Many individuals in Anguilla suffer from an over active bladder. The symptoms of an overactive bladder can cause many individuals to be embarrassed and many are too scared to seek medical attention. The good news is that many of the symptoms of an overactive bladder can be successfully treated once the underlying cause for the overactive bladder is identified.
What is an overactive bladder?
An overactive bladder also referred to as OAB is the name given to a group of urinary symptoms. It is not a disease. The most common symptom associated with an overactive bladder is a sudden, uncontrolled need or urge to urinate. You may feel like you need to pass urine many times during the day and night, and may also experience unintentional loss of urine (urgency incontinence).
Many individuals living with an overactive bladder do not ask for help.
What causes an overactive bladder?
An overactive bladder is common and can affect people of all ages, including children and the elderly. About 12% of the total adult population suffer from OAB. Usually the cause is unknown. Anxiety can make the problem worse. The type of fluid you drink can also influence your symptoms. People with neurological disease are at particular risk of OAB.
What are some symptoms of an overactive bladder?
If you have an overactive bladder, you may:
• Feel a sudden urge to urinate that’s difficult to control
• Experience unintentional loss of urine immediately after an urgent need to urinate (urgency incontinence)
• Urinate frequently, usually eight or more times in 24 hours
• Wake up more than two times in the night to urinate (nocturia)
Even if you are able to get to the toilet in time when you sense an urge to urinate, unexpected frequent urination and nighttime urination can disrupt your life.
Urinary urgency and urgency incontinence – If your bladder squeezes (contracts) without any warning, it can give you an urgent need to pass urine that is ‘when you have to go, you have to go’. This gives you little or no time to get to the toilet. This is called urinary urgency. If the need to pass urine is so intense that you cannot hold on to it, it can lead to involuntary leakage of urine which is called urgency urinary incontinence.
Urinary frequency- If you have urinary urgency, this means that you need to pass urine often and more frequently than usual and in small volumes. The number of times people normally have to pass urine each day is very varied, but people with overactive bladders tend to pass urine more often than they would expect during the daytime.
Nocturia- Overactive bladder can also cause you to get up at night several times to pass urine. Sometimes disturbed nights can be the main problem.
Stress incontinence occurs when urine leaks while laughing, sneezing or doing physical activity. This is not a symptom of overactive bladder but if you have this you should see your doctor.
Diagnosis
After a detailed history and examination your doctor will arrange a number of tests. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, treatment might commence or you might be referred to a specialist doctor who has experience in treating individuals with overactive bladders.
Treatment
Most people with an overactive bladder do not tell their doctor, but those who do usually find relief. A combination of treatment strategies may be the best approach to relieve overactive bladder symptoms. These include: behavioural therapies, medications, bladder injections, nerve stimulation, percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS), and surgery. Your doctor will be able to discuss these various treatment options with you. Behavioural interventions are the first choice in helping manage an overactive bladder. They are often effective, and they carry no side effects.
Conclusion
Many individuals have symptoms of an overactive bladder and are too embarrassed even to mention them to their doctor. Living with overactive bladder can be difficult and can lead to isolation, avoidance of sports and limit your social life. If you have symptoms of an overactive bladder, please seek professional help as many of your symptoms can be corrected. Do not let your bladder control your life and rob you of your happiness.
Ask Your Dr is a health education column and is not a substitute for medical advice from your physician. The reader should consult his or her physician for specific information concerning specific medical conditions. While all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that all information presented is accurate, as research and development in the medical field are ongoing, it is possible that new findings may supersede some data presented.
Dr Brett Hodge MB BS DGO MRCOG is an obstetrician/Gynaecologist and Family Doctor with over thirty-eight years in clinical practice. Dr Brett Hodge has a medical practice in The Johnson Building in The Valley (Tel: 264 497 5828).
