Cystitis

Cystitis – General Information

Cystitis is the inflammation of the urinary bladder (the urinary bladder is a hollow, muscular and elastic organ which is situated on the pelvic floor). Cystitis is more frequent in women, but it can affect men, also. There are a few types of Cystitis as listed below:

• The bacterial type - is the most frequent one and it is caused by Coliform Bacteria. This bacterium is transferred from the bowel into the bladder.
• Interstitial type – it is not an infection; the doctors consider it to be an injury of the urinary bladder which leads to irritation.
• Eosinophilic type – is a rare form of this medical condition which is usually diagnosed through biopsy. In this case the wall of the bladder is infiltrated with millions of eosinophils. The cause of the appearance and development of this disease is unknown, but it has been noticed that it appears in children after they have taken certain medications.
• Radiation type – it usually appears in patients who are under radiation treatment.
• Hemorrhagic type

This medical condition may have complications; here is a list of the complications that may develop:

• Acute renal failure
• Chronic recurrent Urinary tract infections
• Complicated UTI (also known as pyelonephritis)

This medical condition usually appears when the lower urinary tract (meaning the urethra and the bladder) is infected and becomes inflamed and also irritated. This disease usually affects the active women between 20 and 50 years, but it may also appear in young girls and in persons who are not sexually active. This medical condition very rarely develops in males. The majority of the cases are produced by the bacterium called Escherichia Coli (also known as E. coli), which is localized in our own body in the lower gastrointestinal tract.

Cystitis – Symptoms

It is well known the fact that any medical disorder (including Cystitis) can trigger a variety of symptoms. Therefore, some of this medical condition's most uncommon symptoms have not been listed (mentioned) here. This is why we strongly recommend you to contact your personal health care provider whenever you develop any unusual, bothersome or unpleasant symptoms. Your personal physician will be able to tell you if you are suffering from Cystitis or from any other medical disorder. Here is a list of the most common symptoms that a person who suffers from Cystitis, may experience:

• Pressure in the lower pelvis
• Foul or strong urine odor
• Painful urination (which is also known as Dysuria)
• Frequent need to urinate
• The need to urinate at night (also known as Nocturia)
• Abnormal urine color
• Blood in the urine (also known as hematuria)
• Painful burning sensation
• Irritation
• Lower back pain
• Lower abdominal pain
• Mild fever
• Chills
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Poor appetite
• Lethargy
• Loin pain
• The pain and pressure increase as the bladder fills and are relieved by urination
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• In men the pain is localized around the penis and the scrotum
• In women the symptoms worsen before the menstruation
• Chronic pelvic pain
• Painful ejaculation
• Weakness
• Irritability
• Tenderness in the lower part of the back and in the lower abdomen
• Feeling generally unwell
• Urinary urgency
• Mild discomfort
• The capacity of the bladder is reduced
• Urinary incontinence
• Fatigue
• A bladder infection
• Bladder wall scarring
• Decrease in size (atrophy) of the bladder
• Urinary obstruction
• Severe systemic infection (which is also known as urosepsis)

Cystitis – Treatment

In order for the doctor to diagnose a person with Cystitis he will submit the patient to a series of tests, which include:

• A urine analysis – this usually reveals the white blood cells and red blood cells
• A urine culture – this test is done in order to determine which bacteria produced it and to what antibiotic it responds best.

As the risk of the infection to spread to the kidneys is very high (also the risk of the complications to appear in the elderly people is also high) the doctor will recommend the patients a prompt treatment and also to abstain from vaginal penetration, until the infection has cured.
Antibiotics are usually used in the treatment of Cystitis, in order to control the bacterial infection:

• Nitrofurantoin
• Trimethoprim
• Amoxicillin
• Cephalosporins
• Ciprofloxacin
• Levofloxacin
• Doxycycline
• Pyridium – this drug is used to reduce the burning and urgency sensations

Take into consideration the result of the urine culture, the doctor will recommend his patients a specific antibiotic. The chronic and recurrent infections should be properly treated, because of the high risk of developing a kidney infection (which is also known as pyelonephritis). Another method of treating Cystitis, although old, is salt water douche. Everyone can do it at home by dissolving plenty of salt in warm water and then bath the affected zone of the body. This should be repeated until the symptoms begin to ameliorate. In order to prevent the apparition and development of Cystitis patients should have a good hygiene of the genital area and to be sure that they wipe from the front to the back in order to prevent the bacteria to get in the urethra. Another thing which patients should do is to drink plenty of fluids. The intake of fluids allows frequent urination which flushes the bacteria from the bladder. Also, the urination after a sexual contact helps in the eliminating the bacteria which could have been introduced during the sexual intercourse. The persons who abstain from urinating for a long period of time offer the bacteria time to multiply this is why the frequent urination is helpful and reduced the risk of developing Cystitis. Another thing to do is to drink plenty of cranberry juice, because the cranberry juice stops a few types of bacteria to attach on the bladder’s wall and diminishes the chances of getting infected.