What are bladder problems?

Having bladder problems is a real medical condition, and it is more common than you may think.  It can make you feel self conscious and make even something as simple as a trip to the shops quite stressful. 

The good news is that there are things you can do to manage this common problem, and your doctor can often help.  Finding out more about bladder problems and why you're experiencing them, is your first step towards controlling them and so enjoying a better quality of life.

With an over active bladder, the bladder muscles become more active and this leads to the feeling of needing to pass water even if the bladder is not full.  Sometimes this urge can be unexpected and you may feel desperate to reach a toilet as soon as possible.  The sudden urge to go to the loo is called urgency, and if you don't get there in time is known as urgency incontinence.

Some people need to go very often and we call this frequency, or have to get up frequently during the night, called nocturia.

Now stress urinary incontinence is leakage from your bladder that occurs when you sneeze, laugh, cough or exert yourself, for example, when exercising or getting up from a chair.  It usually happens because the muscles in the pelvic floor or sphincter are weak or damaged.  Over active bladder and stress urinary incontinence are separate conditions, but some people do suffer from the symptoms of both at the same time, and this is called mixed urinary incontinence.  If you do suffer from this it is then important to try to work out what's causing the biggest problem so your doctor or nurse can give you the best advice on how to cope.