Bladder Infection (Cystitis)

When To Call A Professional

Call your doctor's office if you feel pain or discomfort when you urinate, if you need to urinate more often than usual, or if you notice that your urine smells bad or contains blood. Women in their first trimester of pregnancy will have their urine checked for bacterial growth as part of their prenatal care, even if they have no symptoms of bladder infection.

If you have risk factors for developing complicated bladder infections (such as indwelling catheters or underlying abnormalities of the urinary system), you should be particularly careful to watch for these signs of infection. You also should seek immediate medical attention if you develop fever, chills, confusion, nausea, vomiting, or flank pain, which may suggest that a bladder infection has spread to the kidney or blood.

Prognosis

Treatment with antibiotics usually cures simple bladder infections. In some cases, an untreated bladder infection may spread upward in the urinary tract to affect the kidneys, causing pyelonephritis, which is inflammation and infection of the kidney. For complicated bladder infections, the outlook depends on the clinical situation. Patients may become severely ill if the infection spreads from the urinary system to the blood, a condition called urosepsis. Antibiotics are usually effective, but they may need to be taken for long periods, and the risk of another infection can be high.

Additional Info

National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse 3 Information Way Bethesda, MD 20892-3580 Phone: (301) 654-4415 Toll-Free: (800) 891-5390 Fax: (301) 907-8906 E-Mail: nkudic@info.niddk.nih.gov http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/