The bladder is a balloon-shaped organ that is responsible for the storage and release of urine. The bladder is a muscle that expands as it fills with urine and contracts to force the urine out. There are several types of bladder control problems, including urge incontinence, stress incontinence, overactive bladder and mixed incontinence. Fortunately, there are many types of medications available to help relieve bladder control problems.
Anticholinergics
Bladder control problems are most often due to an overactive bladder, which is caused by abnormal bladder muscle contractions. An overactive bladder may lead to urge incontinence in which you feel as though you need to urinate even when your bladder is not full. Anticholinergics, medications, such as oxybutynin or solifenacin, act to block acetylcholine, which is the substance that triggers the bladder muscle contractions.
Estrogen
Bladder control problems occur more frequently in post-menopausal women because estrogen is important for tissue strength and flexibility in the bladder region. When estrogen levels are low, the supportive tissues around the bladder may become weak leading to bladder control issues. Therefore, using topical estrogen creams in and around the urethra and vaginal areas may help to alleviate bladder control problems.
Imipramine
Imipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant, is most commonly used to treat depression because it affects the levels of natural substances within the brain. Imipramine however can also relax the smooth muscles within the bladder while also causing the muscles in the neck of the bladder to contract, according to information from the Mayo Clinic. These two effects makes it an effective treatment for both urge incontinence, caused by bladder muscle contractions, as well as stress incontinence that is caused by the bladder neck muscles failing to contract.
Desmopressin
Some bladder control problems may be caused by a low level of Antidiuretic hormone (ADH), a hormone responsible for telling the kidneys to produce less urine. Typically the body produces more ADH at night so that the kidneys do not produce urine during sleep. When not enough ADH is produced, loss of bladder control can result. Desmopressin is a synthetic (man-made) version of ADH and is often used to treat bedwetting in children as well as adult women.
Botulinum Toxin Type A
Botulinum toxin type A is a protein produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. Despite being extremely toxic, botulinum type A is used both medically to treat conditions, such as migraine headaches and cosmetically to reduce to appearance of wrinkles.
Botulinum type A affects the muscles of the body by blocking the release of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that sends messages between nerves and muscles, thereby causing temporary paralysis. Due to this mechanism of action, botulinum may be effective in treating an overactive bladder caused by the bladder muscle contracting too often. Research is currently being conducted, according to the Mayo Clinic, to determine if Botulinum type A may be helpful to those suffering from bladder control issues.
