How You Can Stop the Leakage Overactive bladder (OAB) refers to symptoms rather than a disease. It is used to describe the phenomenon of people experiencing urinary issues. Some products that help include Comfort Medical and PureWick. Treatments for an Overactive Bladder Treatments will vary depending on what exactly is wrong. Most cases of OAB do not require invasive intervention. Some of the most common treatments recommended are: Lifestyle changes: Introducing some exercise routines in your life can help strengthen muscles. Plus, it can fight obesity, which can help reduce the chances of suffering from OAB. Some experts recommend that you try to put your bladder on a schedule. By training your bladder to know what you can and cannot do, you can shape your behavior. Some also recommend “bladder training,” where you try to delay urination when you feel the urge to grow in increasing durations to strengthen your ability to “hold it”. Using protective, absorbent padding can be a last resort if you cannot adjust your behavior. This will allow you to avoid embarrassing accidents. Medication: Some prescription medications can be sued to help strengthen areas of the body or “relax” your bladder. Some common medications include: tolterodine, darifenacin, fesoterodine and mirabegron. Botox: Botox does not just flatten our wrinkles. Small injections of Botox into bladder tissue can offer temporary relief from bladder problems. It sometimes has the side effects of increased UITs and urinary retention. Nerve stimulation: Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation has also been shown to help with OAB. It works by sending electrical signals from a nerve in your leg to nerves connected with bladder control. Surgery: For those suffering from severe symptoms, surgery is the last option. It can involve increasing the size of the bladder or replacing the bladder with a surgically constructed replacement. Comfort Medical vs. PureWick Comfort Medical provides catheters inserted into the urethra to manage urinary incontinence internally, whereas PureWick offers an external catheter solution using an absorbent wick for non-invasive urine collection. Getting a Diagnosis Anyone can suffer from OAB. Unfortunately, many adults are too embarrassed to ask for help or do not realize their conditions are treatable. Roughly 30% of men and 40% of women in the U.S. suffer from overactive bladder symptoms. While no one is immune to these problems, there are some conditions that increase your chances of suffering from OAB. These can include: Brain damage Hormonal changes Pelvic muscle weakness Urinary tract infections (UTI) Taking certain medications Stoke, multiple sclerosis (MS) or other conditions impacting the central nervous system (CNS) Signs and Symptoms of OAB Some people fail to realize that their bathroom habits are not normal. Familiarizing yourself with the symptoms can allow you to better recognize the signs of OAB which will get you one step closer to treatment. Those suffering from an overactive bladder may experience the following: Urgency: OAB’s main symptom is that sufferers experience strong, sudden urges of needing to go to the bathroom. Typically, the need to go to the bathroom will build up over time. While it is easy to ignore these feelings until you have to go, when all you feel is a sudden urge to go immediately or risk having an accident, there may be something wrong. Leaking: Suffering from something called “urge incontinence” is rather common when you suffer from an overactive bladder. It means that sometimes during these sudden urges, you will leak a little urine. You must distinguish it from people suffering from stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Rather than leak during an episode of sudden urges, those suffering from SUI leak during physical activities which would strain the region including sneezing, laughing or stretching. Frequent urination: Frequently needing to use the bathroom is not always a sign that you drank too much. If you constantly need to go to the bathroom a lot throughout the day (especially to the point where it begins to interfere with your daily life), you may be suffering from OAB. Waking up to pee: The same can be said for those who have to wake up to go to the bathroom. A fully functioning bladder is normally able to hold urine while someone is sleeping. If you frequently have to get up during the night because you need to use the bathroom, you should talk to your doctor about OAB. [youmaylike] Causes of an Overactive Bladder Because OAB is not one disease, but rather an umbrella term to characterize specific urinary symptoms, physicians will need to investigate the underlying cause of your problems. The origin of problems usually arises from areas in the urinary tract itself. Areas of the body likely responsible for an overactive bladder include the following: Kidneys. Bladder. Ureters. Urethra. Sphincter muscle. In Conclusion Talk to a trained physician if you believe you or a loved one may be suffering from an overactive bladder. They will be able to offer expert advice on how to handle your case. This is not the same as someone who suffers from an inability to control their bladder from emptying on its own.
Fatty Liver Disease Symptoms to Know About
The liver is the largest organ in the body, helping in food digestion, energy storage, and detoxification. The liver typically contains some fat; however, excessive build-up of this fat causes fatty liver disease. In this article we discuss fatty liver disease symptoms and how you can manage it.
But first, there are two main types of fatty liver disease:
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
As the name implies, this type of fatty liver disease is not associated with heavy alcohol use. There are two kinds:
- Simple fatty liver: This is a less serious case that involves little or no inflammation or liver cell damage together with the fat build-up.
- Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH): In this case, fat builds up in the liver, together with inflammation or liver cell damage. Inflammation and liver cell damage can cause fibrosis, or scarring, of the liver. This may also lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer.
Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Also called alcoholic steatohepatitis, this is usually a result of heavy alcohol use. The liver is responsible for breaking down most of the alcohol you drink so that your body can remove it. However, while breaking down alcohol, certain harmful substances that can damage liver cells, promote inflammation, and weaken your body's natural defenses are generated. The more alcohol you drink, the more you damage your liver.
What Causes Fatty Liver Disease?
As earlier stated, fatty liver develops when your body produces too much fat or does not metabolize fat efficiently enough. The excess fat is stored in liver cells, where it accumulates and causes the disease. This build-up of fat is mostly caused by excessive alcohol consumption. This is the first stage of alcohol-related liver disease. In the case of people who do not drink a lot of alcohol, the cause of fatty liver disease is usually not certain.
Common Symptoms of Fatty Liver Disease
Both types of fatty liver disease are usually silent diseases with few or no symptoms. However, some symptoms such as tiredness or discomfort in the upper right side of your abdomen may occur. Some people with fatty liver disease also develop complications such as liver scarring. Liver scarring is known as liver fibrosis. In severe cases, it is known as cirrhosis.
How is Fatty Liver Disease Diagnosed?
Because there are often no symptoms, it can be challenging to diagnose fatty liver disease. However, your doctor may suspect that you have it if you get abnormal results on liver tests that you had for other reasons. For diagnosis, your doctor may rely on your medical history, physical examination, and various tests — including blood and imaging tests and sometimes a biopsy.
Medical History
Your doctor will ask about your alcohol use to determine whether fat in your liver is a sign of alcoholic fatty liver disease or non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD). Your doctor may also want to find out about any drugs you have recently used to check if they contribute to the condition.
Physical Examination
During the physical examination, your doctor will examine your body and check your weight and height. Your doctor will look for any signs that may indicate fatty liver disease, such as an enlarged liver or signs of cirrhosis, e.g., jaundice.
Blood Tests
Your doctor might also recommend that you have blood tests, including liver function and blood count tests. In some cases, you may also have imaging tests that help check for fat and the stiffness of your liver (which could mean fibrosis).
Biopsy
In some cases, you may also need a liver biopsy to confirm the diagnosis and to check how badly your liver is damaged.
What Are the Treatment Options for Fatty Liver Disease?
There are no approved medicines to treat NAFLD, but studies are still being carried out to find a cure. The most important part of treating alcohol-related fatty liver disease is to stop drinking alcohol. If you need help dealing with alcohol addiction, you might need to see a therapist or enroll in an alcohol recovery program.
There are, however, medicines that can help, either by reducing your cravings or making you feel sick if you drink alcohol. With non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, doctors usually recommend weight loss to reduce fat in the liver, inflammation, and fibrosis. If your doctor suspects that a certain medicine is responsible for the condition, you will be advised to discontinue usage of the medication and to switch to another one.
When fatty liver disease worsens and leads to cirrhosis, the condition may be treated using medicines, operations, and other medical procedures. If the cirrhosis leads to liver failure, a liver transplant will be considered.
Lifestyle Changes to Help Manage Fatty Liver Disease
Making lifestyle changes is essential in treating fatty liver disease because they are the first-line treatment for fatty liver disease. Depending on your current condition and lifestyle habits, the following will go a long way to help:
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Reducing your alcohol intake
- Eating a nutrient-rich diet that is low in excess calories, saturated fat, and trans fats
- Getting at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week