What is the difference between cystitis and interstitial cystitis

Frequency is the need to pass urine more often than normal. The average person urinates no more than 7 times a day. He or she does not have to get up at night more than once to use the bathroom. As frequency becomes more severe, it leads to urgency. Some patients feel an urge that never goes away, even right after voiding.

A patient may not notice or see this as a problem. In other cases, the onset is much more dramatic, with severe symptoms occurring within days, weeks or months. For some, their symptoms are made worse by certain foods or drinks. Many patients find that symptoms are worse if they are under stress either physical or mental. For women, the symptoms may vary with their period. Women may have pain during sex because the bladder is right in front of the vagina. Men may have painful orgasm or pain the next day.

It is unusual to experience leaking of urine with this disorder, and urinary leaking might be a sign of another problem. However, it is well-known that if a person has IC, physical or mental stress can make the symptoms worse. It can also rob you of a good night's sleep.

Too little sleep will leave you tired and unhappy. No specific behaviors such as smoking are known to increase your risk of IC. Next, they need to rule out other health issues that might be causing the symptoms.

Your health care provider will examine you to look for the cause of your symptoms. In women, the physical exam will likely include your abdomen, the organs in your pelvis, and your rectum.

In men, a physical exam will include your abdomen, prostate, and rectum. Your health care provider may also do a neurological exam to rule out any other problems.

The goal of the evaluation is to find pain location s , intensity, and characteristics, and to identify factors that make pain or discomfort better or worse. Your health care provider will also ask how often you void.. These include:. Urodynamic evaluation: This involves filling the bladder with water through a small catheter tube to drain fluid from the body.

This measures bladder pressures as the bladder fills and empties. Cystoscopy: Using a special tool, your doctor looks inside the bladder. This test can rule out other problems such as cancer. Cystoscopy can also be performed in the operating room. If bladder stones, tumors or ulcers are seen during cystoscopy, the doctor can take care of them at the same time as the bladder biopsy, which is used to rule out other bladder diseases.

Treatment must be chosen for each patient based on symptoms. Patients usually try different treatments or combinations of treatments until good symptom relief occurs. It usually takes weeks to months before symptoms improve.

Even with successful treatment, the condition may not be cured. It is simply in remission. But, most patients can get significant relief of their symptoms and lead a normal life with treatment.

Most treatments are aimed at symptom control. It is important to talk to your health care provider about how your treatments are working so that together you can find the best treatment option for you. In behavioral therapy, you make some changes in the way you live day-to-day. This may include changing your diet, or practicing methods that may help control your symptoms.

Most patients don't get rid of all their symptoms with lifestyle changes. But many do have fewer symptoms using these types of treatments. There are 4 foods that patients most often find irritating to their bladder:. Each patient must find out how foods affect his or her own bladder. The simplest way to find out whether any foods bother your bladder is to try an "elimination diet" for 1 to 2 weeks.

On an elimination diet, you stop eating all of the foods that could irritate your bladder. Your physician has a number of diagnostic tools to help rule out other conditions and identify interstitial cystitis. A urine sample is studied under a microscope to check for blood or bacteria in the urine which may indicate urinary tract infection, urinary tract stones or other problems.

Urine culture. A urine sample is studied to determine if there is any bacteria growing in it. The bacteria is then tested to determine which drugs will most effectively treat the bacteria. Urine cytology. An examination of the cells from the bladder lining that are in the urine.

To check for prostatitis in men, prostatic fluid can be examined for signs of infection. Cystoscopy with hydrodistention. This is the main diagnostic tool for interstitial cystitis. Since this procedure can be painful for someone with interstitial cystitis, it is usually performed while the patient is under general anesthesia. The causes of interstitial cystitis are still unknown. Researchers are currently looking into many theories of what causes IC.

The results of that research could lead to potential treatments. IC is not caused by stress, though stress reduction can be helpful and possibly reduce symptoms. IC is also not a psychosomatic disorder. Interstitial Cystitis IC , or Bladder Pain Syndrome is a syndrome of chronic pain in the bladder whose etiology is not fully understood.

Various theories have been proposed to cause symptoms of IC including, general inflammation, neurological damage, autoimmunity, genetics, and infection. Medical groups had once thought that the cause was not infectious, but growing evidence supports this was caused by current limitations in testing capabilities.

There is a strong and real possibility that patients are being diagnosed with non-infectious IC prematurely. The median age of those who are diagnosed is 40, but in some cases, symptoms show before the age of The Urology Care Foundation estimates that 1 to 4 million men and 3 to 8 million women currently experience symptoms of IC , and it goes without saying that this is a worrying statistic.

The percentage of these millions that have an infectious case could be staggering. In addition, chronic illness is on the rise in the United States. By , it is projected to affect an estimated million Americans— nearly half the population— according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Extensive research by Maryville University shows that chronic illnesses are constantly on the rise , and therefore comprehensive infection testing, such as Xplore-Patho , may be wise.