Cystitis Test: Symptoms and treatment

At TestCard, we talk a lot about Urinary Tract Infections (UTI). It’s one of the areas that we can help, by providing a UTI test, without the patient needing to see a doctor or healthcare professional. A common result of UTIs is a condition known as Cystitis. In layman’s terms cystitis means there is inflammation of the bladder, one of several warning signs of a UTI to take note of before the infection potentially can spread to the kidneys or beyond.

Almost half of women will get a UTI at some point during their lives, many of which resulting in cystitis. This condition is caused when bacteria gets into your bladder through your urethra, which is the tube that transports urine out of the body.

Cystitis test: Why are women more commonly infected by UTIs?

Women are the most affected by urinary tract infections, although they can occur in men and children too. This discrepancy is the result of men having longer urethras, which means that bacteria have further to travel to get to the bladder. Thereby making it more difficult for the bacteria to find its way to the bladder.

Cystitis symptoms in adults

Common symptoms to look out for in adults include:

• Pain in the stomach, accompanied by a sickly and tired feeling

• A burning sensation or discomfort when you pee

• The need to urinate more frequently and more urgently than usual

• You may need to get up to pee in the night

• Stronger smelling urine or a colour change appearing darker or cloudy, like apple juice

You can learn more about cystitis and how to treat it by speaking to a health professional or visiting a website such as the NHS.

The team at TestCard has provided a list of common symptoms that will help you to understand if you should take a cystitis test. Go to TestCard Home Page.

How to treat cystitis

Mild cystitis will usually clear up itself in a few days. In some cases, your healthcare professional or GP will prescribe antibiotics. These should start to work quite quickly and you should speak to your doctor if they’re not working after 5 days.

There are some things you can do to help ease symptoms of cystitis naturally.

Here are our tips:

1. Don’t resist the urge to pee – go when you need to

2. Drink plenty of water

3. Avoid coffee, alcohol, sugary drinks or citrus juices such as orange, lemon or grapefruit

4. Increase your intake of vitamin C

Most importantly, if your symptoms don’t go away or if your infection returns, you should make an appointment to see your doctor. Our TestCard app will allow you to email your results to your GP if you would like to and will help speed up your route to treatment.

When to take a cystitis test

Most UTIs are identified through urinalysis and are carried out in a laboratory. We’d only recommend taking a UTI test if you are showing the cystitis symptoms outlined above. Organisations such as Bupa give great information on what to look out for when considering a UTI.

We wouldn’t recommend taking our UTI test if you’re not displaying any of these symptoms, and are feeling well. There is a growing issue worldwide related to over testing in healthcare and TestCard does not want to add to the strain on finite healthcare resources, add undue stress to patients, or increase testing fatigue. However, if you are experiencing any of the symptoms described above then we recommend performing the TestCard UTI test and speaking with a healthcare professional.

How TestCard works

TestCard is a simple postcard containing two test strips that pairs with a free smartphone app. When you’ve taken our test, you will receive instant, medical grade results from the comfort of your own home. There’s no waiting, no doctor visits, no laboratory and no need for healthcare experts to translate results.

Each year millions of people need tests - urine testing is the second most common test in the world. We have more treatments, more tests, and more people than ever before. But the way healthcare works hasn’t changed for years.

If you’re worried about your health, you go to your doctor and ask them what’s wrong. You can’t choose when and where to take a UTI test – it can’t be done anywhere. Your doctor has to send samples to a laboratory which takes time, resources and ultimately delays treatment.

This can’t continue. As the population keeps growing, we need a new way to meet our healthcare needs.

We’ve taken the testing method that’s been honed over decades and transformed it for the twenty-first century. You can help your doctor by taking your own results to them – speeding your route to treatment, recovery, and saving valuable resources.

The TestCard team is fully aware of how sensitive and uncomfortable this experience can be. Therefore, whatever your route to recovery we sincerely hope it comes quickly and we are more than happy to help if we can!