The Plight of the Bladder

With age, many women begin to suffer complications of the urinary tract system, especially complications involving the bladder. For some, this aging process can lead to embarrassment and unanticipated medical expenses. Often, without understanding the true cause and origin of bladder dysfunction, a woman will suffer needlessly with the complications of sudden loss of urine, painful urination and even emotional distress. Understanding the difference between fallen bladder, overactive bladder and urinary stress incontinence, will ensure women are more educated in these life changing urological health conditions.

With age, many women develop a condition known as urinary stress incontinence. Simply described as a physiological, mechanical stress of the bladder, the symptoms often result from age, deterioration, trauma during birth and even female reproductive disorders. During urinary stress incontinence, women commonly experience sudden loss of urine when bending over, coughing, laughing or even sneezing. While the condition is not life threatening, it can be bothersome and, in rare cases, require a woman to require protective undergarments.

Beyond urinary stress incontinence lies a condition known as an overactive bladder. Unlike urinary stress incontinence, the overactive bladder is commonly attributed to a hormonal or physiological change to the urological system resulting in involuntary muscle spasms, without provoking by the woman, leading to an excess expel of urine. For women suffering from overactive bladder, the bladder may fill and release urine at will without any control by a woman's activities.