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Infectious cystitis is an inflammatory disease of the bladder caused by microorganisms that are normally absent in the organ cavity.
Most often, this pathology occurs against the background of an already existing sexual infection, being its complication. Therefore, a number of other diseases are so often found together with the diagnosis of “infectious cystitis”. It can be urethritis, vulvovaginitis, cervicitis, etc.
Women get sick more often. According to statistics, once in a lifetime, up to 20% of people have experienced this form of the disease.
Symptoms of infectious cystitis
Symptoms of the disease are characteristic of any cystitis.
Often the inflammatory process is acute, accompanied by the following symptoms:
The occurrence of pain during the release of urine.
Frequent urge to empty the diseased organ. In this case, the liquid comes out in small portions, or even drops.
The patient feels that the bladder is not completely empty.
Urine acquires an unpleasant odor, its color may change. If blood is present in the secreted fluid, then it becomes pinkish in color.
Pain occurs in the lower abdomen. They are often aching, aggravated during a visit to the toilet.
The patient experiences a feeling of weakness, suffers from lack of sleep. This is due to the fact that the urge to empty the bladder does not stop at night.
Women often experience pain during intimacy. This condition is called dyspareunia.
Causes of infectious cystitis
The cause of the disease is the penetration of the pathogen. They enter the body cavity through the urinary canal. They can also be the result of a descending infection and get into a healthy bladder from inflamed kidneys. Also, pathological agents sometimes penetrate into an organ through the lymphatic tract or through the bloodstream, their source is an infected organ or organ system.
The most common culprits for the development of the disease:
E. coli, which enters the organ from the rectum as a result of improper hygiene, due to hypothermia, illness, etc. Among other bacteria that can cause disease, Proteus, Klebsiella, staphylococci and others are isolated.
Gonococci become the cause of the development of inflammation in the case when a woman is infected with gonorrhea. At the same time, the signs of cystitis are blurred and appear mainly in dysuric disorders in cervicitis.
Infections. When infected with trichomonas, chlamydia, mycoplasmas, ureoplasmas, urination occurs. At the same time, dysuric disorders are often signs not of cystitis, but of urethritis or cervicitis.
Viruses. Most often, herpes viruses, polyomaviruses and adenoviruses lead to the development of the disease. Such infectious cystitis is observed mainly in childhood. People with immunodeficiency suffer from viral cystitis.
Mushrooms. Fungi from the genus Candida, blastomycetes, actinomycetes and some other mycotic infectious agents cause the development of the disease in acquired immunodeficiency.
Tuberculous cystitis occurs when the kidneys or genitals are infected.
If the human body is healthy, then one entry of an infectious agent into the bladder cavity is often not enough. The mucous membrane of the organ is quite resistant to the penetration of microorganisms. For their negative influence, additional factors are most often needed.
These may be:
Decreased immune forces of the body;
Exacerbation of chronic diseases;
Diseases of the vagina and intestines with a change in their microflora;
Insufficient production of estrogen;
Illiterate contraception;
Inflammatory diseases of the organs located in the small pelvis;
Frequent constipation, etc.
All these factors lead to the fact that the structure of the bladder changes. It becomes looser, which means that it is easier for infections to get into the depths of the tissues of the organ.
Treatment of infectious cystitis
To get rid of the disease, treatment with the use of drugs is required. Most often, therapy does not require hospitalization and is carried out in an outpatient setting. With an uncomplicated infection, a three-day course is sufficient.
The following drugs are used for therapy:
Co-trimoxazole
Fluoroquinolones, fosfomycin, nitrofurantoin.
Ciprofloxacin, gatifloxacin, levofloxacin.
Amoxicillin in combination with clavulanic acid.
When a complicated infectious disease is observed, bacteriological examination is necessary. Until results are obtained, the patient is treated with Co-trimoxazole if the pathogen gives sensitivity to this agent.
If a woman has two or more relapses a year, then she needs to stop using contraceptives with spermicides. This is due to the fact that they violate the microflora of the vagina, which increases the risk of infection of the bladder.
If a woman is in the post-menopausal period, then as a preventive measure, she is recommended to use vaginal suppositories with estrogen. In addition, the doctor selects immunostimulating drugs that help reduce the frequency of relapses of the disease.
The effect of the treatment will be reduced if the woman does not follow a special diet. It boils down to the fact that all spicy, sour and spicy dishes are excluded from the menu. Plant foods and dairy products should prevail. Drinking plenty of water is important. Emphasis should be placed on mineral water without gas, on clean running water, on berry fruit drinks. Treatment is not possible while drinking alcohol. (Learn more about the cystitis diet – what you can and cannot eat?)
The prognosis for recovery is favorable if the causative agent of the infection was correctly and timely eliminated. Otherwise, the disease threatens with serious complications, such as: the transition of the disease to a chronic form, the penetration of infection into the kidneys, the development of pyelonephritis. Each of these conditions requires more serious treatment, which will be several times the three-day course for uncomplicated cystitis.