Imagine this: You are at your job and you have an important meeting in another 5 minutes. But you feel the need to go to the bathroom. You take a trip to the bathroom but within another 5 minutes, you have the urge to go again. Can you relate to this situation? Have you also felt the best urology hospital in Gurgaon need to urinate as frequently? If yes, you may have an overactive bladder.
In this article, Dr Shalabh Agrawal, a leading urologist at the CK Birla Hospital, the best urology hospital in Gurgaon, helps us understand what is meant by overactive bladder, what causes it and how to treat it?
Before we begin to understand the details of this ailment, it is important that we know well about the fundamentals of an overactive bladder.
What is an overactive bladder?
An overactive bladder (OAB) is a medical condition that causes an increased frequency and urgency to urinate. As its name suggests, in this ailment, you often feel that you have a bladder that is overactive and that you do not have full control over.
Sometimes an overactive bladder can also lead to embarrassing situations in which you lose control over your bladder, leading to unintentional leaking of urine.
An overactive bladder is characterised by the following signs and symptoms:
- Sudden urge to urinate
- Difficulty in holding or controlling urine in the bladder
- Need to urinate more than 8-10 times a day
- Waking up to urinate in the middle of the night
What causes an overactive bladder?
Understanding urine function
Urine is produced inside your kidneys. It gets collected in the bladder and drains down out of urethra ( a thin tube that passes from your bladder). Urethra opening is located at the tip of gential (vagina for women and tip of penis for men). There is a muscle in the urthera called the sphincter that opens up when there is a need to release urine.
When your bladder filles, your brain receives nerve signals to open the urethra and urinate. During urination, these nerve signals coordinate the muscles of the pelvic floor and urethra.
When a person suffers from overactive bladder, the muscles of their pelvic floor and urthera act involuntarily. That is, they begin to contract even when the bladder is not filled.
Primarily, the loss of voluntary action on bladder or pelvic floor muscles is what leads to overactive bladder. However, this loss of muscle or nerve control can be a result of various underlying physical, medical or psychological conditions. These include:
- Neurological disorders such as stroke
- Diabetes
- Urinary tract infections
- Menopausal changes
- Bladder stones
- Tumour in the bladder
- Enlarged prostate
- Constipation
- Side-effect of certain medications
- Excessive caffeine or alcohol intake
- Aging
- Difficulty in emptying bladder completely
How is overactive bladder treated?
Urinary problems have overlapping symptoms. It is important to get yourself checked from a verified doctor to get a proper and timely diagnosis. You can visit the CK Birla Hospital, the best urology hospital in Gurgaon to get a diagnosis of overactive bladder.
Your urologist will examine you properly, take your medical history, run an analysis of your urine sample and do physical exams to determine the strength of your pelvic floor to diagnose your condition properly. They may also order certain test if they suspect the need for it.
Overactive bladder can be effectively treated with the help of behavioral therapies and lifestyle moderations. Here are some steps you can take, under your doctor’s guidance, to treat your overactive bladder:
- Do pelvic floor strengthening exercises
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Keep a track of your toilet trips
- Bladder training
You should also monitor your fluid intake and seek medical intervetion to relieve symptoms. Book an appointment with Dr Shalabh Agrawal at the CK Birla Hospital, the best urology hospital in Gurgaon, to know more.