Bladder Problems in Women

Getting an insight into the common female bladder problems and the reasons for their occurrence ought to be a handy weapon in combating their future recurrence. It's not something to be ashamed about no matter how embarrassed you may feel, as it is a common phenomenon faced by a majority of women, at least once in their lifetime. Let us try to understand the symptoms of bladder problems and how it affects women.

Common Bladder Problems in Women

Urinary Incontinence
A very common bladder problem in women is urinary incontinence which occurs when the muscles in the pelvis begin to weaken, which include the bladder muscle. The sphincters muscle is responsible for keepimg the urine stored in the urethra and prevents it from leaking involuntarily. Some young women complain of the sudden urge to urinate, or sudden leakage of urine on laughing, sneezing, coughing, while exercising, or after giving birth. Older women may face stronger symptoms of incontinence as it is a common part of aging.

Causes
The causes of incontinence related bladder problems among women are:

• Suffering from an illness or recovering from one makes the body weak. Even strong medicines consumed during the illness can cause bladder troubles.
• Stressful lifestyle, excess working hours, or work pressure.
• Menopause is also another key reason which weakens the bladder.
• Nurse's bladder or overflow incontinence, is another condition which makes the bladder extremely weak because of retaining urine for long hours at a time, when the bladder is already full. Getting Nurse's bladder is dangerous as it damages the kidneys due to lack of water intake, since the bladder is already full. It is easily avoidable by regularly relieving yourself whenever you feel the urge to urinate.
• There is also something known as the Overactive Bladder Syndrome, which makes you urinate more than usual during the day or night when you wake up to go to the toilet more than twice.
• Incontinence is very common and normal during pregnancy due to the pressure applied by the fetus on the womb.
• Bladder problems in women sometimes persists even after delivery which is normal and rectifiable.
• Any type of blockage of the urethra will cause incontinence and weak bladder. Medical consultation and urinary incontinence products can rectify the problem

UTI
The Urinary Tract Infection is caused by the bacteria Escherichia coli which affects the urinary tract. This system consists of the kidneys, ureters, the bladder, and the urethra. This infection affects women more often, because their urethra is comparatively shorter in length and closer to the anus, which makes the area more susceptible to contracting infections. Thus bacteria find it easier to probe their way up to the female bladder. UTI can be caught from contaminated toilets/washroom, through not maintaining personal hygiene, or due to unhygienic habits of your sexual partner. It could also be a side effect of using spermicide, and daily contraception pills, as these irritate the bladder and reduce the disease fighting resistance abilities of your body. It affects women after their menopause, because of the drastic reduction in their friendly vaginal flora. It affects women with diabetes as well, because of high levels of blood sugar, which in turn causes bacteria to feed and spread. UTI being a bladder infection which affects women of all age groups, it's all the more necessary to understand its symptoms, so that it can be treated as soon as possible. Following are some of the common symptoms that you must look out for:

• Burning and itching during urination
• Skin pealing
• Bad smelling urine or vaginal area
• Dysuria (burning)
• Pain while urination

Some women and teenagers complain of stomach aches and excess or no vaginal discharge at all.

Bladder Spasms
Sometimes nerves get damaged due to some sort of trauma suffered, such as accidents, temporary paralysis, surgery, radiation, and herniated disc. Diseases also cause damage to the nerves such as Parkinson's disease, stroke, diabete, and multiple sclerosis. Damaged nerves do not send the correct message to the brain which may cause involuntary urination, that being of two types:

1. Feeling the urge to urinate very often in small intervals.
2. Not urinating even though the bladder is full, because the nerves do not signal it to the brain. This causes the urine to leak, giving the person absolutely no control over their bladder.

If you have been suffering from these symptoms, you must get yourself checked by a physician immediately.

Interstitial Cystitis
Another reason for the occurrence of bladder problems is interstitial cystitis which occurs due to ulcers in the stomach. This is an extremely severe disorder which causes excruciating pain in the pelvic region and while urinating. This condition is considered as a disability and requires immediate treatment in order to curtail the pain.

Bladder Prolapse
Another condition, the bladder prolapse causes the bladder to sag or lean into the vaginal wall, giving the feeling that a ball is placed in the vaginal canal. This obstruction will never let you empty your bladder completely, and will cause the urge to urinate often. There are stages to this condition and will therefore keep getting worse if left untreated. Bladder prolapse is very uncomfortable and painful, and must be treated immediately.

Gallbladder Problems
Pain in the gallbladder is often confused by women, with menstrual pains. It has a direct connection to bladder problems, as the infection caused by the gallstones spreads into the bladder and causes discomfort. Gallbladder problems occur mostly due to hormonal imbalances that keep taking place, such as menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, breast-feeding, consumption of birth control pills, and menopause.

Getting a regular health check up, will help you recognize gallbladder symptoms. It's crucial to consult a gynecologist who specializes in treating bladder problems, who would prescribe the correct antibiotics for bladder infection depending on your needs. Women should not shy away from talking about their bladder problems to their doctors, because health concerns of any type must take precedence over all other matters.