​ Too Many Trips to the Bathroom? Check Out These Overactive Bladder Treatments

If you experience frequent and sudden urges to urinate, it could be overactive bladder (OAB). But overactive bladder treatments vary depending on the causes or underlying conditions contributing to symptoms.

Common causes include neurological conditions that damage bladder nerves, diabetes, hormonal changes , urinary tract obstructions, chronic anxiety , and a dysfunctional pelvic floor. Addressing underlying causes and making lifestyle changes can often bring relief. This article outlines several lifestyle tips and how medications can sometimes help.

1. Reduce Salt Consumption

Researchers conducting a small group study on the effect of sodium on overactive bladder found that participants who drastically cut their salt intake had “significant improvements” in their OAB symptoms.

More research must be done to understand why sodium consumption and OAB are linked, but in the meantime, you can cut back on how much salt you’re consuming. Use less table salt and opt for low-sodium canned goods and other prepackaged products. Always rinse canned beans and vegetables before cooking, and be sure to read labels carefully.

2. Eat More Fiber

Did you know constipation is a common trigger for OAB and incontinence? When your bowel is full, it presses on the bladder prompting urgent and frequent urination. Resolving constipation is one of the simplest overactive bladder treatments.

Staying regular helps keep your digestive system and urinary tract healthy and symptom-free. To address chronic constipation, slowly increase your fiber and water intake. Without additional hydrating fluids, eating more fiber can make symptoms worse. You need both to keep your system running smoothly.

Try incorporating more foods like:

• Fresh and dried fruit
• Green vegetables
• Whole grains (oatmeal, brown rice, barley, quinoa, etc.)
• Beans

If increasing fiber and water consumption doesn’t do the trick, talk to your doctor about how to use stool softeners or laxatives to alleviate your constipation symptoms.

3. Exercise Pelvic Floor Regularly

Your pelvic floor is a band of muscles that support your bladder and other pelvic organs. It also controls your urinary sphincter to stop urine flow. A resilient pelvic floor means that your muscles aren’t too weak or too tight.

Sometimes with overactive bladder, pelvic and bladder muscles are tight, causing pressure and making it difficult for your bladder to relax enough to empty. This is known as incomplete emptying, which causes OAB symptoms. If you’re not emptying every time you go, your bladder fills more quickly, and you must go more frequently (with more urgency).

A tight pelvic floor is often related to chronic stress or anxiety. For more information about this, read our article, Understanding the Link Between Anxiety and Overactive Bladder (OAB).

Other times, weak pelvic floor muscles cause additional bladder pressure combined with incontinence. When your pelvic muscles are weakened from childbirth or surgery, it can affect the urinary sphincter, making it difficult to hold back urine.

Kegel exercises and yoga [link to Resource Page: Your Guide to Exercise for Incontinence] can both strengthen and stretch pelvic floor muscles, making them the most effective overactive bladder treatments (other than medication).

Additionally, research has shown that contracting pelvic floor muscles for 15 seconds during an OAB urge can decrease urgency even in those with neurological OAB causes.

4. Stop Smoking

A recent study revealed that those who never smoked and ex-smokers were less likely to develop OAB symptoms and urgency than those who currently smoke. You can add bladder health to your list of reasons to kick the habit.

5. Maintain a Healthy Weight

Extra pounds can affect bladder health and trigger OAB because it puts pressure on your abdominal organs, including your bladder. This causes frequency and urgency symptoms.

One of the more challenging overactive bladder treatments is to lose about 8% or more of excess body weight. This equates to 15-20 pounds for the average woman. However, if you’re at a healthy weight, scratch this tip because losing weight won’t benefit your bladder and can cause other health problems.

6. Moderate Caffeine and Alcohol Consumption

Caffeine and alcohol are diuretics that stimulate the kidneys to produce more urine. If you’re already struggling with OAB, this can intensify your symptoms. Start by cutting back your intake to see how symptoms improve. In some cases, you might have to make drastic cuts or eliminate the offender completely.

7. Medication

Sometimes medication is one of the necessary treatments for overactive bladder. Your doctor might suggest a combination treatment of pelvic floor exercises and a prescription. If menopause is suspected to be the underlying cause, you can receive hormone treatment. Medication can also help with bladder nerve damage and malfunction.

If your bladder and pelvic muscles are tight and other remedies aren’t effective, your doctor can prescribe medications to help relax your bladder and pelvic muscles. In some cases, patients receive Botox injections directly into their bladder to induce muscle relaxation.

Even with Overactive Bladder Treatments, You Might Need Leak Protection

OAB and incontinence are closely related, especially when due to weakened pelvic muscles. The additional bladder pressure and the inability to sufficiently hold back urine flow create a perfect storm that causes urine leakage.

Even with treatments, you might still experience occasional leaks of varying severity.

TYE Medical’s LivDry brand of incontinence products offers premium leak protection for light, moderate, and heavy urine leaks. Before you buy, check out our Two-Piece System and Product Finder Tool to be sure you select the best product for your needs.