Overactive Bladder - Symptoms and Causes (2023)

overview

An overactive bladder, also known as an overactive bladder, causes frequent, sudden urges to urinate that can be difficult to control. You may feel like you need to urinate several times a day and night, and you may experience involuntary urination (urge incontinence).

If you have an overactive bladder, you may feel embarrassed, isolate, or limit your work and social life. The good news is that a brief examination can determine if there is a specific cause for your overactive bladder symptoms.

You can manage the symptoms of an overactive bladder with simple behavioral strategies such as diet changes, timed urination, and bladder retention techniques using your pelvic floor muscles. If these initial efforts aren't enough to help with your overactive bladder symptoms, additional treatments are available.

symptoms

If you have an overactive bladder, you can:

• Have a sudden urge to urinate that is difficult to control
• Involuntary loss of urine immediately after an urgent need to urinate (urge incontinence)
• Frequent urination, usually eight or more times in 24 hours
• Waking up more than twice a night to urinate (nocturia)

Even if you manage to go to the bathroom on time when you feel the urge to urinate, unexpected frequent urination and nighttime urination can disrupt your life.

When to the doctor

While not uncommon in older adults, an overactive bladder is not a typical part of aging. Discussing your symptoms may not be easy, but if they're bothering you or affecting your life, talk to your doctor. There are treatments that can help.

causes

How a healthy bladder works

The kidneys produce urine, which drains into the bladder. When you urinate, urine flows from the bladder through a tube called the urethra (u-REE-thruh). A muscle in the urethra called the sphincter opens to release urine from the body.

In women, the urethral opening is directly above the vaginal opening. In men, the urethral opening is at the tip of the penis.

Eventually, as the bladder fills, nerve signals sent to the brain trigger the urge to urinate. During urination, these nerve signals coordinate the relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles and the muscles of the urethra (urethral sphincter). The bladder muscles contract (contract) and push urine out.

Involuntary bladder contractions

An overactive bladder occurs when the bladder muscles contract on their own, even when the volume of urine in the bladder is small. These are called involuntary contractions and create an urgent need to urinate.

Several medical conditions can contribute to signs and symptoms of an overactive bladder, including:

• Neurological diseases such as stroke and multiple sclerosis
• Diabetes
• Urinary tract infections, which can cause symptoms similar to an overactive bladder
• Hormonal changes during menopause in women
• Conditions affecting the bladder, such as tumors or bladder stones
• Factors that impede the passage of urine from the bladder, such as an enlarged prostate, constipation, or previous surgery to treat incontinence

Symptoms of an overactive bladder can also be associated with:

• Medicines that make your body produce a lot of urine or require you to take them with lots of fluids
• Drinking too much caffeine or alcohol
• Decline in cognitive function due to aging, which can make it harder for the bladder to understand signals received from the brain
• Difficulty walking, which can lead to the urge to urinate if you cannot go to the toilet quickly
• Incomplete emptying of the bladder, which can lead to symptoms of an overactive bladder because you have little space left to store urine

The specific cause of an overactive bladder may be unknown.

risk factors

With age, there is a higher risk of developing an overactive bladder. You're also at higher risk for diseases and disorders like an enlarged prostate and diabetes, which can contribute to other problems with your bladder function.

Many people with cognitive decline -- for example, those who have had a stroke or have Alzheimer's disease -- develop an overactive bladder. Incontinence resulting from such situations can be managed with fluid regimens, timed and induced voiding, absorbent clothing, and bowel programs.

Some people with an overactive bladder also have problems with bowel control; Tell your doctor if this is a problem for you.

complications

Any type of incontinence can affect your overall quality of life. If your overactive bladder symptoms are interfering with your life, you may also have:

• Emotional stress or depression
• Angst
• Sleep disorders and disturbed sleep cycles
• problems with sexuality

In some cases, treating these comorbidities can help with your urinary problems.

Women with an overactive bladder can also have a disorder called mixed incontinence when both urge incontinence and stress incontinence occur. Stress urinary incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine caused by exercise or physical activity that puts pressure on the bladder, such as B. coughing, sneezing, laughing or exercising. Treating stress urinary incontinence is unlikely to help your overactive bladder symptoms. Likewise, treating an overactive bladder is unlikely to improve symptoms of stress urinary incontinence.

Some people may have a common combination of bladder storage problems and bladder emptying problems. The bladder can cause frequent urination and even incontinence, but it doesn't empty well. A specialist can help you with this combination of urinary problems.

prevention

These healthy lifestyles can reduce your risk of overactive bladder:

• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Do physical activity and exercise regularly and daily.
• Limit caffeine and alcohol.
• Stop smoking.
• Manage chronic conditions like diabetes that can contribute to overactive bladder symptoms.
• Do exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. These exercises are called Kegel exercises.