Your bladder is essentially a round organ that has the ability store and excrete urine. A healthy bladder accumulates urine until it eventually reaches a point near capacity and nerves signal your brain with an urge to urinate. When this urge hits, you seek an appropriate site for emptying.
This bladder emptying cycle is repeated several times daily, probably without much notice. Yet, it’s a highly coordinated function of nerves and muscles, wherein much can go wrong. So, a bladder disease, disorder, condition or problem can turn a relatively routine bodily function into a major lifestyle disruption.
The most common symptoms caused by the various types of bladder conditions are:
Nerves are a key component for healthy bladder function, they carry messages to the brain to let you know it’s full and messages back to either tighten or release certain muscles. Any disease, disorder or condition that causes an issue along the nerve transmission can create various types of bladder control problems, such as:
- bladder spasms
- urinary retention
- overactive bladder
- neurogenic bladder
- sphincter muscle control issue
Other types of bladder related diseases, disorders or conditions that could be causing your bladder symptoms include:
- cystitis
- paruresis
- cystocele
- small bladder
- bladder fistula
- bladder stones
- bladder cancer
- bladder trauma
- bladder infection
- interstitial cystitis
- bladder exstrophy
- bladder diverticulum
Numerous other types health related conditions can cause or be associated with a bladder problem, like:
- stroke
- diabetes
- paralysis
- overweight
- brain injury
- constipation
- brain infection
- chemotherapy
- hydrocephalus
- enlarged prostate
- multiple sclerosis
- radiation treatment
- spinal cord infection
- Parkinson’s disease
- heavy metal poisoning
- autonomic neuropathy
- tumor ~ brain, spinal cord
- spinal cord injury, whiplash
- pregnancy, vaginal childbirth
- drug side effect ~ antidepressants
Menopause is believed to cause bladder symptoms because your estrogen decline may cause bladder muscle weakness.
A variety of different types of treatments can ease your bladder symptoms, for instance:
- Kegel exercises
- ncontinence pads
- bladder control training
- drugs ~ phenoxybenzamine
- patch, plug, implant devices
- special urine holding underwear
- surgery ~ urinary diversion, bladder augmentation
Treatment depends on which types of diseases, disorders, conditions or problems might be causing your bladder symptoms.
