A bladder infection is a type of urinary tract infection UTI. This refers to an infection anywhere in the urinary tract, such as the bladder , kidneys , ureters , or urethra. Most cases of bladder infections are acute, meaning they occur suddenly. Other cases may be chronic , meaning they recur over the long term. Early treatment is key to preventing the spread of the infection. Bacteria that enter through the urethra and move into the bladder cause bladder infections. Normally, the body removes the bacteria by flushing them out during urination.
Bacteria can sometimes attach to the walls of the bladder and multiply quickly. This type of bacteria is naturally present in the large intestines. An infection can occur when bacteria from the stool get onto the skin and enter the urethra.
In women, the urethra is short and the outside opening is not far from the anus, so bacteria can easily move from one body system to another. The symptoms of a bladder infection vary depending on the severity. Some of the most common symptoms include:. When bladder infections spread, they can also cause mid-back pain. This pain is associated with infection in the kidneys. Unlike muscular back pain, this pain will be persistent regardless of your position or activity. A kidney infection will often cause fever, chills, nausea, and vomiting.
Kidney infections are more serious than bladder infections and require urgent medical attention. Anyone can get bladder infections, but women are more prone to getting them than men. This is because women have shorter urethras, making the path to the bladder easier for bacteria to reach.
This means there is a shorter distance for bacteria to travel. As men age, the prostate can enlarge. This can cause blockages to the flow of urine and increase the likelihood of a man developing a UTI. UTIs tend to increase in men as they age. A doctor can diagnose your bladder infection by performing a urinalysis. This is a test performed on a sample of urine to check for the presence of:.
Treatment options vary, but the following are the most common prescriptions for uncomplicated cystitis:. A 3-day course of treatment has been found to be as efficient as a 7-day course of treatment and people experienced fewer side effects.
Side effects usually stem from the overgrowth of yeast, which can cause a rash and yeast vaginitis. The 3-day course is also more cost efficient than the 7-day regime. A single-dose treatment is also available, but it generally results in lower cure rates and more frequent recurrence. Most people find that their symptoms begin to improve the day after beginning the treatment.
Even if someone feels better, it is important that they take the full course of antibiotics in order to completely eliminate the infection. If they do not finish the whole dose, the infection may return, and it can be harder to treat the second time around. If symptoms persist for more than 2 or 3 days after starting treatment, people should contact their doctor.
People with more complicated bladder infections will usually need to take antibiotics for days. Complicated infections include those that occur during pregnancy, or in people who have diabetes or a mild kidney infection. It is also recommended that men with acute urinary infections take antibiotics for days as well.
Less commonly, fluoroquinolones and beta-lactam antibiotics are used to treat more invasive infections. These antibiotics are effective, but they are not recommended for initial treatment because of concerns about bacterial resistance.
Given the worrying problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, doctors try to encourage women who experience regular bladder infections to use prevention strategies when possible.
These strategies may include:. People can also help prevent bladder infections by including unsweetened cranberry juice, D-mannose, apple cider vinegar, ascorbic acid vitamin C , and probiotics into their diets. Of these remedies, cranberry products and D-mannose appear to be the most popular.
Drinking unsweetened cranberry juice or taking cranberry supplements is often promoted as one way to help prevent frequent bladder infections. Compounds known as proanthocyanidins found in cranberries are thought to prevent bacteria from sticking to the walls of the urethra and bladder, reducing the risk of infection.
The recommended dose is 3 glasses of unsweetened cranberry juice daily, or 2 tablets daily, until the infection subsides. Cranberry juice is available for purchase online. D-mannose is a naturally occurring sugar found in certain fruits, such as cranberries and blueberries. A new study suggests that D-mannose is just as effective as antibiotics in preventing recurrent urinary tract infections in women.
The sugar attaches to any E. The bacteria are then flushed out on urination. If you have long-term or frequent pelvic pain and problems peeing, you may have a condition called interstitial cystitis. This is a poorly understood bladder condition that mostly affects middle-aged women.
Unlike regular cystitis, there's no obvious infection in the bladder and antibiotics do not help. But a doctor may be able to recommend a number of other treatments to reduce your symptoms. Find out more about interstitial cystitis. Page last reviewed: 09 August Next review due: 09 August Mild cases will often get better by themselves within a few days.
Signs and symptoms of cystitis The main symptoms of cystitis include: pain, burning or stinging when you pee needing to pee more often and urgently than normal urine that's dark, cloudy or strong smelling pain low down in your tummy feeling generally unwell, achy, sick and tired Possible symptoms in young children include: pain in their tummy needing to pee urgently or more often a high temperature fever of 38C or above weakness or irritability reduced appetite and vomiting When to see a GP Women do not necessarily need to see a GP if they have cystitis, as mild cases often get better without treatment.
See a GP if: you're not sure whether you have cystitis your symptoms do not start to improve within 3 days you get cystitis frequently you have severe symptoms, such as blood in your urine , a fever or pain in your side you're pregnant and have symptoms of cystitis you're a man and have symptoms of cystitis your child has symptoms of cystitis A GP should be able to diagnose cystitis by asking about your symptoms.
What causes cystitis? It's not always clear how this happens. But some things can increase your risk of getting it, including: having sex wiping your bottom from back to front after going to the toilet having a thin tube inserted into the urethra to drain the bladder urinary catheter being younger than 1 or older than 75 being pregnant using a diaphragm for contraception having diabetes having a weakened immune system Women may get cystitis more often than men because their bottom anus is closer to their urethra and their urethra is much shorter, which means bacteria may be able to get into the bladder more easily.
How you can treat cystitis yourself If you have been having mild symptoms for less than 3 days or you have had cystitis before and do not feel you need to see a GP, you may want to treat your symptoms at home or ask a pharmacist for advice.
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