What You Need To Know
About Bladder
About Bladder
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of the whole.” Plato |
Each time you eat and drink, your body absorbs liquids. The urinary tract, which consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra, is responsible for filtering and removing liquid waste products from the body. Some people have difficulty sleeping because of them. Others fear flying or going on long trips due to the need to go to the bathroom frequently. Still others suffer from a nearly constant urgency and pressure. Millions can't control their bladders completely and sometimes leak.
For men and women, the problems can be
almost the same:
The Urge to Purge!
This is a very common bladder concern. You feel as though you have to constantly go to the bathroom. When you do manage to urinate, you leave the bathroom, rejoin your friends - and then feel as though you have to go again. It’s agonizing and humiliating.
The Inability to Pee
Another common bladder concern is the inability to “go” when you want. You feel the need to urinate but are unable to do so. You rush to the bathroom, try to urinate... and nothing happens.
Incomplete Urination
Some people complain that when they try to urinate it feels as though the bladder is not really emptying.
Loss of Sleep
Equally common is the need to get up two, three, four times a night, and sometimes more, just to urinate. Sometimes you’re able to go, sometimes not. But it interferes with your sleep.
“Stress” Urination
Another type of bladder problem involves stress. A large number of people who experience accidental release of urine do so when their bladders are put under pressure, usually by coughing, laughing or sneezing. While this is quite common, it can still be humiliating in public. You sneeze... and then notice a large wet stain on your slacks. Horrible!
Leaking
This can be the most embarrassing problem of all. This is not a sudden accidental release of urine, as in the example above, but a frequent, even constant involuntary “leaking” of urine. If you suffer from this concern, you know what an impact it can have on your life. You can’t go anywhere. Your social activities are restricted.
Pain or Burning
This is a painful, burning feeling in the area of the bladder or urethra during urination.
I’ve witnessed some people live their entire adult lives keeping these problems from their spouses and even from their doctors!
They cover up bladder problems by wearing adult diapers and plastic underwear, or they suffer from embarrassing odors or spots on their clothing.
And incredibly, they do nothing about it!
They just go on living with it, sometimes in denial,
as the bladder concerns get worse and worse
over time.
- The need to urinate all the time – often less than two hours apart
- Urgency (a strong need to urinate that cannot be postponed)
- Hesitancy (a hard time urinating despite a strong need to go)
- Straining (abdominal maneuvers required to forcefully expel urine
- An intermittent stream (your urine stream stops and starts once your flow has started)
- Waking up to pee – often several time in a night
- Leakage – caused by a strong need to pee that you can't suppress and the result is urine leakage before you can get to a toilet
- Retention – when you can't start urinating and you've got an increasingly uncomfortable feeling that your bladder is at maximum capacity
about how bladder works