OVERACTIVE BLADDER- Urology
Overactive bladder is the unpreventable and involuntary contraction of the urinary bladder. Since subjects with this conditions regards it as a normal age-dependent disorder or as an irreversible condition, they do not need to seek medical support or therapy. However, this is a treatable condition.
What are reasons of Overactive Bladder?
It is difficult to diagnose the overactive bladder. Therefore, it is also difficult to identify underlying reasons. Overactive Bladder may appear at any age and it is more often in the age range of 20-30 years.
- Urinary tract infection is one of simple and treatable reasons.
- Urethral stenosis; prostatic diseases in men and urinary tract stenoses,
- Urinary bladder stones,
- Neurogenic; Parkinson Disease, multiple sclerosis, post-stroke,
- Urinary incontinence in conditions characterized with increased intra-abdominal pressure.
- Drugs; diuretics, alcohol, opioids.
What are symptoms of the Overactive Bladder?
- Frequent need of urination, although you do not intake much fluid during the day, - Sudden feel of need to urinate, - Sudden urinary incontinence, - Waking more than twice during the night to urinate,
- Involuntary diurnal incontinence One or all of these symptoms may be seen in the patient.
What should I do if I have Overactive Bladder symptoms?
If you have symptoms of the Overactive Bladder symptoms, you should keep a urination diary where you record how many glasses of fluids you have consumed during one week, how many times you have visited the toilet in a day and the number of urinary incontinence episodes, and you should also visit a urology specialist with this diary in hand. Your doctor will probably ask for urinary tests in order to diagnose diseases such as urinary tract infections. Subsequently, he/she would carry out abdominal examination and rectal examination if you are a male or vaginal examination if you are female. If your complaints are not clear, your doctor may order the following tests as well.
- Ultrasound, it allows more clear evaluation of your urinary bladder and imaging the extraordinary problems.
- Urodynamic tests are used for measuring the pressure of the urinary bladder and the speed of urination.
- Blood tests allow diagnosing diseases such as diabetes which have symptoms similar to that of Overactive Bladder.
- Cystoscopy allows direct evaluation of your urinary bladder using a thin telescope under local anesthesia.
Is there anything I can do to relieve my complaints?
- You can consume less liquid. However, since consuming less liquid may lead to other problems, it would be the best that you consult to your doctor to determine the exact amount of liquid. You can consume less liquid before going to bed at night or on a long journey.
- You can lower your coffee, tea and soft drink consumption.
- You may prefer using incontinence pads and comfortable clothes. What can my doctor do to relieve my complaints?
- Your doctor may advise bladder training to you. This training enables your bladder to hold more urine and allows you to take urination under control. In four of every 10 patients, the complaints decrease through bladder training.
- Your doctor may advise you the training of pelvic floor muscles. This training aims to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and prevent you against urinary incontinence. This exercise is based on voluntarily contracting and relaxing, in regular intervals, your anal muscles, the muscles surrounding the urethra which enables you to discharge urine and vagina muscles, if you are a woman. Combination of the training of pelvic floor muscles with bladder training provides more effective treatment. In order to enable you to conduct pelvic floor exercises more suitably, the training should be given to you by a physical therapist or by experienced nurses.
- Your doctor may prescribe medication indicated in the Overactive bladder. The medication to be suggested is effective in 5-6 patients out of 10.
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