Interstitial cystitis is often associated with a range of other degenerative diseases such as IBS, IBD, Fibromyalgia, Sjoegen’s, Lupus and also allergies.
‘Classic’ interstitial cystitis has some common features with allergies such as increased mast cells, histamine and inflammation.
Is something else causing IC, allergies and associated diseases or could allergies be a root cause? What if some cases of IC are simply a symptom of food intolerance? I call this the allergic bladder.
Pharmacies usually sell ‘cystitis relief’ products designed to serve as a first aid for urinary tract infections. These preparations are designed to alkalize the urine.
Moreover, flushing through increased fluid intake is usually recommended.
I have previously recommended doing this as it is the common advice for cystitis relief before taking antibiotics.
Some people may well have success with this approach but is it scientifically validated?
If you suffer from incontinence there is a chance that you have a prolapsed bladder. This is also known as a dropped bladder, cystocele or a bladder hernia.
This can (and should be) diagnosed by your doctor but there is also an easy way to check for it at home.
When speaking about urinary tract infections, we usually speak about bacterial infections. Fungi (a.k.a yeasts or mold) are different organisms from bacteria and they can cause infections such as thrush in some parts of the body. Fungal infections in the vagina for example are a well-known condition. But can there also be fungal infections in the urinary tract?
Just to let you all know that my blog is now on Bloglovin as an easy way to follow me and other blogs.
Check it out here:
Yoga is a type of mental and physical exercise that has been used in traditional Indian medicine since ancient times.
In recent years it has become more and more popular as a form of exercise and relaxation technique in the Western world.
Its use as a therapeutic intervention to accompany other forms of medicine has also grown in the West.
Today I would like to take a look at how yoga can be used as a therapy for chronic urologic conditions such as interstitial cystitis and chronic UTIs and chronic illness in general.
When we think of natural contraception most people think of unplanned pregnancy. Why? Because there are several ‘natural’ methods out there that simply don’t work. These methods are based on false assumptions and are not thorough enough to be reliable.
But what if there was a method that was as reliable as the pill, completely natural and didn’t mess with your hormones?
Well this method does indeed exist. Let me introduce you to the ‘Fertility Awareness Method’ or ‘FAM’.
Hormone balance means equilibrium. If hormones are in balance with each other, mood, energy, drive and libido are in balance.
Hormone balance is very important for women’s overall wellbeing.
But more specifically, hormone balance is also important for bladder health as I talked about here and here.
Unfortunately, modern life does not make it easy to maintain hormonal balance.
I was very honored to be tagged by A Chronic Voice for the Sunshine Blogger Award last week. Thank you!
I thought this was really fun to do and a nice distraction from the usual sifting through medical studies…
Last week I had a look at how hormones affect the urinary tract. Changes in the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone and even the ‘male’ hormone testosterone appear to affect urinary tract symptoms.
Oral contraception affects hormone levels in the body and may therefore also affect urinary tract symptoms.
Other contraception may not affect hormones but may have an impact on the urinary tract in other ways.
Today I would like to take a look at what we know about different forms of contraception and bladder health.