HealthInfo Canterbury
Interstitial cystitis
Interstitial cystitis causes bladder pain and sometimes pelvic pain when your bladder is full. It's a long-term condition. It's also called painful bladder syndrome and bladder pain syndrome.
With interstitial cystitis, there's no obvious infection in the bladder and antibiotics don’t help.
The exact causes of interstitial cystitis aren't known but many factors may contribute. These include damage to your bladder lining and problems with your pelvic floor muscles. Your immune system attacking your bladder is another possible cause.
You're more at risk of getting interstitial cystitis if you're female. Having fair skin and red hair and being over 30 are also risk factors.
Symptoms of interstitial cystitis
Symptoms can include:
- Pain (particularly when your bladder is full) when passing urine and during sexual intercourse. You may feel pain in your pelvis and abdomen. Woman may also feel pain in their vagina. Men may also feel pain in their scrotum and anus.
- Needing to pass urine (wee) urgently and frequently.
Diagnosing interstitial cystitis
There's no single test to diagnose interstitial cystitis. Your GP will examine you and ask you questions about your general health. They may also arrange a urine test to look for signs of infection and any abnormal cells.
Treating interstitial cystitis
Treatment for interstitial cystitis is aimed at reducing or eliminating your symptoms. You may need several treatments or combinations of treatments to relieve your symptoms. These can include physiotherapy, medication and surgery. They can also include filling your bladder with salt water (saline).
Self-care for interstitial cystitis
The link below has suggestions to help relieve symptoms.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- NHS – Interstitial cystitis
Information about the condition and its treatment, and what you can do to manage the symptoms.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Endorsed by clinical director, Urology, Canterbury DHB. Last reviewed November 2019.
SourcesReview key: HIURS-53047
