Overactive bladder (OAB), especially if not treated, can negatively affect your physical and mental health. It may also raise your risk of certain health conditions, such as depression.
Overactive bladder (OAB) is a chronic condition with symptoms that can disrupt your daily activities and disrupt your sleep at night. It can lead to discomfort, depression, and emotional distress. While the condition is often treatable, finding the right treatment can take time.
In the meantime, you may experience unpleasant symptoms and their consequences. For most people, it’s the inconvenience of these symptoms, not the symptoms themselves, that makes OAB such a problem.
The symptoms of OAB can have a negative effect on your daily life. These can include:
- urinary urgency
- frequent urination
- getting up frequently in the night to urinate
- bedwetting
- urine leakage
Symptoms of OAB and the coping strategies to manage them can disrupt normal routines at home, at work, and in social settings, as well as interrupt your sleep. This may include avoiding activities that are not near a bathroom or having to leave conversations or events to use the bathroom.
Symptoms of OAB can result from untreated infections. This can include urinary tract infections (UTIs).
UTIs usually require antibiotics to resolve. Untreated, these types of infections can become serious and spread to other parts of the body, such as the bladder or kidneys, and cause complications like kidney damage or sepsis.
Some people may have chronic UTIs that recur or do not respond readily to treatment.
Learn more about possible causes of OAB.
If you have OAB, you may try to limit your fluid intake to avoid leakage or feelings of urgency.
However, not drinking enough fluids can worsen OAB. Dehydration can damage the bladder and kidneys, increase constipation, and increase your risk of UTIs, all of which can worsen symptoms of OAB.
A doctor can help you find a balance between hydration and worsening symptoms. This may look like limiting liquids after a certain hour before you go to bed. A doctor may also recommend avoiding OAB triggers like:
- coffee
- tea
- alcohol
- soda
Especially in older adults, having OAB correlates with your risk of falling and injury. This is in part because people with OAB may rush to the restroom, increasing the risk of falling.
However, researchers also found that having OAB, even without urinary incontinence, was related to fall risk.
Frequently going to the bathroom at night in the dark may also increase the risk of tripping and falling. Using lights may help you better see and avoid objects in your path at night.
OAB can have a negative impact on your sex life and intimacy. Some people may avoid sex due to fears of leakage. According to a
Interrupting sex to run to the bathroom can also inhibit sexual satisfaction. Since urinary issues and sexual organs are so closely linked, OAB is sometimes related to the reproductive organs and affects general sexual function.
OAB is also
People with OAB commonly experience nocturia, or the need to get out of bed two or more times at night to urinate.
It can cause chronic fatigue and lack of energy which may worsen other OAB complications. Each time the urge to urinate interrupts your night, you may have difficulty returning to the deep and most restful stages of sleep. This can lead to fatigue during your waking hours.
Getting up to urinate in the dark may also increase your risk of falling and injury.
OAB
Some people may experience increased leakage with certain types of activities, such as those that involve jumping or running.
A reduced amount of physical activity can negatively impact your overall health and may increase your risk of other health conditions, including:
- cardiovascular disease
- diabetes
- overweight or obesity
Symptoms of OAB, such as urinary urgency or frequent urination, can interfere with work and daily routines. You may need to stop what you are doing in order to use the bathroom.
You may also experience chronic fatigue due to interrupted sleep, which can also affect your productivity, energy levels, and mood.
People living with OAB may avoid going out to social activities for fear of symptoms like urge incontinence.
This can cause them to miss out on important or fun events that are an essential part of a healthy lifestyle and may negatively affect their relationships.
Someone who once got great joy out of social events may find themselves more isolated and homebound out of fear and discomfort.
Social isolation can increase your risk of physical and mental health effects, such as:
- decreased immunity
- worse sleep quality
- increased risk of depression and anxiety
- increased risk of age-related cognitive impairment and dementia
A variety of treatment options are available to address OAB. They can include:
- dietary changes, such as avoiding caffeinated beverages, tomato-based foods, citrus fruit, and other irritants
- exercises, such as Kegel exercises, bladder training, and pelvic floor rehabilitation
- oral medications, including oxybutynin (Ditropan XL) and tolterodine (Detrol, Detrol LA)
- Botox injections
- procedures such as peripheral tibial nerve stimulation or sacral neuromodulation
- herbs and supplements, such as magnesium hydroxide
Talk with your doctor to determine what’s best for you.
OAB can cause complications that affect your physical and mental health. This can include raising your risk of falling and injury as well as affecting your sexual health and sleep quality.
Treatments, including medications and exercises, can help reduce the impact of OAB on your quality of life and daily routines.
