Incontinence management device

Overactive Bladder

If you get sudden urges to go to the toilet which are difficult to ignore, you could be suffering from an overactive bladder. This is sometimes called an unstable or irritable bladder. It means that your bladder wants to squeeze out urine, even if it not full and you are not ready.

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Many common problems are caused by an overactive bladder:


- A sudden urge to go to the toilet - Urgency
- Some people may not get there in time so they have an accident - Urge incontinence
- Needing to go to the toilet very often more than 8 times a day - Frequency
- Getting up to go to the toilet during the night - Nocturia
- Wetting the bed - Nocturnal enuresis

- An overactive bladder is not an inevitable part of ageing

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The urgent need to use the toilet or not being able to hold on can be a real problem for millions of people of all ages. If you have an overactive bladder, you are certainly not alone.

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Stress Urinary Incontinence
 

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is defined as the leakage of urine when you sneeze, laugh, cough or exert yourself (exercising for example). It is also commonly referred to as bladder weakness.

It is extremely common and there are millions of people experiencing some form of bladder weakness or stress incontinence. It can affect men and women of all ages, although it is more common among women.
 

Many people with this problem can be helped and in some cases can be cured completely.

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Urgency and Urge incontinence
 

You might have to rush to the toilet as soon as you feel the need to urinate. This sudden urge is called urgency. People who have normal bladder function can hold on until they reach a toilet, but people with urgency may leak if they do not get to a toilet in time. This is called urge incontinence. Most cases of urgency and urge incontinence are caused by an overactive bladder. However, for some people, the cause is never found.

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Nocturia
 

It can be quite normal to wake once or twice during the night to pass water. If you have to do so more often than that it can become both annoying and tiring. The need to pass water during the night is called nocturia.
Although nocturia may be associated with the normal ageing process, it might well be caused by a medical problem which can be treated - so it is a good idea to report a frequent need to go to the toilet during the night to your doctor or to a continence nurse, particularly if the problem has come on quite quickly and recently.

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Nocturnal Enuresis
 

Nocturnal Enuresis means wetting the bed. Many people wet the bed at night, although few people talk about it. Most people think that no one else has this problem. Many people never seek help because they are too embarrassed.
Some people wet the bed regularly all their lives. Others grow out of this during childhood but start again later in life. The right advice and support can help people who have this problem. Bedwetting can often be cured. It is always worth seeking help even if you feel you have already tried everything.
 

Bedwetting causes many practical problems, such as sorting out wet sheets and bedding. Bedwetting can affect staying away overnight, going on holiday or business trips. Bedwetting can affect sleeping patterns and often causes frustration and exhaustion.
 

Bedwetting can also affect self-esteem which can put a strain on personal relationships.

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Overflow Incontinence
 

You may find it difficult to start to pass water and that even when you have started; the flow is weak and slow. You might find that you dribble after you have finished passing water. Perhaps you dribble urine all the time, even without noticing.

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You may need to go to the toilet very often during the day and night and you may even wet the bed. You may have a feeling that your bladder is full, even after you have passed all the water you can. This is called overflow incontinence.

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Post micturition dribble (PMD)
 

PMD or after dribble, means the loss of a few drops of urine after the main stream when the bladder appears to be empty. It may occur in women but it is more common in men. PMD is likely to occur when the penis is being replaced and clothes rearranged after a visit to the toilet. Trousers can end up getting wet. In some cases, men find that even after waiting and gently shaking, the problem remains.

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Prostate problems - what is the prostate?
 

The prostate gland is about the same size as a walnut and lies just below the bladder. The tube through which urine passes from the bladder (the urethra) passes through it. The prostate glands job is to make a fluid, which forms part of the semen. In boys and young men the prostate is tiny but it gets gradually larger throughout a man´s lifetime. The amount of enlargement varies from man to man as do the problems which it causes. In most this is an entirely benign process which is so common that it can be almost considered a normal part of getting older. In only a very small number of men is there a cancerous growth of the prostate. The purpose of the bladder is to store urine until it is convenient to pass water. Because of its position, the enlarging prostate begins to block the outlet from the bladder (like tightening a collar) until it interferes with the flow of urine through the bladder outlet (urethra).

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Benign enlargement of the prostate is common among men over 50.
Benign enlargement of the prostate as well as prostate cancer can cause urinary incontinence.

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Urinary tract infection (UTI)
 

A urinary tract infection (UTI) is caused by bacterial infection of the bladder wall. The bacteria irritates the bladder lining and you may feel the need to go to the toilet more often and more urgently, even if there is only a small amount of urine in the bladder. There may also be blood in the urine. Urinary tract infection is a broad term which covers a variety of infections of the bladder, prostate, urethra and kidneys.