What is Cystitis?
Cystitis affects people of both sexes and all ages, but it is more common in women than men, for several reasons. A woman’s biology puts her at a greater risk of introducing bacteria into her urethra during sexual intercourse, while using contraceptive diaphragms or while inserting tampons. Women who do not completely empty their bladders are also at a higher risk for developing cystitis -- and this risk is common among pregnant women. Also, during menopause, the lining of a woman’s urethra gets thinner as her estrogen levels drop. The thinner the lining becomes, the higher the chances are of infection or damage.
What is Interstitial Cystitis (IC)?
Interstitial Cystitis (IC), also called painful bladder syndrome, is a more serious and possibly permanent form of cystitis. Doctors are still unsure of what causes IC, although factors like an auto-immune deficiency, repeated bacterial infections of the bladder, spinal injuries or allergic reactions may contribute to it. This disease strikes mostly women, and while those of any age may be affected, patients are most typically diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50.
About 4 million people in the United States suffer from the symptoms of IC. For most of them, staying close to a bathroom is a necessity. One of the common symptoms of the disease is the need to urinate as frequently as 60 times in a 24-hour period, including multiple nighttime trips to the bathroom. The average, healthy adult typically urinates no more than seven times a day. Also common is the discomfort that one would feel with a urinary tract infection (UTI).