Cystitis

Alternative Names

Cystitis

What is Cystitis

Cystitis is an inflammation of the bladder. Most of the time, the inflammation is caused by a bacterial infection, in which case it may be referred to as a urinary tract infection (UTI). In some cases, a bladder infection is painful and annoying and can turn a serious health problem if the infection spreads to your kidneys.

Rarely cystitis can be as a result of a reaction to certain drugs, radiation therapy or potential irritants including feminine hygiene spray, spermicidal jellies or long-term use of a catheter. Cystitis may also appear as complication of another illness.

There are 5 types of cystitis:

• Traumatic cystitis occurs due to bruising of the bladder, usually by abnormally forceful sexual intercourse. It is the most common in women. Traumatic cystitis is often followed by bacterial cystitis, frequently by coliform bacteria being transferred from the bowel through the urethra into the bladder.
• Interstitial cystitis is an injury to the bladder leading to constant irritation and rarely involves the presence of infection. People with this type of cystitis are often misdiagnosed with UTI (urinary tract infection) or cystitis for years before they are told that their urine cultures are negative.
• Eosinophilic cystitis is a rare type of cystitis that diagnosed by biopsy. If you have Eosinophilic cystitis the bladder wall is infiltrated with a large number of eosinophils.
• Radiation cystitis commonly develops in people who undergo radiation therapy to treat cancer.
• Hemorrhagic cystitis is a side effect of cyclophosphamide therapy and it is often prevented by administering mesna.

Signs and symptoms

If you have noticed the following signs and symptoms, it means that you have cystitis:

• A strong, persistent urge to urinate
• A burning sensation when urinating
• Passing frequent, small amounts of urine
• Blood in the urine (hematuria)
• Passing cloudy or strong-smelling urine
• Discomfort in the pelvic area
• A feeling of pressure in the lower abdomen
• Low-grade fever

In young children, new episodes of accidental wetting (enuresis) also may be a sign of a urinary tract infection (UTI)- especially if wetting occurs:

• Both at night and during the day
• Only during the day
• At least once each week
• Nighttime bed-wetting on its own isn't likely to be associated with a UTI

Possible complications

Cystitis usually does not cause any complications, but untreated cystitis can lead to such complications as:

• Kidney infection that may permanently damage your kidneys. Young children and older adults are more likely to have kidney damage due to bladder infections, because their symptoms are often overlooked or mistaken for other conditions.
• Blood in the urine. Cystitis sometimes is accompanied by blood cells in your urine that can be seen only with a microscope (microscopic hematuria) and that usually resolves with treatment. If the blood cells remain after you have been treated, your doctor may recommend you see a specialist who can determine whether there is another underlying cause.

What causes

There is a lot of causes of cystitis. The most common of them are:

• Hormonal changes. In some women, hormonal changes can lead to an attack. If you are going through the menopause, for example, your estrogen levels could drop and this in turn causes irritation in the urethra (the tube that takes urine from the bladder) leading to cystitis.
• Smoking, as nicotine irritates the lining of the bladder. Smokers have a great risk to develop cystitis.
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Vigorous sex or sex when you are not fully lubricated can cause cystitis in some women. In some cases, women who use a diaphragm or spermicidal-coated condoms for contraception are also more likely to have attacks.
• Scented soaps and bubble baths can alter the pH of the skin and encourage bacterial growth.

Prevention

Certain home remedies exist to prevent cystitis. You may drink cranberry juice or take tablets containing proanthocyanidin. It is not recommended to drink cranberry juice if you are taking the blood-thinning medication warfarin (Coumadin), because the possible interactions between cranberry juice and warfarin can cause bleeding.

Treatment

The treatment options for cystitis depend on the specific cause of it. Your doctor may prescribe you antibiotics to treat bacterial cystitis. It is very important to complete the treatment in order to avoid serious complications.

Other treatments are used to reduce the symptoms due to interstitial cystitis:

• Pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS) is amedication that helps to repair or restore the lining tissues in the bladder.
• Bladder distension is a procedure that stretches the bladder and decreases the symptoms of interstitial cystitis.
• Nerve stimulation is mild electrical pulses that delivered to relieve pelvic pain and reduce urinary frequency.

Treatment of cystitis that develops due to chemotherapy or radiation therapy may include:

• Pain management
• Hydration is used to flush out any irritants.

For chemical cystitis it is recommended to stop using such irritating products as bubble bath or spermicides in order to prevent future episodes of bladder inflammation.