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| Cystitis What Is Interstitial Cystitis? Interstitial cystitis (IC), one of the chronic pelvic pain disorders, is a condition resulting in recurring discomfort or pain in the bladder and the surrounding pelvic region. The symptoms of IC vary from case to case and even in the same individual. People may experience mild discomfort, pressure, tenderness, or intense pain in the bladder and surrounding pelvic area. Symptoms usually include an urgent or frequent need to urinate. Pain may change in intensity as the bladder fills with urine or as it empties. Women’s symptoms often get worse during menstruation. What Causes IC? In IC, the bladder wall may be irritated and become scarred or stiff. Glomerulations (pinpoint bleeding caused by recurrent irritation) may appear on the bladder wall. Some people with IC find that their bladders cannot hold much urine, which increases the frequency of urination. Frequency, however, is not always specifically related to bladder size; many people with severe frequency have normal bladder capacity. People with really severe cases of IC may urinate as many as 60 times a day. Also, people with IC often experience pain during sexual intercourse. IC is far more common in women than in men. Some of the symptoms of IC resemble those of bacterial infection, but medical tests reveal no organisms in the urine of patients with IC. Furthermore, patients with IC do not respond to antibiotic therapy. Researchers are working to understand the causes of IC and to find effective treatments. One theory being studied is that IC is an autoimmune response following a bladder infection. Another theory is that a bacterium may be present in bladder cells but not detectable through routine urine tests. Some scientists have suggested that certain substances in urine may be irritating to people with IC, but no substance unique to people with IC has as yet been isolated. Researchers are beginning to explore the possibility that heredity may play a part in some forms of IC. In a few cases for example, IC has affected a mother and a daughter or two sisters, and yet does not commonly run in families. No gene has yet been implicated as a cause. What is Cystitis? Cystitis is inflammation of the bladder. Usually we use this term to mean an infection causing inflammation of the bladder. This is an annoying and irritating condition which most commonly affects women, but can affect all age groups from either sex. What causes Cystitis? The main cause of cystitis is bacteria known as coliform bacteria, which are a common occupant of the bowel. Also, other bacteria may be involved or other types of infection may inflame the bladder. Trauma as in "Honeymoon Cystitis" following unaccustomed and rather prolonged or vigorous sexual activity and radiation, eg. after radiotherapy to other organs in the pelvis are known to cause cystitis. Symptoms
Diagnosis Most often this can be based on the case alone. If there is doubt, then a urine specimen can be examined by the doctor, using a testing dip-stick, or at the laboratory - using a microscope to show up the organisms, and trying to culture or grow the organisms in the laboratory. The latter method allows us to test the organism to find which antibiotic will best eradicate it. The doctor may well wish to organise further tests to rule out any possible underlying cause for urinary infection, either after one attack in a male or multiple attacks in a female. This may involve ultrasound scans, X-Ray of the kidneys and bladder using a dye injected into the blood vessels (intravenous urography), or looking into the bladder using an endoscope (cystoscopy). Treatment
Prevention
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