Overactive bladder
Find out why Mayo Clinic is the right place for your health care. Make an appointment..
Find a directory of doctors and departments at all Mayo Clinic campuses. Visit now..
See how Mayo Clinic research and clinical trials advance the science of medicine and improve patient care. Explore now..
Educators at Mayo Clinic train tomorrow’s leaders to deliver compassionate, high-value, safe patient care. Choose a degree..
Explore Mayo Clinic’s many resources and see jobs available for medical professionals. Get updates..
Your support accelerates powerful innovations in patient care, research and education. Give today..
Overactive bladder causes a sudden urge to urinate. The urge may be difficult to stop, and overactive bladder may lead to the involuntary loss of urine (urge incontinence).
If you have an overactive bladder, you may feel embarrassed, isolate yourself, or limit your work and social life. The good news is that a brief evaluation can determine whether there’s a specific cause for your overactive bladder symptoms.
Management of overactive bladder often begins with behavioral strategies, such as fluid schedules, timed voiding and bladder-holding techniques using your pelvic floor. If these initial efforts don’t help enough with your overactive bladder symptoms, medications are available.
Overactive bladder care at Mayo Clinic
With an overactive bladder, you may:
Although you may be 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.
Although it’s not uncommon among older adults, overactive bladder isn’t a normal part of aging. If your symptoms distress you or disrupt your life, talk to your doctor. Treatments are available that might help you.
Discussing such a private matter with your doctor might not be easy, but it’s worthwhile to take that risk — especially if your symptoms disrupt your work schedule, social interactions and everyday activities.
Your urinary system — which includes the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra — is responsible for removing waste from your body through urine. Your kidneys, located toward the back in your upper abdomen, produce urine by filtering waste and fluid from your blood. That urine then travels through your ureters to your bladder, where the urine is stored until you can eliminate it at an appropriate time.
Your urinary system — which includes the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra — is responsible for removing waste from your body through urine. Your kidneys, located toward the back in your upper abdomen, produce urine by filtering waste and fluid from your blood. That urine then travels through your ureters to your bladder, where the urine is stored until you can eliminate it at an appropriate time.
The kidneys produce urine, which drains into your bladder. When you urinate, urine passes from your bladder through an opening at the bottom and flows out a tube called the urethra (u-REE-thruh).
In women, the urethral opening is located just above the vagina. In men, the urethral opening is at the tip of the penis.
As your bladder fills, nerve signals sent to your brain eventually trigger the need to urinate. When you urinate, nerve signals coordinate the relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles and the muscles of the urethra (urinary sphincter muscles). The muscles of the bladder tighten (contract), pushing the urine out.
Overactive bladder occurs because the muscles of the bladder start to contract involuntarily even when the volume of urine in your bladder is low. This involuntary contraction creates the urgent need to urinate.
Several conditions may contribute to signs and symptoms of overactive bladder, including:
The specific cause of an overactive bladder may be unknown.
As you age, you’re at increased risk of developing overactive bladder. You’re also at higher risk of diseases and disorders, such as enlarged prostate and diabetes, which can contribute to other problems with bladder function.
Many people with cognitive decline — for instance, after a stroke or with Alzheimer’s disease — develop an overactive bladder. Incontinence that results from situations like this can be managed with fluid schedules, timed and prompted voiding, absorbent garments, and bowel programs.
Some people with an overactive bladder also have bowel control problems; tell your doctor if this is a problem for you.
Any type of incontinence can affect your overall quality of life. If your overactive bladder symptoms cause a major disruption to your life, you might also have:
Your doctor might recommend treatment of associated conditions, to see if effective treatment of an associated condition will help with your urinary symptoms.
Some women also may have a disorder called mixed incontinence, when both urge and stress incontinence occur. Stress incontinence is the loss of urine when you exert physical stress or pressure on your bladder, such as during activities that include running or jumping. Treatment of the stress incontinence is not likely to help the overactive bladder symptoms.
Older people may have a common combination of bladder storage problems and bladder-emptying issues. The bladder may cause a lot of urgency and even incontinence, but it doesn’t empty well. A specialist may be able to help you with this combination of bladder problems.
These healthy lifestyle choices may reduce your risk of overactive bladder:
Overactive bladder care at Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.
Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic.
Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below.
A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. “Mayo,” “Mayo Clinic,” “MayoClinic.org,” “Mayo Clinic Healthy Living,” and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
verify here.
Overactive bladder
Research & References of Overactive bladder|A&C Accounting And Tax Services
Source
0 Comments