Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Honeymoon Cystitis

Cystitis refers to urinary track infection.  Honeymoon cystitis referred to the common phenomena in the past of girls developing cystitis after their honeymoon.  The female uretha is short, merely a few centimeters.  Most urinary tract infection occurs because bacteria which are normal for the outside skin get in to the usually sterile urine which is a particularly attractive soup for bacteria growth. The most common cause is E. Coli.  Sexual intercourse because of the action tended to pump bacteria on the outside into the bladder.  If a girl didn't pee before sleep the bacteria had all night to grow.  Hence the 'honeymood cystitis', there being excessive sexual activity at this time.
Antibiotics are the treatment of choice and work well for treating cystitis. The symptons of cystitis is burning urination with a desire to go more frequently. If back pain is noted in combination there is concern that the infection may have traveled from the bladder up the ureters to the kidneys. Kidney infection is called pylonephritis and is a more dangerous condition and the reason for treatment of bladder infections.
Preventions for bladder infection in women is remembering to urinate after sexual activity.  Further it's important to ensure that fecal content (poo or shit) from around the anal cavity isn't tracked into the urethra. To this end women and girls especially those who have acquired a urinary tract infection wipe from front to back and not back to front.
Cranberry juice is still a good prevention though there are controversies around why.
Urinary tract infections can be treated with a one to three day dose of trimethoprim/sulfmethoxazole (160/180) or a ciprofloxacin 250 twice a day for three days. Nitrofurantoin 100 twice  a day was an old standby that is again being used because of bacteria being drug resistant to the newer drugs.
The treatment for 'acute cystitis' is relatively straightforward and commonly done by family physicians.  Recurrent and chronic urinary tract infections because of their risk for pylonephritis are usually referred to gynecologists or urologists for more definitive investigation and treatment.
Men shouldn't get urinary tract infections even if their urethra's aren't as long as they may claim.  Urinary tract infection in men is different and should be treated as such.

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