You may feel like you’re constantly playing a disruptive game of guessing when you live with an overactive bladder (OAB). Your self-esteem, social life, and general health might take a hit when you have an unexpected, pressing need to use the restroom, often followed by an accidental leak. Many people deal with this issue, but few discuss it publicly, often because they are embarrassed. The bright side is that you can get help if you need it from Urogynae in Singapore. A lot can change if people learn about the condition and contact a urogynaecologist for expert treatment.
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What Exactly Is Overactive Bladder?
Before we talk about the risk factors, we need to know what OAB is. Overactive bladder isn’t a disease; it’s a moniker for a range of urine symptoms. A sudden, intense need to urinate that is hard to control is the most typical sign. This is called “urgency.” Some people with OAB also have urgency incontinence, which is when they leak pee after feeling an urgent need to go. Another sign is needing to go to the toilet a lot, like eight or more times in 24 hours. Nocturia is when people wake up several times during the night to pee.
Symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB) include voluntary contractions of the bladder muscles even when the bladder is not yet full. These contractions that you don’t want make you feel like you have to go right away. It’s like your bladder is telling your brain that it’s “full” at the wrong times.
Lifetime Risk Factors: What Increases Your Chances of Developing OAB?
Anyone can get OAB at any age, but some things can make you more likely to get it over your lifetime. Your age, lifestyle, and general health can all affect these risks.
1. Getting Older
Age is one of the biggest things that can make OAB worse. Our bodies alter a lot as we get older. The bladder’s muscles can get weaker, and it may not be able to store as much urine. Changes in the brain that happen as you become older might also disrupt the impulses that control how the bladder works. OAB is more common in older folks, but it doesn’t mean it’s a natural part of becoming older. It is a medical problem that can and should be fixed.
2. Being a Woman
Women are more prone than men to get OAB. This is because of a number of distinct life events and differences in anatomy.
- Pregnancy and Childbirth: Having a child and giving birth vaginally both place significant strain on the pelvic floor muscles, which may weaken them over time. Like a hammock, these muscles hold up the bladder, uterus, and colon. When they are weak, the bladder can drop a little, which can make it not work right and create OAB symptoms.
- Menopause: The body makes less estrogen during menopause. This hormone is very important for keeping the tissues in and around the bladder and urethra healthy. Low estrogen levels can make these tissues thinner and weaker, which can make you feel the need to go to the bathroom more often.
3. Neurological Conditions
The brain and bladder are always talking to each other. Your brain tells your bladder when to let go of pee and when to hold it. Conditions that harm the neurological system can interfere with these impulses, which can cause OAB. These are some of the conditions:
- Stroke
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Parkinson’s disease
- Spinal cord injuries
- Diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage from diabetes)
When nerve pathways are damaged, the bladder may contract without warning, causing the classic symptoms of OAB.
4. Lifestyle Habits
Some daily practices can potentially make OAB symptoms worse or make them worse.
- Fluid Intake: While staying hydrated is important, what you drink matters. Caffeinated beverages like coffee, tea, and soda, as well as alcohol and carbonated drinks, are known bladder irritants. They can make your bladder more active and increase the frequency and urgency of urination.
- Diet: Spicy foods, acidic foods like tomatoes and citrus fruits, and artificial sweeteners can also irritate the bladder in some people.
- Being Overweight: Extra body weight puts more stress on the muscles of the pelvic floor and bladder. Over time, this continual pressure might make the muscles weaker and lead to stress incontinence and OAB.
5. Other Medical Conditions
Several other health issues can be linked to OAB.
- Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs): A UTI can irritate the lining of the bladder, causing symptoms that mimic OAB, such as urgency and frequency. While these symptoms usually go away after the infection is treated, recurrent UTIs can sometimes lead to longer-term bladder sensitivity.
- Bladder Obstructions: An enlarged prostate in men, bladder stones, or other blockages can prevent the bladder from emptying completely. Over time, this can lead to changes in bladder function and the development of OAB symptoms.
- Previous Pelvic Surgery: Surgeries like a hysterectomy or prostate surgery can sometimes affect the nerves and muscles that control bladder function.
How Urogynae Care in Singapore Can Help
A urogynecologist can help you figure out what’s wrong and how to treat OAB. Urogynecology is the field of medicine that treats pelvic problems in women and does reconstructive surgery. They know a lot about the pelvic floor and how the gut, reproductive, and urinary systems work together.
To help you manage OAB, a urogynaecologist in Singapore can do the following:
1. Comprehensive Diagnosis
The first step is a thorough evaluation to understand the root cause of your symptoms. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. A urogynaecologist will likely:
- Get a full medical history: They will interview you about your symptoms, lifestyle, diet, and any other health problems you have.
- Suggest a Bladder Diary: You might be requested to keep a diary for a few days to keep track of how much you drink, how often you urinate, and when you leak. This gives you helpful information about how your bladder works.
- Do a physical assessment: This involves a pelvic exam to examine the strength of your pelvic floor muscles and look for any physical problems.
- Do Urodynamic Testing: These tests examine how well your urethra, sphincters, and bladder can hold and let go of pee. It helps you find out how well your bladder is working and can tell you whether you have OAB.
2. Personalized Treatment Plans
Your urogynaecologist will work with you to make a treatment plan that is right for you once they have made a diagnosis. Most of the time, the first step in treating OAB is to use conservative, non-invasive treatments.
- Behavioral Therapies: This is usually the first thing that is done. Bladder training, which is urinating on a set schedule to slowly lengthen the duration between bathroom visits, can be part of it. It also involves Kegel exercises for the pelvic floor muscles, which help the bladder stay strong. A professional can make sure you are doing these exercises correctly so that you get the most out of them.
- Dietary and Lifestyle Changes: Your doctor will provide guidance on modifying your diet to avoid bladder irritants and managing your fluid intake. If weight is a contributing factor, they can offer advice on weight management.
- Medications: If behavioral therapy doesn’t work, there are a number of drugs that can help quiet an overactive bladder. These medicines relax the muscle in the bladder and make it hold more urine. Your urogynaecologist will talk to you about the possible benefits and adverse effects of several medications to help you discover the one that works best for you.
3. Advanced Treatment Options
For those who don’t respond to initial treatments, urogynaecologists in Singapore offer advanced therapies.
- Botox Injections: Putting Botox straight into the bladder muscle can help it relax, which can help with urgency and incontinence. The effects only endure for a short time, usually about six months, but they can be quite helpful.
- Nerve Stimulation (Neuromodulation): This therapy uses mild electrical pulses to regulate the nerve signals between the bladder and the brain. It can be done through percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS), which involves a series of weekly treatments, or through a surgically implanted device similar to a pacemaker for the bladder (Sacral Neuromodulation).
Taking the First Step
Having an overactive bladder might be hard, but you don’t have to accept it as your new normal. You can take efforts to preserve your bladder health by knowing what the risk factors are. And if you have symptoms, know that there are therapies that work.
Getting help from a urogynaecologist in Singapore is an important step toward getting your life back on track. These experts not only know a lot about medicine, but they also create a safe and welcoming space where you may talk about your worries. You can control your symptoms, lower your anxiety, and get back to living life on your own terms, not your bladder’s, if you obtain the correct care.
Aster Gynaecology – Dr Ng Kai Lyn
38 Irrawaddy Rd, #06-58
Mt Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre,
Singapore 329563
+65 6635 2100