Cystitis And Homeopathy

It prominently affects women, although occasionally men do get it. It can occur in young girls but it is usually a condition of sexually active women. It can commence very suddenly and start with lower abdominal pain, often the individual suffers severe attacks. Children occasionally get cystitis and this should be treated properly or it can lead to repeated attacks.

The infection is commonly due to a bacterium called E-coli which normally lives in the bowel and gets transmitted to the bladder, either through poor hygiene or during sexual intercourse. The symptoms of cystitis need not necessarily mean there is an infection, as they can also occur as a result of the bruising that may arise during intercourse or after child birth. Cystitis also arises if there is a vaginal infection, thrush and more seriously gonorrhea. It can occur through irritation caused by vaginal deodorants and because of diabetes. Diet does not play a part in predisposing to attacks of cystitis, as does the wearing of tight jeans and underwear.

COMMON SYMPTOMS OF CYSTITIS

The most common symptom is pain when passing urine. This can be relatively mild or excruciating, because the bladder is irritated. The sensation of "wanting to go" often occurs before the bladder is as full as usual, and most women feel that the bladder is not completely emptied even when they have just been to the toilet. Some women with cystitis also pass blood with their urine. Cystitis is commonly caused by infection and this can usually be cured with a short course of antibiotics. However homoeopathy can be extremely useful to treat the symptoms while a woman waits for the result of a urine culture. Cystitis rarely causes fever, but if this does occur especially if there is also pain in the kidney region medical advice is essential.

 THE URETHRAL SYNDROME

Easy access to laboratory diagnosis of urinary infection has alerted doctors to the fact that as many as half of women with cystitis symptoms do not have a bacterial infection but are experiencing irritation in the urethra. The urethra is the short tube that connects the bladder to the outside and lies very close to the vagina. Urethral irritation can follow sexual intercourse when there has been some minor bruising or can be caused by vaginal infection.

The common symptoms associated with the disease condition are:

1. Burning sensation and pain on passing urine

2. Frequent urination and pain just at the end of passing urine

3. Low abdominal pain and occasionally low back pain

4. Temperature and shivering fits

5. Cloudy, smelly urine with occasional blood

MANAGEMENT DURING AN ATTACK

1. Drink a large glass of water or a cup of mild chamomile tea , three or four times a day

2. Pass urine in a warm bath if very painful

3. Stop consuming alcohol, coffee and tobacco.  

4. Use hot water bottles to alleviate lower abdominal pain

 5. Change the acidity of your urine by adding a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to a glass of water and drinking the solution 3 or 4 times a day. Apply yoghurt to the vagina, this helps to relieve distress as well as to recolonise the vagina with the right bacteria

6. Avoid citrus juices and acid fruits.

7. Drink cranberry powder dissolved in water frequently (one tea spoon in a cup of water).

8. In an acute attack, drinking large amounts of yarrow infusion will help and barley water (obtainable from food stores) is a traditional remedy for its soothing diuretic effect

BETWEEN ATTACKS

1. Change your under wear if it is too tight and avoid tights.

2. Maintain a high standard of hygiene after using the lavatory. Always empty your bladder before and after intercourse. Change from tampons to sanitary towels.

3. Always go to the lavatory if you feel the need to pass urine -do not hold back. 4. Use a lubricating jelly during intercourse if the vagina is very dry and experiment with different positions as the pressure on the bladder and vulva will vary.

5. Attention should be paid to diet, especially to the reduction of acid content, sugar and white flour products.

6. Cleaning the vaginal area with warm water after going to the lavatory or having intercourse is recommended -you should take care to wipe the area from the vagina to the anus and not vice versa,

7. Drink vegetable juices -carrot and raw apple mixed are particularly good.

8. Specific herbal remedies include couch-grass, which aids the excretion of urine and heals the lining of bladder and buchu which acts as an antiseptic and restores the damaged lining. Echinacea is a good herb to restore resistance to infection especially in the pelvic area.

CYSTITIS AND HOMOEOPATHY

ACUTE CYSTITIS                                                

Almost all women have sudden attacks of acute cystitis and /or the urethral syndrome from time to time. While recurrent attacks of cystitis should always be investigated certain homeopathic medicines can be considered in acute attacks:

Frequent urination with burning, stinging pain in the bladder with lack of thirst and a tendency to swollen hands and feet -"Apis mellifica"

Sudden onset of symptoms, severe incapacitating burning pain that is worse while urine is being passed, the urine is often blood stained -"Cantharis"

Onset is less intense, but there may be blood in the urine at an early stage -"Mercurius corrosives"

Pain is worse at end of urination, burning urination and a frequent urge to urinate occurs -"Sarasaparilla".

Symptoms start after sexual intercourse or after a catheter has been passed into the bladder, a feeling that a drop of urine remains in the urethra even after urination -"Staphysagria"

CHRONIC CYSTITIS

Many women suffer from milder recurrent (chronic) bladder problems, including an urge to urinate, discomfort during urination, bladder pain and incontinence. Incontinence is an embarrassing topic and few women wish to discuss it even with their doctors, but almost half of all women over the age of 25 are occasionally incontinent and one in ten women has a serious problem. If you are regularly incontinent, consult your doctor as the problem can often be cured or at least improved. If you have symptoms of chronic cystitis you should check with your doctor, in case you need a course of antibiotics, before trying the homoeopathic medicines suggested.

Painful urging, burning pain after urination and the bladder does not feel empty , urge to pass urine in the night ----"Lycopodium"

Bladder pain that is worse after urinating or if urination is delayed. Copious urine occurs even when not thirsty. Involuntary urination happens, especially in pregnancy, worse when coughing -"Pulsatilla"

A leak of urine occurs when laughing, sneezing or coughing, there is frequent urination and sudden urging, pain in the lower abdomen if urination is delayed -'sepia"

 AVOIDING RECURRENT ATTACKS OF CYSTITIS

1. Always drink lot of water 1.5-2.5 liters /3-5 pints a day

2. Wear cotton panties.

3. Let the air circulate around the perineal area by avoiding tight trousers and wearing open -crotch tights, if possible use tampons rather than sanitary towels

4. Shower instead of bathing. Do not stay in for a long soak or add bath salts or antiseptics to the water.

5. Never use soap on the perineum.

6. Avoid vaginal douches or deodorants.

7. After opening your bowels wipe your self from front to back to avoid infection.

8. Always empty your bladder before and after sexual intercourse to flush out the germs that cause cystitis and can double in number every 20 to 30 minutes.

9. Drink cranberry juice as a preventive measure. The germs like to attack themselves on the bladder wall and cranberry juice seems to act by making the lining of the bladder too slippery.

10. In a few women, the symptoms of cystitis are caused by food intolerance. If you are prone to cystitis and suffer from other allergies, it may be worth keeping a diary of what you eat to see if you regularly get cystitis after certain foods.

RELIEVING THE SYMPTOMS OF CYSTITIS

1. Start taking your homoeopathic medicine

2. Drink 570 ml /1 pint of water and then aim to drink a further 290 ml / 0.5 pint every half an hour this helps to wash out the germs.

3. Relieve the symptoms by making your urine alkaline. To do this add 5 ml / 1 teaspoonful of sodium bicarbonate to your drinking water every 6 hours (avoid vitamin c and cranberry juice these make the urine acidic)

4. Get into a warm bath or fill a hot water bottle with warm water and put it on your lower abdomen or between the thighs. If the symptoms do not settle in 24 hours with these self help measures, if you are feverish, if the pain moves to the kidneys, consult a doctor.

 HOMOEOPATHIC TREATMANT

First aid treatment during an attack includes -"Cantharis" (every 2 hours) once. Other medicines used as per their indication are -"Staphysagria" for cystitis following intercourse.

"Sarasaparilla" for pain on urinating (once in 2 hours) a more long term remedy would require a homoeopathic consultation "Ferrum phos" in the early stages followed by "Kali phos".