What Causes A Weak Bladder
Ever find yourself pondering – why is my bladder so weak?.
Or maybe youre wondering whether your seasonal allergies could be aggravating your weak bladder, where the worst thing about having to constantly sneeze and cough isnt the stuffy head or nose – its the urine leakage that occurs.
Bladder weakness is not something that any woman should have to live with and INNOVO are passionate about giving women back control over their lives by alleviating the symptoms of bladder weakness.
In this article well cover:
- Can seasonal allergies cause bladder weakness?
- What bladder weakness is
- What causes a weak bladder
- How you can help alleviate symptoms of bladder weakness
Reduce Your Fluid Intake
Drinking water is good for your body, and its important to stay hydrated, but overdoing fluid intake can lead to bladder urgency and leaks. The key to healthy fluid intake is maintaining a good balance. Try to drink water when thirsty, but not more of it than your body asks for. And keep an eye on the color of your urine. If its clear, you could probably cut back on fluid intake, but dark urine is a sign that you need more fluids.
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Drink Plenty Of Water
Drink 6 to 8 glasses of fluid a day unless your doctor advises you otherwise.
Many people with urinary incontinence avoid drinking fluids, as they feel it causes more problems. However, limiting your fluid intake makes incontinence worse, because it reduces your bladders capacity.
Not drinking enough fluid can also cause constipation or make it worse.
Find out which are the healthiest drinks.
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Amping Up Your Treatment: Medications And Surgery
When more conservative measures have failed, medications – then surgery – are the alternatives, says Galloway.
Medications: No drug helps with stress incontinence, but a class called anticholinergics does help with urge incontinence.
These drugs include Detrol, Oxytrol, Ditropan, and Sanctura — all with similar effectiveness and similar side effects, like dry mouth and constipation, says Galloway.
Medications like Enablexand Vesicare are more effective in controlling the bladder, but don’t cause constipation, he adds.
A transdermal patch called Oxytrol has also been effective, says Galloway, who adds that skin irritation at the patch site does occur in some patients.
Surgery: There are 300 surgical options to treat incontinence, says Brubaker.
“The hard part is picking the surgery that has the best chance of working well for that woman long-term,” he says. “Surgery can create problems. It can cause difficulty in urinating, worsen an urge incontinence problem, or it can do nothing to solve the problem.”
“It helps the urethral sphincter remain closed when abdominal pressure tries to open it. At least, we think that’s how it works,” he says. “We have only five-year outcomes on one group of these devices. But they look promising.”
“Before having any surgery, ask your doctor for names of other patients who have had the procedure in question,” says Galloway.
“Talk to them, find out how it worked. You’ll be in a much better position to decide what to do.”
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Other Types Of Urinary Incontinence
- Overflow incontinence This occurs when a person is unable to empty their bladder completely and it overflows as new urine is produced. Its often found in people with diabetes or spinal cord injuries.
- Mixed incontinence You show evidence of more than one type.
- Functional incontinence This type of incontinence has less to do with a bladder disorder and more to do with the logistics of getting to a bathroom in time. Its usually found in elderly or disabled people who have normal or near normal bladder control but cannot get to the toilet in time because of mobility limitations or confusion.
- Nocturia The need to urinate twice or more during the night, usually affecting men and women over the age of 60. In men, nocturia can be a symptom of an enlarged prostate.
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What Are The Main Pelvic Floor Muscles
Your pelvic floor consists of layers of muscles and connective tissues connecting those muscles . Two main muscles intertwine to form your pelvic floor muscles:
- Levatorani. The levator ani composes the bulk of your pelvic floor muscles and consists of three separate muscle components: pubococcygeus, puborectalis and iliococcygeus. The levator ani wraps around the entirety of your pelvis.
- Coccygeus. The coccygeus is the smaller muscle component in your pelvic floor muscles. It’s located toward the back of your pelvis.
How Should I Use This Medication
Take this medication by mouth with a glass of water. Follow the directions on the prescription label. You can take this medication with or without food. Take your medication at regular intervals. Do not take your medication more often than directed.
Talk to your care team about the use of this medication in children. Special care may be needed. While this medication may be prescribed for children as young as 5 years for selected conditions, precautions do apply.
Overdosage: If you think you have taken too much of this medicine contact a poison control center or emergency room at once.
NOTE: This medicine is only for you. Do not share this medicine with others.
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Why Am I Leaking Urine All Of A Sudden What Causes Female Urinary Incontinence Can Uti Cause Urine Leakage
Sudden onset of incontinence, or urine leakage, should always warrant a trip to the doctor. There are several different causes of urine leakage and itâs important to identify prior to any treatment being initiated. The more common types of incontinence in women are stress urinary incontinence and urgency urinary incontinence.
Stress urinary incontinence is caused by a weakness in the sphincter muscle of the urethra , a highly mobile urethra, or both. A highly mobile urethra is seen when the pelvic floor tissues are weak and relaxed. Women will experience leakage of urine with activity, such as coughing, laughing, sneezing, and exercising. The most common risk factor for stress urinary incontinence is having a history of a vaginal childbirth, but it can occur in anyone due to other factors such as muscle strength and activity level. For example, women who do very heavy weightlifting may experience stress urinary incontinence while lifting heavy weights, but if they never did such activities, they might not experience incontinence.
Many people have mixed incontinence, with symptoms of both stress urinary incontinence and urgency urinary incontinence causing urine leakage. In this situation the urologist would typically address the type of incontinence that is most impacting your quality of life first, as the treatments are quite different.
Should I Limit My Fluid Intake
It may sound like drinking less fluid would help with OAB, but this isnt the case. In fact, not drinking enough liquids leads to concentrated urine and may irritate the bladder.
Its also important for your health to drink plenty of fluids daily to keep from becoming dehydrated. A light yellow urine color is an indicator that youre drinking enough.
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When To Seek Urgent Medical Care
On its own, a weak urine stream may not be cause for concern, but if its accompanied by other symptoms, it could be an indication of a more serious medical issue. Urinary hesitancy could be an issue if you also experience:
- Chills and/or fever
- Lower back pain
If your urine stream stops entirely, a condition called urinary retention, youll need emergency medical attention, since this can become a serious problem without immediate treatment.
Treatments For Urgency Incontinence
Urgency incontinence is when you get the urge to go, and if you dont make it to a bathroom, your bladder will empty. It can have serious effects on your life and your work.
Experts dont know what causes urgency incontinence, but there are different ways to approach it. First we start with behavioral changes, which vary based on your situation. Steps could include:
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Weight loss again, losing even a small amount of weight can help.
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Avoiding excess fluids. If youre having trouble sleeping, we talk about limiting fluids before bedtime so sleep is less interrupted.
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Time voiding, which is retraining the bladder. If the patient is in the bathroom every hour, well slowly lengthen that interval so theyre in the bathroom less often.
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Pelvic floor exercises, with help from a physical therapist.
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Changing your diet. I review a list of bladder irritants: coffee, chocolate, alcohol, spicy foods, and other things. We have patients skip those foods and drinks for a week or two and see what their urgency or frequency is like.
If behavioral changes dont help, there are other options to explore. We can try certain medications that relax your bladder muscles and prevent leakage. Botox, injected into the muscles of the bladder, can help some patients temporarily. And there are several medications we can try, including anticholinergics, which block the impulse to urinate. This can help you get more sleep at night.
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How Does The Urinary System Work
The urinary system consists of the kidneys, ureters, the bladder and urethra. The kidneys filter the blood to remove waste products and produce urine. The urine flows from the kidneys down through the ureters to the bladder. A ring of muscle squeezes shut to keep urine in the bladder and relaxes when we need to wee. The urine passes through another tube called the urethra to the outside when urinating .
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Bladder Leaks In Bed Or Public
Here comes the science bit: Alcohol suppresses the antidiuretic hormone . The role of ADH is to stop the kidneys from making too much urine, this then stops you from dehydrating. But when you drink alcohol, it suppresses the amount of ADH made, so your body makes more urine than it should .
So after a drinking session, your bladder fills up quicker than normal and if not emptied, will continue to balloon. If youre asleep and dont realise that you need the toilet, your body still has to release the pressure building up and youll wee while youre sleeping.
Alcohol can also relax the bladder muscles. When youre awake, this can leave you rushing to the toilet or wetting yourself.
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Drink The Right Fluids At The Right Time
Women who experience any type of incontinence should avoid tea, coffee, soda, alcohol, or citrusy or caffeinated beverages.
Whats the best fluid to drink? Water! Dr. Crisp laughs. She also reminds women to stay hydrated whether they have incontinence or not. Most women know that theyre going to leak if their bladder is full so they either intentionally or unintentionally dont drink as much as they should, but thats not good for your body.
It is also important to avoid drinking anything for about three hours before you go to bed.
From Leaking Urine To Sudden Urges To Go: An Ob
You dont have to suffer in silence there are many treatment options available.
Whether its a few drops of leaking urine or a complete emptying of the bladder, incontinence is a bladder control issue that women are twice as likely to have as men. And by the time a womanhas made an appointment to talk about what shes dealing with, she has had enough.
Incontinence can be embarrassing, super annoying, and costly. But you dont have to suffer in silence there are many treatment options available.
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Bladder Leaks Are Common
Defined as any involuntary loss of urine, urinary incontinence can be embarrassing, but its extremely common, says Brian Norouzi, MD, a urologist with Providence St. Joseph Hospital.
Its twice as common in women than men, and increases with age, although it can affect anyone, says Norouzi.
Likely you dont know it but your friends and relatives have had to deal with one form or another, he says.
Working with a doctor to identify the type of incontinence you have can help inform treatment, says Eilber.
Solutions For A Leaky Bladder
Research has found that at least half of people with urinary incontinence dont discuss the condition with a health care provider. But theres no need to feel embarrassed. If you have a leaky bladder, youre definitely not alone. Bladder leakage, or urinary incontinence, affects women and men of all ages, though it becomes more common later in life.
And its definitely worth discussing, because of the many ways it can interfere with enjoying daily lifefrom exercise and travel to social outings and romance, says E. James Wright, M.D., director of urology at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.
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Urinary Leakage And Pregnancy
Many women experience urinary incontinence during pregnancy because the weight of a growing fetus puts additional pressure on the bladder.
Right after delivery is usually the worst that it will be, and it should improve up to six weeks after delivery, Dr. Crisp says. What doesnt get better after that isnt going to improve without some additional help physical therapy, medication or surgery.
Leakage caused by pregnancy is a type of pelvic floor disorder, which occurs when the muscles that control urination become weak or damaged. Pelvic floor disorders usually affect about 1 in 3 women, she points out.
Women who have a cesarean section are less likely to have prolapse until they reach menopause. Once a patient is menopausal, there is no difference in the rates of prolapse whether the patient had a C-section or a vaginal delivery. However, she reminds patients to not make a decision for a vaginal delivery versus a C-section based on this probability. Whats more important to you should be: Whats the best thing for my baby?
Drinking The Wrong Things At The Wrong Time
Staying hydrated is important for good overall health and wellbeing. But the more you drink, the more urine your body produces. If you have urinary incontinence, this will mean that you leak more urine.
Its therefore best to avoid or limit drinks that contain caffeine, as these have a greater diuretic effect. Caffeinated drinks include tea and coffee as well as cola and energy drinks.
Alcoholic beverages also have a diuretic effect, so try to limit your alcohol intake.
But avoiding too many fluids can also make your symptoms worse. Being dehydrated leads to dark, concentrated urine which can irritate the walls of the bladder, causing them to contract more often, and leak more urine.
Every person is unique, so try to balance your need to stay hydrated with how much fluid can make your urinary incontinence worse.
If urinary incontinence is a problem for you at night, its also best to avoid drinking too many fluids in the evening, and to avoid them completely just before bed.
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What Is Hypertonicity Of The Bladder
Symptom of an overactive detrusor muscle of the urine bladder, which contracts with unusual frequency and urgency. An overactive bladder is characterized by frequent urges to pee throughout the day, at night, or both. These episodes may be so strong that people can’t wait until morning. The condition also can cause pain when you try to stop the flow of urine or delay its release.
Hypertonicity of the bladder means excessive contraction of the muscles inside the bladder. This often occurs when the brain fails to send proper signals to the bladder causing it to contract inappropriately. This can happen because of disease or trauma to the brain. For example, a stroke or head injury can cause hypertonicity if it affects the nervous system pathways that control the bladder.
Stroke is the leading cause of disability in adults younger than 65 years old. It is estimated that up to half of all strokes are due to problems with the circulation of blood to the brain. Symptoms of stroke include loss of strength or coordination on one side of the body, confusion, inability to see properly, and sudden blindness. If you experience any of these symptoms, call 911 immediately. Stroke victims who receive treatment within three hours of symptom onset have a better chance of recovering fully.
Trauma to the brain also can cause it to produce too much dopamine, a neurotransmitter that controls movement and coordination.
Make You Go More Often
Beer, wine, and spirits are bladder stimulants, which means the more you drink, the more youll find yourself on the loo. The urge to visit the loo happens because the detrusor muscles are contracting too much. If you’re diagnosed with having an overactive bladder, alcohol can make your bladder leaks worse .
Needing a wee can be frustrating on a night out or whilst travelling as taking regular trips to the toilet, or waiting in the queue when you’re bursting for a wee, can be a nightmare. If you have a physical impairment too, this may make it difficult for you to reach the toilet in time.
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Control Your Weak Bladder With Innovo
Kegel exercises are the first-line treatment your doctor will recommend to stop your bladder leaks. Knowing that you can take immediate action is empowering, but doing Kegels can be boring, time-consuming, and tricky to get right. Thats where INNOVO can help.
INNOVO is a pair of shorts that you wear for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, whilst relaxing . INNOVO does 180 perfect pelvic floor exercises for you, taking the guesswork out of those Kegels. Find out how INNOVO works and how it can treat your bladder leaksCheers to that!