health Matters
by Dr. Thomas K. Lo, Advanced Chiropractic & Nutritional Healing Center
Overactive bladder is a condition in which the bladder cannot hold urine normally. One of the most common symptoms of this problem is urinary incontinence or leaking urine.
It’s estimated that at least 30 percent of men and 40 percent of women in the U.S. have overactive bladder.
Sometimes, a person experiencing overactive bladder doesn’t have any underlying health problem. Other times, an overactive bladder can be the result of medications or other more serious health issues, such as diabetes, kidney disease, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson’s disease.
It can also occur after surgery or childbirth.
How much is too much when it comes to urination? People with overactive bladder typically must urinate more than 8 times per day or more than once at night.
With some time and effort, there are natural ways to overcome an overactive bladder.
What Is an Overactive Bladder?
Overactive bladder (OAB) is a syndrome, or a set of symptoms, that is believed to be due to sudden contractions of muscles in the wall of the bladder. When you have overactive bladder syndrome, the muscles controlling bladder function start acting involuntarily. This often leads to urinary incontinence or loss of bladder control.
The urine leakage experienced by someone with overactive bladder can be as little as several drops to up to several ounces. Sometimes, incontinence can be a sign of something simple like drinking too many caffeinated beverages daily. Other times, the underlying cause can be something more serious.
An overactive bladder is said to account for 40 to 70 percent of incontinence. When you have overactive bladder, you can experience urinary incontinence or loss of control over urination.
There are two different types of overactive bladder. “Dry” is when you have a sudden, urgent need to urinate many times during the day. “Wet” means you have the sudden, urgent need to urinate and you experience bladder leakage, which is also referred to as urge incontinence.
Both “dry” and “wet” can occur without any underlying health condition. An estimated 67 percent of overactive bladder patients have dry overactive bladder (no leakage) while others have wet overactive bladder (urine leakage).
Symptoms
Overactive bladder symptoms can differ on an individual case basis. Common symptoms of an overactive bladder include: an urgent need to urinate, urine leakage, and frequent trips to the bathroom.
These symptoms can be serious life disruptors during the waking and sleeping hours of a person’s life.
This urgent need to relieve oneself might even exist when fluid intake is low.
Causes
Overactive bladder occurs in both men and women. It’s possible to have overactive bladder at any point in your life. Here are the most common causes and risk factors.
1. Aging
OAB is especially common in older adults. The prevalence of overactive bladder in people younger than 50 years of age is less than 10 percent. But after the age of 75, it affects up to 40 percent of men and 30 percent of women.
2. Nerve Damage
A healthy, normal functioning bladder holds urine until it gets full and is prompted to empty by nerve signals. However, when nerve damage occurs in the body, the muscles surrounding the urethra (the tube that takes urine out of your bladder) can be too loose. This undesirable looseness can cause someone to become incontinent.
Some reasons for nerve damage include: back or pelvis surgery, diabetes, herniated disc, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, radiation, and stroke.
3. Weak Pelvic Muscles
When a man or woman’s pelvic floor muscles are weak, bladder control issues can happen. The pelvic floor muscles are like a sling that holds up the uterus and bladder. For women, a pregnancy and childbirth can often lead to a stretching and weakening of the vital pelvic floor muscles.
When pelvic floor muscles are compromised for this reason or another, the bladder can then sag out of place. The opening of the urethra also stretches, and urine easily leaks out.
4. Menopause
For women, the bladder often changes after the body goes through menopause and makes overactive bladder more likely.
One theory is that there is a loss of estrogen that makes up bladder tissue.
5. Extra Weight or Obesity
Carrying around extra pounds is linked to overactive bladder and urine leaks. This makes a lot of sense since excess weight puts more pressure on the bladder.
6. Diuretic Medications
Diuretics or water pills are very commonly prescribed for high blood pressure. These medications cause your body to get rid of water and salt faster through the urine. As a result, this can cause the bladder to fill up faster and possibly leak.
7. Other Causes
Other causes behind some overactive bladder symptoms include bladder stones, urinary tract infection (UTI), urethral strictures, benign prostatic enlargement (BPH), or bladder tumors. Often, no apparent cause of overactive bladder can be determined. This is called idiopathic overactive bladder.
Natural Remedies
1. Kegel Exercises
If a weak pelvic floor is at the root of your overactive bladder, then Kegel exercises can help a lot. These pelvic floor exercises can be done anywhere at any time and they benefit both men and women. When done regularly, they can really help an overactive bladder.
Most people are able to see results from Kegel exercises within four to eight weeks of regularly practicing them; although, for some people, it takes up to several months to see real improvement in pelvic strength.
2. Avoid Dietary Triggers
Try to significantly reduce the following foods and drinks that are known to contribute to overactive bladder:
Alcohol
Caffeinated beverages and foods
Citrus juices and fruits
Soda and other carbonated beverages
Spicy foods
Artificial sweeteners
Milk and milk products
Sugar and high-sugar foods
Cranberry juice is surprisingly another thing to avoid if you have overactive bladder.
3. Watch Fluid Intake
It’s essential to drink enough water each day to avoid dehydration. However, if you are drinking too many liquids right before bed, you are more likely to empty your bladder.
Many overactive bladder sufferers have nocturia, which is the need to urinate several times a night. This is obviously very disruptive to a good night’s sleep.
To reduce this risk of overactive bladder symptoms at night, it’s recommended to limit fluid intake before bedtime. One suggestion is to not drink any liquids after 5:00 or 6:00 p.m.
4. Double-Void
Another natural way to help with overactive bladder symptoms, especially at night, is to double-void. This means that you urinate not once, but twice before going to bed.
5. Schedule Bathroom Trips
To help retrain your bladder, you can try keeping a daily dairy of urinary urges and trips to the bathroom, as well as any urine leakage. After you figure out how many times you’re going to the bathroom daily, you can start scheduling your trips, adding on about 15 minutes to the normally expected time.
Even if you don’t have to go to the bathroom, stick with the scheduled times. As time passes, you can increase the amount of time that passes between urinations. This is meant to improve bladder control.
6. Delay Urination
Delaying urination is another part of a typical bladder retraining technique. It may not sound pleasant, but if you can hold out another few minutes after feeling the urge to urinate, you can help retrain your bladder. By gradually increasing the holding time, you can eventually go at least three to four hours without having to go to the bathroom.
At some point, if you find that you really just can’t hold it any longer, use the bathroom, but stick to your next scheduled urination time. Using relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, can help make the delay time more bearable.
7. Try Acupuncture
A study published in the British Journal of Urology demonstrates another natural treatment option for overactive bladder: acupuncture. The study’s 20 subjects received acupuncture treatment once per week for a total of 10 weeks. Each treatment session was 30 minutes long, with targeted acupuncture points.
The results of this study were excellent: 77 percent of patients were symptomatically cured.
8. Stop Smoking
The reasons to stop smoking cigarettes are basically endless. Here is another. Smoking not only irritates the bladder, but it also increases the risk of bladder cancer.
Smoking cigarettes can also lead to coughing spasms that increase problems with stress incontinence. Stress urinary incontinence occurs when the bladder leaks urine during physical activity or exertion, including coughing or lifting something heavy. Anyone who smokes and is dealing with overactive bladder should quit smoking right away.
Cloudy urine or blood in your urine is not a symptom of overactive bladder.
It is important to see a healthcare professional to ensure a proper diagnosis if you experience any changes in your urine and/or urination habits.
If you are struggling with health issues, call the Advanced Chiropractic & Nutritional Healing Center at 240-651-1650 for a free consultation. Dr. Lo uses Nutritional Response Testing® to analyze the body to determine the underlying causes of ill or non-optimum health. The office is located at 7310 Grove Road #107, Frederick, MD.
Check out the website at www.doctorlo.com.
