What is overactive bladder?
An overactive bladder (OAB) is characterized by feeling a strong urge to urinate or leaking a small amount of urine. With an overactive bladder, you also might need to go to the bathroom more frequently or feel an urgent need even when your bladder is not full.
Overactive bladder is very common, affecting millions of men and women in the United States. It can interfere with your daily life, interrupt your sleep, and impact your relationships and mental health.
There is a range of treatments available to improve and manage symptoms of an overactive bladder. Your doctor will work with you to develop a personalized treatment plan that helps restore your quality of life.
Overactive bladder symptoms
The main symptom of an overactive bladder is feeling a strong urge to urinate that often comes on suddenly and does not go away. You might feel that you need to find a bathroom right away and could leak a small amount of urine if you do not get there quickly enough.
Other common symptoms of an OAB include:
- Urge incontinence: Leaking urine after feeling a sudden urge
- Frequent urination: Urinating eight or more times during the day
- Nocturia: Waking two or more times to go to the bathroom at night
When to see a doctor
What causes overactive bladder?
Normally, your bladder muscles relax as it fills, and nerve signals between your bladder and brain tell the muscles when to contract and push out urine. With an overactive bladder, the muscles contract involuntarily, which makes you feel like you have to use the bathroom immediately, even if there isn’t much urine in your bladder.
Doctors can’t always identify the cause of an overactive bladder, but many things can disrupt the signaling between your bladder and brain or cause bladder muscles to contract when they shouldn’t. They include problems with how your bladder and bowel empty, your lifestyle, conditions or injuries that damage nerves and hormonal changes related to menopause.
Overactive bladder risk factors
Overactive bladder is more common among older women who have gone through menopause. Other factors, including disease, injury or vaginal childbirth, can also put you more at risk. Your lifestyle can also affect your bladder.
Risk factors for OAB include:
- Age: Your chances increase with age. About 30% of women over 75 experience overactive bladder symptoms.
- Being overweight or obese: A high body mass index (BMI) is linked with a greater chance of having an overactive bladder.
- Diabetes: Diabetes can damage nerves in your urinary tract and high glucose in the urine can increase urinary frequency.
- Heavy metal exposure: Heavy metals can damage your nerves.
- Prostate issues: An enlarged prostate in men can put pressure on your bladder.
- Sex: Women are more likely to have the condition than men.
- Neurological conditions: Strokes, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis can affect your bladder muscles and nerves.
- Pregnancy and vaginal childbirth: Pregnancy and childbirth can weaken pelvic floor muscles that support your bladder.
- Spinal cord or brain injuries: These can affect the nerves controlling your bladder and the signals it sends to your brain.
Complications of overactive bladder
An overactive bladder can affect your health, work and social life. Many people find it embarrassing to talk about, and it can affect your relationships and lead to feelings of social isolation. If not treated, OAB can lead to further medical issues, such as infection and skin irritation.
- Depression and anxiety: Bladder problems can take a toll on your mental health.
- Interrupted sleep: A constant need to use the bathroom at night can disturb your sleep, causing fatigue, reduced energy and other health problems.
- Reduced physical activity: Being active is important for overall health, but some people find running, brisk walking or other exercise can lead to leaks.
- Skin irritation: Leaking urine can cause skin rash and irritation.
How is an overactive bladder diagnosed?
If you're having frequent or sudden urges to pee, leaking urine or waking up often at night to go, your doctor may check for an overactive bladder. Diagnosis usually starts with a conversation about your symptoms, a physical exam and a few simple tests. These help rule out other possible causes and guide the best treatment for you.
Overactive bladder treatment
If you’re living with overactive bladder, treatment can help reduce sudden urges, frequent trips to the bathroom and leakage. Your doctor will likely start with the most conservative approaches first and move to other options if symptoms don’t improve.
Find specialized care for overactive bladder
At Baylor Scott & White, we offer several locations for the care of overactive bladder, including specialized women’s health centers in North and Central Texas. From diagnosis to treatment options, we're here to support your health with convenient access to the care you need, close to home.
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