Over Active Bladder

Bladder and Bowel Care Service - Adults - Over Active Bladder - Introduction
Frequency, urgency and Urge incontinence
 
Frequency means having to go to the toilet 8 or more times in 24 hours
 
Urgency means having to hurry to pass urine
 
Urge incontinence means leakage urine before reaching the toilet
 
They are caused because your bladder is over-sensitive, the bladder muscle starting to contract before your bladder is full.
 
What Can Help?
 
Adequate fluid intake
  • Do not reduce your fluid intake. This will concentrate your urine and irritate your bladder. Far from helping, this may make your problem worse and can also cause constipation
  • Try to avoid drinks that containing Caffeine (tea, coffee, chocolate and cola) as these are diuretics, making you produce more urine. They also irritate your bladder
  • Alcohol and fizzy drinks may also worsen your symptoms, so try to limit these
Bladder Retraining
  • Avoid passing urine “just in case”- wait until your bladder is actually full.
  • Try to increase the amount of time between visits to the toilet
  • Do not try to hold on at night – it will only keep you awake. Practising holding on in the daytime will gradually help night time problems.
  • If you have been prescribed water tablet (diuretics) you must take them no matter how often they make you want to go to toilet. Discuss this problem with your nurse or doctor.

Please find leaflets to help with over active bladder symptoms tab Advice Leaflets on the right, or click. Here (Hyperlink).

Leakage if you cough, sneeze, laugh or even on some movements Information for both men and women
Increase frequency (the need to pass urine more often); Increased bladder urgency (Need to rush to the toilet); Urge urinary incontinence (Passing urine before reaching the toilet); Nocturia (Waking to use pass urine at night)
Constipation, Diarrhoea, Bowel Urgency (Need to rush to toilet), Bowel Emptying Problems (unable to full empty bowel, having to using other techniques to empty bowel effectively)
Sadly when people become forgetful this may also mean they gradually loose the memory of what to do in a toilet or even where the toilet is. Advice can be found here to help manage in these circumstances.
Last updated27 Jul 2018
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