Symptoms and causes

Overactive Bladder

Symptoms of Overactive Bladder

The main symptoms of overactive bladder are:

• Sudden urge to urinate and strong need to urinate immediately.
• Frequent urination, usually eight or more times a day or more than two at night (nocturia).
• Urinary leakage associated with urgency.
• Reduction in the amount of urine.

These symptoms can affect the quality of life of the person, sometimes even triggering:

• Emotional suffering.
• Anxiety.
• Sleep disturbances or interruption of sleep cycles.
• Problems with sexuality.
• It affects social and work life.

On the other hand, if you experience an involuntary loss of urine immediately after an urgent need to urinate we are talking about urge incontinence.

IMPORTANT: There are several conditions that may present symptoms similar to those of overactive bladder, such as urinary tract infections or prostate disease or bladder tumors, among others. Therefore, it is important to rule out any other disease before correctly diagnosing overactive bladder.

Causes of Overactive Bladder

When the bladder fills, nerve signals are sent to the brain that trigger the need to urinate. When urinating, these signals coordinate the relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles: the bladder muscles contract to expel urine and the sphincter (urethral muscle) opens so that urine can flow out. This micturition desire in humans is triggered when we are socially able to urinate. Therefore, we can hold our urine.

Overactive bladder, from a urodynamic point of view, occurs when the bladder (detrusor) muscles begin to contract involuntarily even though the volume of urine stored in the bladder is low. These involuntary contractions create an urgent need to urinate.

The cause of overactive bladder is not always known, but there are multiple factors that may contribute to compatible symptoms:

• High fluid, caffeine or alcohol intake
• Neurological disorders such as spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease or stroke.
• Urinary tract infection.
• Obstruction in the urethra due to prostate enlargement, constipation or previous operations.
• Abnormalities in the bladder, such as tumors or calculi
• Diabetes
• Hormonal changes during menopause in women
• Medications that cause a rapid increase in urine production or that must be taken with plenty of fluids
• Impaired cognitive function due to aging, which may prevent the bladder from correctly interpreting signals sent by the brain.
• Incomplete emptying of the bladder, which may cause symptoms of overactive bladder as there is little space left to store urine.