Living with cystitis

Cystitis is uncomfortable at best, and incredibly painful at worst. The feeling of sharp pain or stinging on urination, a frequent urge to urinate, a painful abdomen and a general feeling of being unwell that come with cystitis can get you down.

For women particularly, frequent bouts of cystitis can be the norm. Men are not as much affected by it due to a longer urethra which makes it harder for bacteria to get to the bladder.

So how do you live with frequent cystitis and what can you do about it? There are natural ways to prevent or reduce further bouts of cystitis, and once you’ve been prescribed an antibiotic you can then get it much more easily, for example by buying trimethoprim online.

Drink cranberry juice

The jury’s out on whether cranberry juice does actually cure cystitis but many women swear by it. In fact some women keep a carton on standby in the fridge for frequent bouts of cystitis.

Cranberry Juice is thought to help because it contains proanthocyanidins which help prevent bacteria sticking to the lining of your bladder meaning they get flushed out when you urinate.

Keep hydrated

Another way to remove the bacteria that can cause cystitis is to drink plenty of water. Guidelines are at least two litres a day. If you’re not great with water try well diluted cordial or juice.

Buy Trimethoprim online

If you’ve already been prescribed trimethoprim for cystitis and it flares up again you can easily buy trimethoprim online without having to go back to see your GP.

This makes it easy and fast to access and taking the course of antibiotics will kill the bacteria and end the pain quickly and effectively.

Reduce use of perfumed products

Using scented products around your genitals is more likely to affect bacteria, and cause cystitis. Use un-perfumed, plain products for soap, bubble bath, shower gel and don’t use deodorant in that area.

You can also try taking showers rather than baths as this reduces the likelihood of products such as shampoo and bath products being able to access your body.

Urinate as soon as you need to

Don’t hold it in! Always make sure you use the toilet to urinate as soon as you need to , which helps remove bacteria from your body.

Wipe front to back

It’s recommended that when you do urinate, you wipe yourself from front to back, rather than the other way round. This then prevents bacteria from the bottom getting into your body.