Can You Die From Interstitial Cystitis & Is It Contagious?

DMSO (Dimethylsulfoxide) is the only approved bladder instillation for IC/BPS yet it is much less frequently used in urology clinics.⁽¹⁾

Sensitivity to trigger foods may be reduced if calcium glycerophosphate and/or sodium bicarbonate are consumed.⁽¹⁾

Interstitial cystitis is a chronic progressive condition but of benign nature which does not contribute to the mortality rate. The condition can not cause the death of a person directly due to its symptoms and health issues. But on the other hand, it greatly affects the quality of life of the person because of its symptoms. According to the disability laws in the United States, it has been proved that a patient of interstitial cystitis has an even poorer quality of life than a patient who is on renal replacement therapy for chronic kidney disease ^(2). There has been no known case who has died because of this condition.

But on the other hand, it can contribute to the mortality rate significantly in an indirect manner. It affects the mental health and psychology of a person and greatly diminishes the quality of life. Being a chronic ailment, its cases are known to suffer from anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric conditions and even ultimately had ended their life after getting frustrated from it.⁽³⁾

Another way of contributing to the mortality rate indirectly is via is severity. In very severe cases of interstitial cystitis when a patient does not respond to any form of medical/pharmacological treatment then surgical treatment is indicated. Surgeries like augmentation cystoplasty, urinary diversion, etc. are major surgeries and pose a high level of risk to the life of a person. These surgeries require a lot of mechanical manipulation and the patient may die on the operation table due to various intra-operative factors.⁽⁴⁾

Many times the condition interstitial cystitis is confused with the urinary tract infection because of its identical symptoms. But adequate knowledge has to be imparted to the patient to avoid any kind of misconception about the condition.⁽⁵⁾

It is a noninfectious, non-contagious, chronic condition for which no specific known etiology has been found. There are a variety of theories and postulations put forward to explain the origin of the condition but only a few can explain some of its symptoms and none of them explains the condition completely.⁽⁶⁾

Although, interstitial cystitis is itself not a contagious condition it sometimes can be associated with one or another form of urinary tract infection which may get transmitted through sexual mode or during coitus. A genitourinary infection is itself not related to interstitial cystitis but it produces almost identical symptoms as that of interstitial cystitis. It can lead to confusion and delay in diagnosis and also can affect the lifestyle by super imposingly affecting the quality of life.

Interstitial cystitis is a benign condition and is not responsible for causing the death of an individual suffering from it. However, it may be responsible for causing mortality of the individual due to the psychological side effects that have been caused by it because it can worsen the quality of life.

When this condition becomes so severe that it may require surgical treatment then also it can become a cause of mortality because of the risk to life proposed by the surgical treatment itself.

In earlier times, it was thought that interstitial cystitis is related to urinary tract infection in some way and is also contagious. But now after the adequate research, it is safely concluded that it is a benign, non-contagious condition and has no relation to urinary tract infection.

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Also Read:

• Can You Live A Normal Life With Interstitial Cystitis & Coping Methods For It?
• What Foods Aggravate Interstitial Cystitis & What Foods Calm It?
• Does Interstitial Cystitis Cause UTIs & Does Vitamin D Help IC?
• Is Long-Term Antibiotics Treatment Good For Interstitial Cystitis?
• Who Is At Risk For Interstitial Cystitis & Is There A Blood Test For It?
• Can Interstitial Cystitis Go Away On Its Own & What Are Its Natural Remedies?
• How Common Is Interstitial Cystitis Or Is It A Rare Disease?