Cystitis - Symptoms 

Children and adults can get cystitis, and the symptoms can be different.

Symptoms in men and women

Cystitis in men and women can cause:

• pain, burning or stinging when you urinate
• needing to urinate often and urgently but passing only small amounts of urine 
• urine that's dark, cloudy or strong smelling
• urine that contains traces of blood (haematuria)
• pain low in your belly (directly above the pubic bone), or in the lower back or abdomen
• feeling unwell, weak or feverish

Symptoms in children

Symptoms of cystitis in children may include:

• weakness
• irritability 
• reduced appetite
• vomiting
• pain when urinating

Cystitis is usually treated easily. Find out more about treating cystitis.

Find out about recognising the signs of serious illness in children.

Seeing a doctor

The usual symptoms of cystitis could also be caused by other conditions, so it's important to see your GP the first time you have any of these symptoms. This means you can be treated correctly for whatever is causing your symptoms.

The symptoms caused by cystitis could also be caused by: 

• sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as gonorrhoea or chlamydia
• being infected with bacterium such as E-coli
• vaginal thrush, also known as candida (a yeast infection)
• inflammation of the urethra (urethritis)
• urethral syndrome (women only)
• inflammation of the prostate gland, also known as prostatitis (men only)

Find out more about:

• causes of cystitis
• diagnosing cystitis
• cystitis treatment
• cystitis prevention