Home Remedies For Cystitis

Cystitis means “inflammation of the bladder” and it is caused by bacteria entering the urinary tract and multiplying. If left untreated, this bacterial infection can become very painful and even result in kidney damage making it important to start treatment at the first sign of cystitis. Treatment for cystitis is dependent upon the degree of the infection.

Cystitis is not a communicable disease, but rather an infection caused mostly (85% of the time) by e-coli bacteria entering the urethra. The bacterium finds its way there mainly because of poor hygiene or during sexual intercourse, but it may also show up for another unspecified reason. Sexually active females have a much greater chance of suffering from cystitis, but the infection is not exclusive to them alone.

Symptoms

Feeling the urgent need to urinate even though your bladder is empty is one of the first signs of cystitis. During urination, there may be pain and spasms in the bladder. The urine itself may also come out cloudy and smell foul and the sufferer might also have a mild fever. As the infection progresses, a very high fever may result followed by severe pains in the back and the lower abdomen along with blood in the urine.

Treatment for cystitis should begin as soon as the first mild signs crop up. If the condition worsens and the infection progresses to the later stages of back and abdomen pain followed by blood in the urine, a doctor should be contacted.

Treatments

To treat cystitis, most doctors will prescribe a antibiotic regime, however antibiotics do come with unpleasant side effects such as yeast infections, diarrhea and sickness making it a treatment that many people would just as soon avoid. There are, thankfully, many natural treatments for cystitis that have been found to be very effective in treating the infection.

If you find yourself suffering from cystits, you might want to try the following…

Drink lots of water: 8 glasses a day
Keep your abdomen warm with a heated pad or hot water bottle
Use a mild painkiller
Consume unsweetened yogurt the contains live cultures to help combat the bacteria
Avoid tight fitting pants
Do not resit the urge to urinate even if urination proves painful
Drink cranberry juice, 2 glasses a day, to keep the bacteria from adhering to the bladder wall
Take a warm bath for some extra relief
Vitamin C will help the immune system fight the infection
Avoid using perfumed products near the vaginal area since they can irritate

These little self help measures can be part of your overall cystitis treatment and may even help you clear up the disease if it is a mild infection. If the symptoms still persist after 24 hours, or if the pain is really severe it is recommended that you take further steps to combat the infection before you develop a more severe kidney infection.