What is Overactive Bladder ?

Symptoms

Diagnosis

What is Overactive Bladder ?

Overactive bladder (OAB) is characterised by an overwhelming urge to urinate – but often you don’t reach the toilet in time. This is also known as urge urinary incontinence.

One of the main causes of OAB is overactivity of the detrusor. The detrusor is the muscle in the bladder wall that causes the bladder to relax to let urine build up, and contracts as you urinate.

When the detrusor become overactive, it contracts before it should. When this happens there is a sudden urge to urinate can therefore occur at any time

Why this happens in not clear, but in some cases it can occur because of a breakdown in communication between the bladder and the brain. Urination is a complex process involving the brain, the brainstem, various neural pathways and the different parts of the urinary tract. So difficulties in any of these areas can lead to bladder problems.

Symptoms

Some of the symptoms of OAB include:

• Visiting the toilet more than eight times in any 24-hour period.
• Getting up frequently at night to go to the toilet.
• Feeling an overpowering need to urinate
• Not making to the bathroom in time after an urge to urinate
• Feeling that your bladder has not completely emptied
• Leaking when you hear running water

Studies have shown that many people affected by OAB don’t seek medical advice either because they are embarrassed or because they accept the situation as normal for them.

The difference between OAB and stress incontinence is that OAB is caused by detrusor overactivity whereas stress incontinence is caused by exertion and weakened pelvic muscles. The approach to treatment is different in the two cases.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis can be made by a doctor after taking a careful medical history, doing a physical examination and urine testing. The more information you have for the doctor about your symptoms, the more straightforward it will be to make a diagnosis.

The diagnosis will involve answering questions about patterns of passing urine, daily fluid intake, medication and supplements, other illnesses and in the case of a woman, a gynaecological history.

A minority of people will require referral to a specialist for further tests. These may include urodynamic studies, which are more detailed assessments of bladder function.

Back to "Basics"

Back to Homepage