Cystitis is an inflammation of the low urinary tract due to a bacterial attack, the characteristic symptom of which, at least in the first instance, is a frequent need to urinate. It is a disorder that affects both men and women, although it mainly affects the female sex.
Thanks to the contribution of Dr. Massimo Lazzeri, urologist at Humanitas, we try to answer some common questions about this disorder.
Does urine retention increase cystitis risk?
“Do not stress the bladder by preventing it from being emptied when required. Retaining the urine and overcoming the elasticity limit of the bladder means that, when you finally urine, you cannot empty the entire bladder content, with the risk that the residue remaining within the organ may be a predisposing factor to infection”.
Does hydration prevent cystitis?
“Drinking accordingly to one’s loss of liquids, and therefore perspiration, which can be relative on seasonality, drinking a little more in summer and a little less in winter, is certainly a preventive factor against cystitis. Good hydration consists of at least one and a half liters of water per day. It is important not to exceed this, as in the case of those who drink 3 or 4 liters per day, because this causes an overload of bladder function”.
Can cystitis occur due to stress?
The cystitis prototype is the acute bacterial cystitis, due to a pathogen; however, on the other hand, we should consider our immune system. This means that particular situations of stress or situations that can be traced back to particular hormonal moments in women, even if they are not the cause of cystitis, can prove to be a favorable factor for the development of an infectious process that would be well managed by our immune system, but in that particular contingent situation it has a pathological outcome, thus giving rise to cystitis”.
