Shella says.
Your Naturopath will help you identify and change the habits that might be increasing your risk of infection.
The Impact of Diet on UTIs
Poor diet can encourage bacteria to thrive. High-sugar, high-carb and highly processed foods feed unwanted organisms, weaken your immune system and disrupt your gut microbiome.
“One of the first things I change is diet. I reduce caffeine, sugar and refined carbohydrates. I increase garlic, oregano, turmeric, and focus on hydration and plant-based meals,” says Shella.
Stress and Immune Suppression
Stress plays a bigger role than most people realise. When your nervous system is in a constant state of stress, your immune function can be impaired, allowing infections to take hold more easily.
“Stress lowers the body’s ability to fight infections and can lead to imbalances in both gut and urinary bacteria. I always support the nervous system in Wellness Plans for reoccurring UTIs,” Shella explains.
This is one of the reasons why each plan also includes herbal or lifestyle support to regulate stress and improve immune resilience.
Natural Ways to Prevent and Heal Reoccurring UTIs
Natural ways to prevent and heal reoccurring urinary tract infections include:
- Education on how post-coital hygiene, avoiding tight clothing, prolonged and continuous use of bubble baths/pools/spas, and spermicides all affect the urinary bacterium.
- Diet: Remove all processed foods/drinks, reduce caffeine, reduce refined carbohydrates and limit natural carbohydrates for 1 month. Our Naturopaths often put their patient on a candida diet and increase their patient’s hydration to excrete pathogens.
- Dietary interventions to increase: ginger, turmeric, garlic, parsley, oregano, thyme and ensuring 90% of the diet is wholefoods based, increase plant proteins and reduce red-meats overconsumption of animal products.
- It’s also important to review the patient’s mental health status. Are they overly stressed with increased sympathetic nervous system activity? This can cause bacterial imbalances (Nansel, 2006).
Treatment routes your Naturopath may take
Approaches your Naturopath may take to treat and prevent reoccurring urinary tract infections include:
- Anti-fungal and antibacterial initial protocol to eliminate the pathogens (This may include herbs, minerals, vitamins or other lifestyle changes)
- Increase nutritional polyphenols, polysaccharides, glucans, lectins to modulate gut bacteria.
- Re-establish healthy gut bacterium through pre-and probiotic foods and high-quality practitioner range supplements.
- Provide nourishment and support for the gastrointestinal and urinary systems, particularly for cellular epithelial wall integrity to avoid colonisation biofilm integration (Bone, 2007).
It’s important to see an educated natural health practitioner who will ensure your treatment protocol is the best it can be for you and ensure it is safe with no contraindications to your health. Many times with reoccurring UTIs, there is an underlying health factor that needs to be addressed.
A Naturopath will spend time evaluating what’s happening on a biochemical level and investigating these pathways to provide specific and meaningful treatments.
FAQs About Reoccurring Urinary Tract Infections
1. What does it mean if I keep getting urinary tract infections?
If you're getting frequent UTIs, it often means your body isn't clearing the bacteria properly or that the bacteria are forming protective biofilms in your bladder lining. A Naturopath can assess the deeper causes and build a plan to reduce the recurrence.
2. Why don’t antibiotics stop my UTIs from coming back?
Antibiotics may provide short-term relief, but they don’t always reach bacteria embedded in the bladder wall. Over time, they can also disrupt the gut and immune system.
3. Can a Naturopath help with chronic UTIs?
A Naturopath can support your body’s natural ability to prevent infection by addressing diet, immune function, stress, microbiome balance and bladder wall health.
4. How does stress contribute to recurring UTIs?
Chronic stress lowers immune defences and can cause changes in your gut and bladder flora.
5. Are there foods I should avoid if I get UTIs often?
Patients with frequent UTIs are often asked to reduce processed foods, sugar, caffeine and alcohol.
6. What are bladder biofilms and how do they affect UTIs?
Biofilms are layers of bacteria that stick to your bladder lining and protect the infection from antibiotics.
7. Is there a link between gut health and urinary tract infections?
Yes, poor gut health can lower immune function and promote inflammation, both of which increase UTI risk. Restoring the gut microbiome is a key part of our Wellness Plans.
8. How do you support the immune system in patients with UTIs?
We use nutrients like zinc and vitamin C, plus herbal medicines to help modulate the immune system. Supporting gut health and reducing stress are also part of immune support.
9. Can probiotics help stop UTIs?
Specific strains of probiotics can support urinary tract health and restore balance after antibiotic use.
