After suffering from cystitis, women know perfectly well how to recognize the symptoms: burning while urinating, pressing and frequent cravings … In 9 out of 10 cases, the bacteria responsible, Escherichia coli, comes from the stool and travels from the vulva to the bladder. An antibiotic treatment (Monuril), taken as a single dose, usually resolves the problem and the episode is forgotten. But, sometimes the symptoms reappear a few days or weeks later.
From 4 infections per year, we speak of recurrent cystitis.
The first steps to take
Eliminate one by one the factors that can explain recurrences and use natural products that have shown interest.
- Drink more, at least 1.5 liters of water throughout the day. Get into the habit of urinating regularly and thinking about it after each act of sex.
- Fight against constipation: by increasing your fiber intake and drinking water rich in magnesium. The doctor can help you if necessary by prescribing laxatives.
- Maintain the good trophicity of the vagina after menopause. The regular use of ova or vulvovaginal creams, hormonal (Trophicrème) or not (Cicatridine, Monasens), is often necessary. Ask your gynecologist what is best for her.
- Using probiotics to restore the quality of the vaginal flora: there are ovules, capsules or vaginal capsules of probiotics alone (Medigyne, Bactigyn …) or associated with hormones (Florgynal, on prescription) as well as oral capsules (Orogyn …). It is advisable to take these products regularly.
- Make a cranberry (or cranberry) cure. These small berries contain proanthyocyanidins (pacs), compounds that reduce the adhesion of the bacteria Escherichia coli to the wall of the bladder.
Take it in cures of three months maximum. But not all brands (capsules or sachets) are equal, because their content in pacs is variable. Prefer those which are sufficiently dosed (Cys-control Flash, Duab, Gyndelta). A new product, Femannose, contains D-mannose powder, which further limits the adhesion of bacteria to the bladder wall.
- Do not rely on cranberry-based drinks, they contain too few pacs: you would need to drink 30 liters per day to achieve the effectiveness of the extracts!
What to do when prevention is not enough?
- No question of self-medication with Monuril if the cystitis recurs. A laboratory urine analysis (ECBU) is essential, with, in case of identification of a germ, an antibiogram. This test allows to know which antibiotic is effective in this case.
- Women are asked to keep a diary over 1 or 2 weeks to note what they have drunk, how much, and all the times when they will urinate, to check that there is no mistake to correct .
- If the cystitis still recurs, the doctor looks for rarer causes of recurrent infections (local pathology, malformation of the urinary tract, etc.), which requires clinical and gynecological examination, ultrasound, or even a uroscan. These tests make sure that the repetition of symptoms is not linked to a chronic inflammatory disease (painful bladder syndrome), or even bladder cancer. Each diagnosis corresponds to a treatment: treatment or surgery will solve the problem of repeated infection.
- Doctors rarely prescribe a preventative antibiotic because of the risk of resistance. They reserve this treatment for women who suffer more than one infection per month, or who suffer from post-coital cystitis, pending other methods of prevention, which are now in development.
