“Do not sit in the cold, put on breeches, do not forget about hygiene” – all these mother’s words were left somewhere in childhood. And nevertheless we remember them, when in the autumn we suffer from the next attack of one of the most unpleasant sores-cystitis.
Two women out of three know about these symptoms firsthand, but still make mistakes in treatment. SHE correspondent learned about how to behave when an autumn plague occurred.
Cystitis (Latin cystitis) is an inflammation of the bladder, one of the most common diseases of the urinary tract in women. In men, this disease is much less common, and this is due to the peculiarities of the structure of the urinary canal: in women it is short and wide, which allows bacteria to quickly enter the bladder, causing acute inflammation.
Autumn guests
The causative agent of cystitis can be a variety of microorganisms, but in the vast majority of cases, the “culprit” is the E. coli. It penetrates into the urinary tract in an ascending way – from the surface of the skin of the genital organs. As gynecologists note, not least this is due to the fact that many women neglect the advice to wash out “from the front back. ”
However, to the causative agent who got into the urinary tract, began his aggressive work, he needs the right conditions – reducing the overall immunity, stress, stagnation in the small pelvis. But the deciding factor is usually hypothermia. Drafts, including from the office air conditioner, combined with thin pantyhose and sedentary lifestyle give bacteria a signal to attack.
Acute question
At this point, the woman has all the symptoms of acute cystitis, which is difficult to confuse with any other: it is pain, heaviness above the pubis, frequent urge to go to the toilet and a sharp sharp pain when urinating. For the first time this girl gets acquainted with the disease at a very young age, and later many of them believe that cystitis is one of the inevitable companions of the autumn cold snap. But it’s not right.
As the urologist of the medical center Zdravitsa Liliya Efayeva said, any repeated cystitis means that the disease has acquired a chronic course, a healthy person can not have any annual relapses.
Chronic cystitis, unlike acute, has no pronounced symptoms and makes itself felt years later – frequent exacerbations, urinary incontinence and dangerous degeneration of the cells of the bladder.
Sexual nuances
Primary cystitis, it sometimes happens in a woman in childhood, and she does not remember him. With the onset of sexual activity, some women get acquainted with the so-called cystitis of sexual intercourse: when due to mechanical trauma of the urethra, the symptoms of acute cystitis develop.
The second factor that binds sex to cystitis is the sexually transmitted infection of the genital tract. Especially “likes” the urinary tract of the ureaplasma: as Lilia Efayeva said, these bacteria live in the urinary tract and in themselves cause chronic cystitis without an acute phase. Accordingly, a woman simply does not know about the process that occurs in her bladder: the infection penetrates from the surface into the walls of the bladder and causes diseases that lead to more serious conditions in years than inflammation of the mucosa.
Where to go to be treated?
Women often do not understand the process of the movement of bacteria in the body, and the symptoms of chronic cystitis are taken for gynecological problems. And at best they go to the gynecologist, believing that if everything is “all close”, then the female doctor will also cope. Urologists sadly note the low literacy of some women in matters of anatomy. The gynecologist of the medical center “Catharsis” Rauza Loginova believes that if a woman shows symptoms of cystitis, she really should visit a gynecologist to exclude or, if necessary, treat an infection. And here directly the cystitis should be treated by the urologist. With one condition: no doctor can treat you without urinalysis. If the doctor prescribes antibiotics, especially with repeated cystitis and without examination, it is better to stay away from such a doctor.
Home method
True, the main problem of our women, as doctors complain, is employment, because of which they run not to a urologist or even to a gynecologist, but to a pharmacist in a drugstore who “prescribes” a medicine. In the treatment of cystitis, it is important for the doctor to choose a purposefully working antibiotic, so you can not bring the advice of a neighbor or a pharmacist for a cure.
If you do not trust doctors, especially doctors with antibiotics, then most likely you prefer to be treated with folk remedies – decoction of oats, diuretic herbs – or taking tablets on a plant basis, sincerely believing that it is harmless and effective. You will be right, but only half.
As Lilia Efayeva said, herbal preparations will not cause any harm, but the benefit will not be soon. Herbs also have an anti-inflammatory effect, reduce the concentration of urine, so bring relief.
That is dangerous such treatment: the symptoms pass, the woman forgets to forget about it, and the bacteria from the bladder do not disappear anywhere, causing a chronic illness.
The urologist of the medical center “Catharsis” Yevgeny Kovalev adds that in the case of prolonged chronic inflammation, the intake of antibiotics is unjustified, but the use of herbal medicines is just shown.
This does not mean that you need to neglect old and effective measures: drink plenty of water, cranberry fruit juice, decoction broth, bear ears and cranberry leaf. Just need to understand that the disappearance of symptoms in cystitis, unfortunately, does not mean a cure.
Of home remedies that will ease the condition, you can use a warm water bottle between your legs – but only if the heating is not contraindicated by your gynecologist. Also at the time of treatment, exclude sharp and salty foods, alcohol, do not use tampons (may be a factor in the development of infection) and remember the very hygiene that Mom said. In such cases, banal advice is very useful.