Content
- Causes of Chronic Disease
- Chronic inflammation manifestations
- Possible complications
- Honeymoon disease
- Chronic disease diagnosis
- Drug therapy
- Preventive methods
The symptoms of cystitis are not pleasant. And when an unpleasant illness comes back again and again, it is discouraging. However, you can get rid of painful relapses. Chronic cystitis in women requires an integrated approach with determining the type of infection, eliminating the causes of the disease and changing the patient's lifestyle.
Causes of Chronic Disease
Cystitis is an inflammatory process that occurs on the mucous membrane of the walls of the bladder. The disease is often infectious in nature, but it can also appear as a result of mechanical damage to the urethra. The most common causative agents of the disease are bacteria: Escherichia coli, staphylococci, streptococci and others. However, inflammation of the bladder can also flare up due to the fault of viruses or fungi.
Both women and men are prone to inflammation of the bladder. But more often it is referred to as a female disease. This is due to the anatomical features of the structure of the urethra.
In women, the urethra is shorter and wider, so infections quickly reach the bladder and are more likely to linger there.
Inflammation of the bladder can manifest itself not only as acute cystitis, but also in a chronic form.
In most cases, the chronic form of the disease is triggered by poor-quality treatment of the acute form of the disease. This happens when the patient is self-medicating and uncontrollably takes antibiotics or herbal preparations.
Symptoms of the disease can really subside and even go away for a while. However, an untreated infection will necessarily recur.
The chronic form of the disease can be caused by autoimmune diseases and anatomical abnormalities. In the second case, the urethra is located incorrectly and is easier to penetrate infections from the outside.
A huge role in the development of chronic cystitis is played by the state of immunity and the balance of natural microflora. A neutral pH is the natural defense of the urinary tract and bladder against bacteria. If the immunity is low, the ratio of microflora changes, and it becomes easier for bacteria to take root on the mucous membranes of the organs.
It is quite difficult to cure chronic cystitis forever in women, since an insidious disease in a recurrent form is extremely sensitive to the slightest provocations, such as:
- hypothermia and colds;
- gynecological infections;
- insufficient hygiene of the genitals;
- violent and frequent intercourse;
- taking antibacterial drugs.
Chronic inflammation manifestations
Symptoms of chronic cystitis in women differ little from the manifestations of the acute form of the disease, but they occur more than once, but tend to worsen more than 2 times a year.
The inflammation interferes with normal urination. Patients complain of frequent urges that do not bring the desired relief - the feeling of an insufficiently emptied bladder remains constantly. During the urge, a woman may feel cutting pains in the urethra. With advanced cystitis, the urine becomes cloudy, almost white, sometimes it has impurities of blood.
In the chronic form of the disease, exacerbations may appear even after a slight hypothermia or a mild cold of the patient. The exacerbation sometimes lasts only one day and is quickly stopped by antibiotics. Symptoms go away on their own, especially if the patient begins to drink a lot of water and follow the diet. However, it is not so easy to get rid of the chronic form. Recurrent inflammation must be clinically diagnosed and treated with medication as directed by a physician.
Possible complications
The signs of chronic cystitis cannot be ignored, as the infection can spread and damage the kidneys.
Pyelonephritis is a typical complication of advanced inflammation. With pyelonephritis, the symptoms of cystitis fade into the background, giving way to:
- back pain;
- elevated temperature;
- chills;
- nausea;
- vomiting;
- muscle weakness and dizziness.
Attention! A characteristic feature of pyelonephritis is the too strong smell of urine, which is due to the presence of a bacterial infection.
If you experience pain in the kidney area, you should immediately consult a doctor.
The symptoms of pyelonephritis are easy to confuse with other diseases, the patient at first may even think that he just has a backache. Pyelonephritis is treated with antibiotics, the course lasts for 1-2 weeks. Diagnostics necessarily includes a laboratory study of urine and blood. And also ultrasound of the kidneys and bladder is performed.
Honeymoon disease
Postcoital cystitis is a common type of cystitis in women. It is also called "honeymoon disease". They suffer from women who are sexually active, especially if before that they had a period of prolonged abstinence.
Such inflammation is often provoked by mechanical injury during rough frictions or rubbing, if intercourse lasts a long time, and the woman does not have enough natural lubrication. Postcoital bladder inflammation is often bacterial in nature. It appears as a result of neglect of intimate hygiene after sex or infection with sexually transmitted infections. Among STIs, the development of bladder inflammation is most often provoked by chlamydia and Trichomonas, a little less often - by the causative agent of gonorrhea.
To avoid honeymoon illness, doctors recommend carefully monitoring the hygiene of the genitals, emptying the bladder after each intercourse, and drinking enough fluids. The treatment regimen for chronic postcoital cystitis in women may include prophylactic doses of an antibiotic to be taken after intercourse.
Chronic disease diagnosis
Chronic cystitis should be treated after diagnosis by a urologist, which includes:
- General urine analysis - determines the presence of an inflammatory process.
- Analysis of urine for sterility - helps to establish the type of pathogen and its amount.
- Complete blood count - indicates nonspecific inflammation, can determine the severity of the disease.
- Cystoscopy - a visual examination of the bladder through a cystoscope reveals the presence of structural changes in the walls of the bladder.
Antibacterial drugs for chronic cystitis are prescribed based on urine analysis and testing of the bacterial pathogen for antibiotic resistance.
Drug therapy
The treatment regimen for the chronic form of cystitis in women involves a therapeutic course of about 14–20 days. Women with postcoital chronic cystitis are sometimes given a prophylactic antibiotic after each intercourse.
Usually the patient is treated at home, observing bed rest. To get rid of painful symptoms, antispasmodics are prescribed.
Treatment is carried out with oral drugs from the group of nitrofurans, fluoroquinolones, macrolides or phosphonic acid derivatives. The tablets are taken 1-2 times a day. Some medications need to be taken before meals. In the instructions for the drug, pay attention to such nuances of treatment, as they affect the bioavailability of the drug.
After the unpleasant symptoms subsided, treatment should not be stopped.
Remember! Antibiotics and antispasmodics quickly improve the patient's well-being, however, if you stop treatment at this stage, you risk not treating the infection. It is necessary to get rid of inflammation in a complex way - to eliminate the infection along with the causes of relapse.
Complex treatment of chronic cystitis includes:
- bed rest during exacerbations;
- drink plenty of water - at least 2 liters of water per day;
- a diet without spicy, salty, smoked and fatty foods;
- refusal from alcohol.
A heating pad applied to the lower abdomen or a warm sitz bath can help reduce painful discomfort.
Preventive methods
Home prevention helps to successfully treat chronic inflammation.
People like to say that it is impossible to completely get rid of cystitis. However, the truth is that acute cystitis in 30% of women occurs only once in a lifetime. If, immediately after detecting unpleasant symptoms, the patient turns to the doctor and undergoes a high-quality course of therapy, the disease will recede and may never disturb again. But this will only happen if the woman understands the causes of the unpleasant illness and will diligently avoid provoking factors.
Important! A woman prone to exacerbations of chronic cystitis needs to closely monitor her own health, hygiene, nutrition and water balance. The success of long-term remission in avoiding disease provocateurs.
With a recurrent form of the disease, it is more difficult to fight. Here we are talking about provoking factors, and about low immunity, and about antibiotic resistance. A disease can easily appear on the horizon, but it is much more difficult to cure it. Therefore, there is a feeling of complete doom. However, urologists claim that even chronic cystitis can be successfully treated. This effect is possible if the period of remission is supported by preventive measures.
It is possible to get rid of chronic cystitis for a long time, but it is important to understand that the state of long-term remission is maintained due to the correct lifestyle and prevention:
- Drink plenty of water. It is ideal to drink about 2 liters of liquid. Don't substitute caffeine, fruit juices, soda, or alcohol for your water.
- Shower often instead of bathing. Warm water in the bathroom can cause pathogens to enter the urethra.
- Empty your bladder in a timely manner. Enduring half a day is now not your option. For women prone to postcoital cystitis, it is important to remember to urinate after each intercourse.
- Take good care of your genital hygiene. It is better to wash with plain warm water without soap. You can use a gel for intimate hygiene without fragrances and fragrances.
Inflammation of the bladder causes many painful symptoms, so relapses of such a disease can greatly spoil the quality of life. However, in the treatment of chronic cystitis, it is possible to achieve a stable remission. Therefore, if your cystitis has worsened for the umpteenth time, hurry up to visit a doctor and undergo high-quality diagnostics.