Typical symptoms of an overactive bladder include:
Urinating more than eight times in a 24-hour period (urinary frequency),
A strong and sudden desire to urinate (urinary urgency),
And, if the urge cannot be controlled, urge urinary incontinence.
Urge urinary incontinence (UI)
Urge urinary incontinence (UI) is the unwanted urine leakage that happens shortly after the sudden, intense desire to urinate. It is caused by involuntary bladder contractions that occur as the bladder fills. With urge UI, a person may be aware of the urge sensation but will be unable to stop leakage before getting to the toilet. Urine loss is usually in large amounts that soak underwear and even outer clothing. Sometimes an event will "trigger" the urine leakage. Some common triggers include hearing running water or what is known as the "key-in-the-door" syndrome. The anticipation of urinating can trigger a bladder spasm.
An additional symptom of overactive bladder seen very often - especially in the elderly - is nocturia, awakening more than two times at night to urinate, which will often disrupt sleep. This condition affects men and women of all ages, although its incidence increases significantly with age.
Only your doctor can diagnose your bladder control problem and determine the right treatment for you, however we do have a simple test that is used by Doctors and other Healthcare professionals that you can perform at home to help you accurately determine the difference between Urge and Stress Incontinence.
Urge and Stress Incontinence Test
Stress Incontinence
Stress incontinence is the other main type of bladder control problem, which may occur in addition to overactive bladder. Stress Incontinence involves involuntary urine leakage due to poor urethral support while lifting, coughing, sneezing, or running. Women who have given birth are especially prone to stress incontinence. Read more about Stress Incontinence.
Mixed Incontinence or Mixed Symptoms
Mixed Incontinence or Mixed Symptoms is the name given to a combination of stress incontinence and the symptoms of overactive bladder. Many people who experience problems with both urgency and frequency will eventually experience an urge incontinence episode or wetting accident. Urge incontinence often results in a larger amount of lost urine than stress incontinence and is often unpredictable. While a woman may be able to brace herself when she is about to laugh or cough and prevent loss of urine from stress incontinence, there is little warning with urge incontinence. Read more about Mixed Incontinence or Mixed Symptoms.
Normal Bladder vs. Overactive Bladder
The bladder is composed of smooth muscle (detrusor muscle) and connective tissue. This muscle is generally at rest as urine fills the bladder and typically only contracts when urinating is begun voluntarily. But when the detrusor muscle is overactive, muscles in the bladder may contract involuntarily, like a muscle spasm, resulting in a sensation that the bladder is full when it is not.
Bladder control problems may occur when any part of the urinary system fails to function properly. Both men and women can develop the specific bladder control problem called overactive bladder. Men usually have to go more often (urinary frequency). Women are more likely to experience urge UI (leakage) than men because their internal organ structure is different.
Only your doctor can diagnose your bladder control problem and determine the right treatment for you, however we do have a simple test that is used by Doctors and other Healthcare professionals that you can perform at home to help you accurately determine the difference between Stress and Urge incontinence.
Stress and Urge Incontinence Home Test
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