Despite progressive and effective treatments, people are still hesitant to talk about urinary issues such as urgency, frequency and associated leakage.
If you’re constantly in the washroom have a nagging urge to urinate, wake up during the night to go – or worse – you don’t even make it to the washroom in time, you might have an overactive bladder (OAB). It’s a common problem among men and women and in Asian sub continent, its prevalence is 53.1%.
OAB can be caused by various conditions, including Neurological disorders, poor kidney function, high fluid intake, abnormalities of bladder such as bladder stone, excess consumption of Caffeine or alcohol, pregnancy, nerve damage caused by surgery, other condition like diabetes, Urinary tract infection, inflammation in Prostate in men.
Asha Agarwal, 51 noticed overactive bladder symptoms about five years ago, as she found herself constantly worrying if there would be a toilet nearby. “It interrupts your life, because you have to go to the bathroom all the time,” she said.
“No matter what you call it, experiencing frequent urination problems and having an overactive bladder can be very difficult to deal with, and is very embarrassing for many people.” Informs Dr Sanjay Pandey, Urologist, Kokilaben Multispecialty Hospital, Mumbai. Overactive bladder can wreak havoc on a patient’s life by disrupting work, sleep and social outings he adds.
Despite progressive and effective treatments, people are still hesitant to talk about urinary issues such as urgency, frequency and associated leakage. “Women who urinate eight or more times a day or more than two times at night with or without urine leakage are part of this group. Many women affected by this disorder never get the help they need. They are often either embarrassed, hold an incorrect assumption that it’s a natural part of aging, or just hope the problem will go away on its own.” Informs Dr Anita Patel, Urologist, Global Hospital, Parel, Mumbai. However, there are effective treatment options available and some may be easier than people think
There are some simple first steps people can make on their own to take control of their urinary habits. If these methods don’t work, Antimuscarinics are main stay of managing over active bladder symptoms aside there are many effective non-surgical and minimally invasive surgical treatment options that can offer significant and often dramatic relief from these symptoms. Some of the options include a new class of medication with far fewer side effects than prior medications, including pelvic floor rehabilitation and tibial nerve stimulation.
