Overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) is a serious, troublesome disease, especially when accompanied by urinary incontinence. Find out what are the causes and risk factors for an overactive bladder.
Overactive bladder syndrome (OAB)is not life threatening, but it is troublesome.The causes of overactive bladderare not fully understood. It takes into account neurological disorders related to the central and peripheral nervous system, changes in the lower urinary tract, lifestyle (sedentary work, obesity, diet - alcohol, caffeine, smoking). Two phenomena lie at the base of the OAB syndrome:
- urgency (increased bladder sensitivity causing a feeling of urge to urinate even with little filling - urgency sensors)
- detrusor overactivity (detrusor smooth muscle contractions already during the initial phase of bladder filling).
In patients with overactive bladder, detrusor contraction is independent of bladder filling and escapes conscious control - the bladder becomes overactive.
Overactive bladder syndrome (OAB): risk factors
- age: an overactive bladder, especially in the form accompanied by urinary incontinence, usually occurs in perimenopausal and older patients;
- gender: urinary incontinence associated with overactive bladder occurs 2-5 times more often in women than in men;
- pregnancies and childbirth: increase the risk of urinary incontinence, but more often of a different etiology than overactive bladder;
- pelvic surgery: damage to the nerves supplying the bladder, especially during oncological surgery, may lead to urinary incontinence;
- neurological diseases: stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, brain tumors, spinal cord injuries;
- diabetes, urinary system diseases: bladder diverticula, nephrolithiasis, inflammation;
- functional disorders of the digestive system: constipation.
Overactive bladder: diagnosis
The diagnostic procedure requires the cooperation of doctors of many speci alties: family doctor, internist, gynecologist and urologist. Family doctor (GP)or the specialist to whom the patient comes, asks questions that are to help in making the initial diagnosis (interview), orders laboratory tests (e.g. general urine test) and orders / performs an ultrasound examination of the abdominal cavity (with the assessment of urine retention in the bladder) .
The interview helps to obtain information on the severity of symptoms and their impact on the quality of life, which allows the selection of appropriate diagnostic tests that will enable the final diagnosis of the disease. In the case of an overactive bladder, the reported symptoms allow us to distinguish the so-called dry and wet OAB. A "wet" overactive bladder, as opposed to the "dry" form, is accompanied by urinary incontinence. Patients report that they are accompanied by the phenomenon of a sudden urge to urinate, frequent urination, urination at night, and sometimes - urinary incontinence. Any stimulus, such as a change in body position, can be a trigger for urinary incontinence. If the main symptom is urinary incontinence, a three question test is used to identify the potential cause.
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