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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffCystitis caused by bacterial infection is generally treated with antibiotics. Treatment for noninfectious cystitis depends on the underlying cause.
Treating bacterial cystitis
Antibiotics are the first line of treatment for cystitis caused by bacteria. Which drugs are used and for how long depend on your overall health and the bacteria found in your urine. Make sure your doctor is aware of any other medications you're taking or any allergies you might have.
Usually symptoms clear up within a few days of treatment. However, you'll likely need to take antibiotics for three days to a week, depending on the severity of your infection. No matter what the length of treatment, take the entire course of antibiotics recommended by your doctor to ensure that the infection is completely eradicated.
If you have recurrent UTIs, your doctor may recommend longer antibiotic treatment or refer you to a doctor who specializes in urinary tract disorders (urologist or nephrologist) for an evaluation, to see if urologic abnormalities may be causing the infections. For some women, taking a single dose of an antibiotic after sexual intercourse may be helpful.
Hospital-acquired bladder infections can be a challenge to treat because bacteria found in hospitals are often resistant to the common types of antibiotics used to treat community-acquired bladder infections. For that reason, different types of antibiotics and different treatment approaches may be needed. Currently, researchers are testing whether using catheters pre-treated with antimicrobial products may help reduce the incidence of this type of bladder infection. Research is under way to investigate the development of vaccines that might prevent cystitis and decrease the need for frequent antibiotic use.
Treating interstitial cystitis
With interstitial cystitis, the cause of inflammation is uncertain, so there's no single treatment that works best for every case. Therapies used to ease the signs and symptoms of interstitial cystitis include:
- Medications that are taken orally or instilled directly into your bladder
- Procedures that manipulate your bladder to improve symptoms, such as bladder distention or, sometimes, surgery
- Nerve stimulation, which uses mild electrical pulses to relieve pelvic pain and, in some cases, reduce urinary frequency
Treating other forms of noninfectious cystitis
If you're hypersensitive to certain chemicals in personal products, such as bubble bath or spermicides, avoiding these products may help ease symptoms and help prevent further episodes of cystitis.
Treatment of cystitis that develops as a complication of chemotherapy or radiation therapy focuses on pain management, usually with medications, and hydration, to flush `out bladder irritants. Most cases of chemotherapy-induced cystitis tend to resolve after the chemotherapy is finished. Cystitis caused by radiation therapy, however, may recur months or even years after treatment is over, sometimes triggered by a UTI.
