Common Symptoms and Treatments of Overactive Bladder
An overactive bladder causes frequent and sudden urges to pass urine. It may also make it difficult for you to control your urine flow and may result in involuntary urination, which is also known as incontinence. Overactive bladders are common in the country, with about 33 million people affected by them. If you think you have an overactive bladder, information about the symptoms and treatments for overactive bladder may help you deal with it.
Symptoms of overactive bladder
Here are some of the common symptoms that you may experience if you have an overactive bladder:
- Sudden and frequent urges to pass urine
- Inability to control urges of urination
- Involuntarily passing urine because of inability to control the impulse or urgency incontinence
- Frequent urination at night so that you have to wake up more than twice to urinate, or nocturia
- Urine leakage
- A feeling of a full bladder even after urinating
Treatments for overactive bladder
Here are some of the common treatments that may help you deal with an overactive bladder:
- Medications
Medications are a common treatment for overactive bladders. People are often recommended medicines that help relax the bladder, such as Tolterodine, Mirabegron, Oxybutynin, Fesoterodine, Darifenacin, and Solifenacin. These medicines help in managing episodes of incontinence. For women, other forms of medication include vaginal estrogen therapy, which helps in strengthening the muscles in the urethra after menopause. - Bladder training
Bladder training is an important part of the treatment for overactive bladders. People with overactive bladders, the bladder often begins to contract before it is full, which leads to an urge to urinate frequently. In this method, under the supervision of a doctor, a person tries to control his urge to urinate for short periods until they can resist the urge to pass urine for more than an hour. Bladder training helps a person train his bladder to retain more fluids so that they do not need to urinate often. It is a time-consuming yet effective method of treatment that requires a lot of patience. - Surgery
Surgery is considered as a viable treatment for overactive bladders when repairing the urinary system may help in managing the symptoms. Some surgical procedures that are performed to treat overactive bladders include colposuspension, vaginal mesh surgery, sling surgery, botox, and inserting a catheter. Surgical treatments are always treated as a last resort, depending on the cause and the severity of the symptoms.
Overactive bladders are common in older people, but should not be treated as a part of aging. It is a condition that can be easily removed through systematic treatment. Thus, if you think you have an overactive bladder, you should consult your physician to know more about the symptoms and treatments for overactive bladder.