What Is Overactive Bladder Syndrome
Overactive bladder syndrome means that the bladder, which is a bag made of muscle, squeezes suddenly without you having control and when the bladder is not full. OAB syndrome is a common condition where no cause can be found for the repeated and uncontrolled bladder contractions.
Overactive bladder syndrome is more common in women than in men, so is included in our women’s health information. However, this problem can affect men as well as women.
OAB syndrome is sometimes called detrusor instability or overactivity or an irritable bladder.
Get Rid Of Overactive Bladder Syndrome
An overactive bladder means that your bladder has issues storing urine.
It can lead to issues such as needing to go to the bathroom more than usual or being unable to hold back your urine until you reach a toilet.
Needing to urinate several times through the night can also be an indication of an overactive bladder.
These symptoms can make it difficult for you to carry out your daily life, especially when it comes to commutes, working away from home and also affecting the quality of your sleep.
Overactive bladder syndrome can be caused by many different things such as medical conditions or weak pelvic muscles.
It can often be difficult to determine the cause, but an overactive bladder is treatable.
In this article, were going to talk about some of the ways to get relief from an overactive bladder.
Problem: Urinary Tract Infection
Your urinary tract includes your bladder, kidneys, the tubes that connect them , and the tube that leads pee outside your body . Bacteria can get in through your urethra and infect your urinary tract. This can make your bladder inflamed and swollen, and it can hurt to pee. If you donât have any other health problems, antibiotics usually can clear up a UTI in a few days.
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What Can I Take Over
The drug oxybutynin may be used to treat OAB. It is available over-the-counter in patch form, which delivers 3.9 mg of oxybutynin daily through your skin. However, the over-the-counter patch is only available to women. Men may take oxybutynin in patch or oral form, but they need a prescription for it.
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What You Can Do: Clean Carefully
After you poop, be sure to wipe from front to back so bacteria doesnât get near your genitals. When you wash, be gentle and donât use harsh soaps that can damage the sensitive skin in the area and let bacteria in. And a shower can be better than a bath. Sitting in bathwater can let bacteria and other irritants get inside your urinary tract.
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How To Treat An Overactive Bladder
Whether you call it an overactive bladderfrequent and sudden urination or leaking urineor not, you are not the only person experiencing this issue. Actually, overactive bladders are very common. Women around the age of menopause are most likely to experience symptoms of an overactive bladder. Still, although overactive bladders are significantly more common in older women, 18 percent of those aged 2024 and 10 percent of those aged 1519 experience symptoms as well.
Botox For An Overactive Bladder
Although not commonly used, Botox is a handy muscle relaxer for a variety of conditions, including an overactive bladder. The compound is injected right into the bladder, and patients can experience fewer uncomfortable contractions and increased bladder capacity for up to a year after the injection has taken place.
However, Botox isnt without its dangers. Some patients find that after the procedure they retain urine too much, and experience pain and complications . For these reasons, Botox for overactive bladder treatment is only considered for certain people.
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What You Can Do: Drink Plenty Of Liquids
It helps clear out harmful things like bacteria and may help prevent bladder cancer by flushing out certain chemicals. And if you don’t drink enough, your urine will have less water in it, and that can irritate your bladder. But not all liquids are the same — caffeine and alcohol can irritate your bladder. Water is always your best bet. Talk to your doctor about how much you should drink each day.
How To Treat Overactive Bladder Syndrome
How to treat overactive bladder syndrome? Medications that relax the bladder can be helpful for relieving symptoms of overactive bladder and reducing episodes of urge incontinence. These drugs include: Tolterodine Oxybutynin, which can be taken as a pill or used as a skin patch or gel
Can an overactive bladder be cured? Theres no cure for OAB, but the good news is that there are effective ways to manage it. These include behavioral treatments, lifestyle changes, medications, and sometimes surgery. OAB can happen for several reasons. Sometimes treating the underlying cause of your OAB can help your symptoms.
How do I get rid of overactive bladder fast? Overactive bladder describes a combination of symptoms that can include a frequent urge to urinate and waking up at night to urinate. Causes can include weak muscles, nerve damage, use of medications, alcohol or caffeine, infection, and being overweight. Lifestyle changes may help.
What is the main cause of overactive bladder? Urgency is the key symptom in diagnosing OAB and it is closely associated with frequent daytime desire to urinate, nocturia, and incontinence. Nocturia is reported as the most bothersome symptom .
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Attain Solves Overactive Bladder
Attain offers the optimum, all-natural solution for OAB by focusing on calming the detrusor muscle to prevent overactive bladder. It is an FDA approved, over the counter, comfortable, at-home device that allows you to gain control of overactive bladder without medications or surgery.
And for a limited time, Attain can be purchased at an exceptionally low price with guaranteed results. We are proud to offer Attain, for as low as $33 a month.Attain can also be acquired at little or no cost through Medicare.The value of everything you receive with Attain is remarkable. Call 262-373-0422 now to order. Our team of female nurses are here to answer any question you might have.
Stop suffering and act now. Find out more about the benefits of Attain from InControl Medical and begin to enjoy your leak-free life.
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Helpful During Bcg Treatments
This stuff is amazing! Also, it doesnt dry me out like Oxybutynin. In my case, my spasms get worse the day of BCG and the day after, so that is when I use my Oxybutynin, but the rest of the time I use AZO. It helps me so much more.
My experience with AZO has strictly been used during my BCG treatments, but AZO can help tremendously if you are getting a Urinary Tract Infection and can help with the pain. AZO is NOT a replacement for antibiotics to rid yourself of the infection. It is just another tool we can keep in our arsenal while we fight this beast we call cancer.
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What Is Overactive Bladder
Overactive bladder syndrome is characterized by the occurrence of urinary urgency which is a sudden compelling desire to urinate that is difficult to postpone. It is usually accompanied by frequent urination and nocturia . It is also commonly accompanied by urgency incontinence, where urine is accidently lost with urgency. This commonly manifests as the inability to get to the bathroom on time once urgency starts. OAB is quite common and affects about 11-16% of adults to varying degrees. Although it is common, that does not mean that a person who is affected by OAB should simply live with the condition, as many do. For some OAB can have a profound effect on quality of life causing disruptions at work, curtailing of social activities, reduction of sexual intimacy, and interfere with sleep. However, it is important to know that there are effective treatments for the symptoms of OAB.
There are other conditions such as urinary tract infections , polyps or tumors in the bladder, and excessive drinking of fluids that can cause similar symptoms and these conditions should be ruled out by your health care provider before embarking on OAB treatment.
Make Regular And Controlled Visits
Double void is another approach to dealing with OAB. This technique involves relieving yourself and then, a few minutes later, going again. This deliberate approach to bathroom visits helps you to make sure that after passing urine a second time, your bladder is mostly or completely empty. The main benefit of this approach is that you can avoid having to return to the bathroom just a few minutes after your initial visit, which is both a nuisance and sometimes embarassing.
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What Are The Specific Symptoms Of Overactive Bladder
Overactive bladder represents a collection of symptoms that can include:
- Urinary urgency: This is a failure to be able to postpone the need to urinate. When you feel you need to urinate, you have a limited amount of time to get to a bathroom.
- Frequency of urination: People who experience this symptom need to urinate very often. Typically its an increase in the number of times you urinate compared to what you previously experienced.
- Urge incontinence: In this case, there can be a leakage of urine when you get the urge to urinate.
- Nocturia: This symptom is characterized by the need to get up and urinate at least two times each night.
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What Causes Bladder Spasms
There are a number of different causes of bladder spasms. The cramping pain could be due to something as simple as your diet or a medication that you are taking, or it could be associated with changes in blood supply and function of the nerves controlling the bladder.
However, bladder spasms may be the result of an infection or a recent surgery, or they may occur if you have nerve or muscle damage. So its important to see a doctor to determine the cause.
In some cases, your doctor may not be able to identify the cause. When this happens, the condition is called idiopathic bladder spasms.
Some common causes of bladder spasms are:
- Urinary tract infection : Bladder pain and burning are a common symptom of a UTI.
- Interstitial cystitis , also called painful bladder syndrome: This condition refers to bladder and urinary pain that is not due to other causes, such as a urinary tract infection. Pain is recurring and often severe.
- Catheter use: A catheter is a thin tube used to drain urine from the body, often after surgery. It is placed into the urethra and up into your bladder. Bladder spasms are a common and sometimes distressing complication of catheter usage.
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What Can I Drink For Overactive Bladder
The evidence suggesting that people with OAB should avoid caffeine is varied and mainly anecdotal. However, some people may find it helpful to avoid or limit caffeinated drinks and opt for water, diluted juice, and herbal teas instead. This may improve symptoms of urgency and frequency but not incontinence.
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Losing Weight May Help To Improve Your Bladder Control
Excess weight puts extra stress on your pelvic floor muscles and contributes to an overactive bladder and loss of bladder control. If you can lose even a small amount of weight, it will help with bladder control.
The best weight loss plans are always those that set realistic goals combined with healthy eating habits and physical activity. Fad diets, although often successful short-term, rarely achieve sustainable weight loss, because once you tire of the diet, you often revert to ingrained unhealthy eating habits.
Check out our Obesity and Weight Loss guide for more information.
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So Can I Drink With Overactive Bladder
I would not recommend it. I suggest not drinking alcohol, especially if an underlying health problem is present or if medications to manage overactive bladder are being used. Talk with your health care provider to see what he or she recommends if you have questions.
In my opinion, the benefits of drinking are outweighed by the risks for most people who have an overactive bladder.
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How Cranberry Juice Helps With Utis
UTIs happen when bacteria find their way into your urinary tract . The most common culprit is the bacteria E. coli.
E. coli normally lives in your intestines, but sometimes it can spread to your urethra. When this happens, E. coli bacteria stick to the lining of your urethra using a protein called adhesin. They can then spread to your bladder and kidneys if left untreated.
Cranberries can prevent this from happening as they contain a group of compounds called proanthocyanins. These chemicals have antibacterial properties and are designed to protect the cranberry plant from microbes as it grows. These chemicals can help to prevent UTIs by stopping bacteria from sticking to the urethra and spreading.
Numerous studies have confirmed the antibacterial properties of cranberries. However, in order to be effective, a fairly high dose is needed. This can cause problems for some people including stomach upsets, headaches, and increased blood sugar.
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Altering The Bladder With Bladder Augmentation Surgery
When all other approaches to strengthen and retrain the bladder have failed, you may need to alter the bladder itself. This surgery is typically used as a last resort and in only the most severe cases of an overactive bladder.
Bladder augmentation involves enlarging the bladder with a section of your large intestine, so theres more physical space to store urine in and less pressure to urinate frequently. The surgery is the most invasive and complicated procedure for solving overactive bladder problems, and includes a long recovery time and possible lasting consequences. Once you have bladder augmentation surgery, you will cease to be able to urinate naturally you will have to use a catheter or stoma.
The good news is that many, if not most cases of an overactive bladder can be very well controlled with healthy lifestyle changes, and natural and traditional medical treatments. Its important to remember that not all of the listed treatment options may work for everyone.
Remember to discuss the above overactive bladder treatment options with your doctor before beginning them.
Go To The Toilet Only When You Need To
Some people get into the habit of going to the toilet more often than they need. They may go when their bladder only has a small amount of urine so as “not to be caught short”. This again may sound sensible, as some people think that symptoms of an overactive bladder will not develop if the bladder does not fill very much and is emptied regularly. However, again, this can make symptoms worse in the long run. If you go to the toilet too often the bladder becomes used to holding less urine. The bladder may then become even more sensitive and overactive at times when it is stretched a little. So, you may find that when you need to hold on a bit longer , symptoms are worse than ever.
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Foods To Eat And Avoid With Overactive Bladder
Overactive bladder diet is something that people who suffer from sensory urgency can benefit from. Those with sensory urgency find that certain foods trigger their overactive bladder. While an OAB diet is different for each person, we do have a general sense of foods that irritate the bladder. For instance, case studies show that tomato-based foods, spicy foods, certain fruits, and caffeinated food items tend to irritate the bladder. Artificial sweeteners can also have a negative impact on the bladder. At the same time, food items such as lean meats that are lightly seasoned and fresh vegetables appear to help calm the bladder.
Heres a list of more specific foods that seem to trigger OAB symptoms:
- Citrus fruits, such as grapefruit and oranges
- Chocolate, in bars, cookies, and other desserts
- Tomatoes or tomato sauce
- Chilies, wasabi, or any hot sauce
- Aspartame, saccharin, and other artificial sweeteners
- Potato chips, salted nuts, and other salty foods
Low citrus fruits, such as pears, apples, and bananas, are good for those who suffer from OAB. So are foods with fiber. While raw onions bother a lot of people with bladder issues, some say that cooked onions are a food they can eat without experiencing any symptoms. Brown rice, beans, carrots, peas, and nuts have are also good food choices for people who have overactive bladder.
What Are The Causes Of Overactive Bladder
In many cases, the cause of OAB is not easily identifiable. OAB symptoms are more common as one gets older, but should not be considered an untreatable consequence of aging. Also, OAB can occur in young women as well. Some women will experience OAB after childbirth or pelvic surgery. Certain neurological conditions can cause OAB symptoms including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and spinal cord injury.
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