Mast cells have long been reported to be raised in patients suffering from interstitial cystitis. Mast cells are a type of cell that are usually associated with allergies. Today I’m going to take a look at the relationship between interstitial cystitis and mast cells.
Researchers have identified a common vaginal bacterium that may trigger UTIs.
This could explain why recurring episodes of UTIs are often triggered by sexual intercourse.
The bacterium called Gardnerella vaginalis may not only be responsible for triggering UTIs, it may also be a contributor to more serious kidney infections.
Today I am going to look at different natural antibiotics for the urinary tract.
A lot of herbal antimicrobials have a much longer track record of safety compared to modern antibiotic drugs.
They often have less side effects and may exert additional beneficial effects on top of their antimicrobial action, such as reducing inflammation and hindering bacterial adhesion.
There is new(ish) evidence emerging that recurrent UTIs, also known as chronic cystitis, are not always caused by a reinfection with a new pathogen but rather can be a relapse of the same pathogen.
It turns out that pathogenic bacteria have the ability to invade the cells of the bladder and live there in a dormant sleep-like state.
This is called an ‘intracellular bacterial community’.
In this state, the bacteria remain undetected by standard urine testing and unaffected by antibiotic treatment. They also remain undetected by our own immune system.
Now and again they can leave the cells, causing a relapse of the urinary tract infection.
If you’re a woman you will probably suffer from a urinary tract infection (UTI) at some point in your life. In fact, UTIs are the second most common reason for hospital visits!
For years I have suffered from chronic UTIs.
They are very uncomfortable and can make life miserable, ruin holidays and your sex-life.
Luckily I managed to get rid of UTIs for good – a lot of which I credit to following the 5 steps I’m going to share with you below.
For anyone who has read my own story, you may remember that repeated courses of antibiotics for chronic UTIs kicked off my interstitial cystitis a few years ago. Can antibiotics cause interstitial cystitis and chronic UTIs? For me, they have definitely played a big role.
This question has been at the back of my mind for a while and today I would like to take a look at some of the scientific evidence to answer this question.
In last week’s post I talked about the urinary microbiota – the bacterial communities that have recently been discovered to be present in the urinary tract.
We know now that microbes that live in and on our bodies play a crucial role in health and illness. There are friendly and pathogenic microbes (bacteria, fungi etc.) plus opportunistic microbes that can become pathogenic when left unchecked.
When the delicate balance of good vs bad microbes is disturbed we become prone to an array of health conditions and infections. This is called a ‘dysbiosis’.
In my last post I’ve looked at biofilm infections and why they could be at the root of bladder problems. In this post I’m going to look at potential treatments for biofilm infections.
If you haven’t read my last post yet it might be a good idea to read it now. It explains what biofilms are.
Biofilms have been recognized to play a role in many infections, yet orthodox treatment options are still limited and research is ongoing.
Treating biofilms is difficult because of the limited ability of antibiotic agents to actually get to the bacteria. Natural antibiotics are no exception.
If you suffer from recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) or interstitial cystitis you need to know about biofilm infections.
More and more studies have demonstrated that pathogenic bacteria can persist within the bladder tissue and serve as a ‘reservoir’ for recurrent urinary tract infections.
Bacteria and fungi can make so-called biofilms and hide under them. This protects the bacteria from being discovered by our immune system or from being killed by antibiotics. It also makes it harder to discover them in a urine culture.
Cranberry juice has long been considered to be one of the main natural remedies for bladder health. Can cranberry juice prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs)?
When I first started having chronic infections I gulped down litres of the stuff. My GP told me to ‘Just drink some cranberry juice’ when I first started experiencing symptoms of interstitial cystitis after she just couldn’t find anything wrong with me!
At no point in time did the cranberry juice prevent my recurrent infections or helped me to clear my symptoms.