Duration of a bladder infection - quick treatment is decisive

Many have had bladder infections (also called cystitis).

Women in particular are familiar with the disease and its symptoms, as they are usually affected more often than men. Your urethra is much shorter, so that bacteria and viruses can get into the bladder more quickly.

The duration of cystitis is dependent on many factors such as B. depending on the therapy administered.

The most important things summarized:

If home remedies do not improve symptoms within 1 day, treatment should be given by a doctor.
Cystitis is usually treated with antibiotics.
The symptoms usually resolve 1 to 3 days after the start of therapy.
If left untreated, the infection may take longer and develop into chronic cystitis.

The typical course and duration of cystitis

Uncomplicated cystitis is usually short-lived. Bladder infections are usually treated with antibiotics, which usually require a prescription.

With antibiotic therapy, the bladder infection should heal after 1 to 3 days and the symptoms should have subsided. Without antibiotic treatment, cystitis can last longer.

The duration depends above all on how quickly therapy is initiated. Affected should therefore If symptoms appear, act immediately and consult a doctor.

If the symptoms persist despite antibiotics, a second urine sample must often be taken and a so-called antibiogram taken. It is a laboratory test in which the pathogens are tested for resistance to antibiotics.

With the help of this examination, an antibiotic can then be selected which is specifically directed against the bacterial strain causing the cystitis.

Medicines for cystitis

Monuril 3000 mg granules

incl. 19% VAT. In stock

Nitrofurantoin ratiopharm 100 mg prolonged-release capsules

incl. 19% VAT. In stock

How do home remedies affect the duration of the infection?

It is particularly important, drink plenty of fluids (2-4 liters per day), to flush the bacteria out of the urinary tract. A Treatment by a doctor you should consider if the Symptoms do not subside after a day despite home remedies or increase in intensity.

A untreated cystitis can become one chronic cystitis develop, spread to the kidney pelvis and there lead to inflammation of the kidney pelvis. At the first signs of kidney involvement, a doctor should be consulted.

Possible symptoms of inflammation of the kidney pelvis include:

Pain in the flank (lateral, rear abdominal region above the pelvis),
fever,
Chills and
Blood in urine.

In the worst case, this can lead to blood poisoning (urosepsis).

The typical symptoms of cystitis

Typical symptoms of a urinary tract infection include:

Burning sensation when urinating,
constant urge to urinate,
malodorous, cloudy urine and
Stomach cramps.

If left untreated, the bladder infection can become chronic and recur within a few weeks.

Men and children can also suffer from chronic or recurring cystitis. Often this is due to an anatomical change in the urinary tract or prostate or an underlying disease such as diabetes.

In this case, the disease is called complicated cystitis. Antibiotics therapy is sometimes the only choice, especially if the course is pronounced.

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Epidemiology, diagnostics, therapy, prevention and management of uncomplicated, bacterial, community-acquired urinary tract infections in adult patients (S3 guideline). German Society for Urology. As of April 2017.
Bollestad et al .: Predictors of Symptom Duration and Bacteriuria in Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infection. Scand J Prim Health Care. 2018 Dec; 36 (4): 446-454.
François et al .: Factors associated with the duration of symptoms in adult women with suspected cystitis in primary care. PLoS One. 2018 Jul 25; 13 (7): e0201057.