Symptoms:

The symptoms of recurrent cystitis include:

• Bloody urine (rare)
• Dark, foul-smelling urine
• Urinary frequency and urgency
• Painful or burning urination

Signs and tests:

Recurrent cystitis is confirmed by tests that show the growth of bacteria in the urine.

Urinalysis also shows white blood cells, occasionally red blood cells, and the specific type of bacteria causing the infection (usually E. coli).

A urine culture can help your doctor determine the specific bacteria and which antibiotics will best treat the infection.

If you have a severe infection, fever, and back pain that lasts for more than a few days, your doctor may also order the following tests to rule out a kidney infection:

• Additional blood tests
• Kidney CT scan
• Kidney ultrasound

If a physical problem is believed to be cause of the infections, an intravenous pyelogram will also be done.