The results of a survey conducted by the National Overactive Bladder Evaluation (NOBLE) and published in the winter 2008 issue of the "Reviews of Urology Journal" showed that approximately 30 percent of men and women aged 65 years and older have an overactive bladder. Overactive bladder is not a normal part of aging. The condition is caused by physical trauma, neurological injuries, neurological diseases, cancer, bladder stones and bladder infections. A person of any age can develop overactive bladder, but it is most common in elderly people. People who notice that they have symptoms of an overactive bladder should seek treatment from a medical professional. The condition is often treatable through surgery, medication, biofeedback exercises or behavioral therapy.
Urgency
Most people can continue to hold their urine after they become aware that they have to urinate. It is not until they hold their urine for a significant amount of time that the feeling to relieve the bladder becomes urgent. With an overactive bladder, the first sign that the bladder needs to be emptied is felt with urgency. A person with an overactive bladder feels a sudden and urgent need to urinate, without warning. The urge can be so strong as to leave little time for the person to reach a restroom. Urgency may be felt even when the bladder is barely full.
Incontinence
Some people who have an overactive bladder experience incontinence. After they feel an urgent need to empty their bladder, they cannot make it to the restroom without leaking urine. Leakage can consist of a few drops of urine or the entire contents of the bladder. Urine leakage may happen even when the bladder is holding only a small amount of urine. A person who has an overactive bladder with incontinence may experience urine leakage when coughing or sneezing.
Frequency
Consistently urinating more than eight times a day can be a sign of an overactive bladder. Regularly waking up two or more times in the middle of the night to urinate is another sign of an overactive bladder.
Pain
Some overactive bladder sufferers experience bladder spasms or bladder contractions that cause pain. The spasms or contractions can also make urination difficult and painful. People with an overactive bladder may also feel that they are unable to fully empty their bladders.
References
- Reviews of Urology 2008 Winter; 10(1): 6--13; Maximizing the Treatment of Overactive Bladder in the Elderly; Alliance Urology Specialists, Bladder Control and Pelvic Pain Center, Greensboro, NC; Scott A MacDiarmid, MD, FRCPSC; 2008
- Mayo Clinic: Overactive Bladder
- University of California, San Francisco: Overactive Bladder or Urge Incontinence
