All About Cystitis

Several people here have talked about having cystitis. I thought it might be useful to share information about the two different types of cystitis to prevent confusion when talking with others or with a doctor.

Common cystitis is an inflamation of the urinary bladder caused by bacterial infection. When bacteria get into the bladder and can not get out, they multiply and thrive in warm, wet urine. Pain is caused when bacteria attack your bladder lining, causing superficial erosion of the lining. Urine comes into contact with sensitive tissues, setting up sensations of burning and frequency of urination, and pressure. It hurts when you urinate. Such bacterial infections respond to short-term antibiotic therapy.

Antibiotic work differently. Some lower the surface tension on bacteria, causing organisms to rupture and die. Others inhibit protein synthesis in the bacteria which prevents them from multiplying rapidly.

Fighting cystitis is done by seeing your doctor and getting a urine culture done as soon as possible to be sure you actually have an infection before starting antibiotics.

Remember Vitamin C will increase the burning when you have cystitis. Cranberry juice contains hippuronic acid, which is an antiseptic that prevents adlherence of E. coli to the bladder lining. This acid is also found in blueberries.
But remember if you already have an infection, cranberry or blueberry juice cannot stop the infection or eradicate the bacteria.

While cranberry juice may help prevent cystitis infection it canot treat an existing one. By drinking 1/4 teaspoon (no more than) baking soda mixed well in a glass of water, it will help ease the pain.

Interstital cystitis, has nothing directly to do with bacteria. This is actually a chronic condition caused by inflamation of the space between the bladder lining and the bladder muscle, which is called the interstice or interatitium. It is induced by a variety of ways, but usually bacteria are not present.

Factors which cause it have been a link between the use of antibiottics when they are not needed, as well as, certain drugs and hormones, back problems and stress, and sometimes a virus. It is said when certain people come in contact with any of these factors the diease process can begin. What it involves is a slow distruction of the bladder tissue by urine. While interstitial cystitis is not always progressive it does have a wide range od symptoms. In early stages just frequency of urine without infection may be the only sign. In advanced stages the bladder rapidly becomes ulcerated and scarred. It can actually shrink and only hold 1-2 ounces of urine at a time. And in fact the only time a cystitis feels relief is when she voids. During those moments the capillaries that filer the contents of the urine have no blood flow. But when finished voiding the blood vessels quickly refill, causing increased filteration of acid and other elements in the urine, thus pain resumes.

Some foods can cause increased pain like coffee and tea, orange juice and cranberry juice, and chocolate, etc.

So when your doctor looks up into your bladder with a cystoscope and everything appears normal, and your urine cultures are negative, and you do not have a bacteria infection, the cause may be interstitial cystitis.

Thank you for providing so much great information. I actually think I might suffer cystitis. My doctor is trying to figure out if I do. I had been researching it to see if I could learn more. I am so glad I came into this post.

I don't suffer with this but it is good information for down the road. When I was younger and had more sexual activity, I got frequent urinary tract infections but there are some positive aspects in getting older. Personally, I would tolerate the infection for more intimacy but I think this is small potatoes compared to cystitis.