Bladder & Bowel Archive

Most people take bladder control for granted — until the unintended loss of urine interrupts the ability to carry on an ordinary social and work life.

Often, the causes of incontinence are out of a person's control. For example, in women, incontinence is a common side effect of childbirth. For men, it's often a side effect of treatment for prostate problems.

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Q. What causes urinary tract infections and are men at risk for getting them?

A. Although urinary tract infections (UTIs) are more common in women, men can get them, too. They occur when bacteria build up somewhere along your urinary tract. In men, UTIs can develop in the urethra (the tube that runs from the opening at the tip of the penis to the bladder), the bladder, the prostate, or the kidney.

Also called painful bladder syndrome, this frustrating disorder disproportionately affects women.

Interstitial cystitis is a chronic bladder condition that causes recurring bouts of pain and pressure in the bladder and pelvic area, often accompanied by an urgent and frequent need to urinate — sometimes as often as 40, 50, or 60 times a day, around the clock. Discomfort associated with interstitial cystitis can be so excruciating that, according to surveys, only about half of people with the disorder work full-time. Because symptoms are so variable, experts today describe interstitial cystitis as a member of a group of disorders collectively referred to as interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome. (In this article, we'll call it interstitial cystitis, or IC.)

Among the one to two million Americans with IC, women outnumber men by as much as eight to one, and most are diagnosed in their early 40s. Several other disorders are associated with IC, including allergies, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia (a condition causing muscle pain), chronic fatigue syndrome, and vulvodynia (pain or burning in the vulvar area that isn't caused by infection or skin disease).

Infections aren't the only conditions that can cause discomfort.

Certain urinary symptoms are quite common, particularly in women: painful burning with urination, an urgent need to urinate like you can't hold it (urinary urgency), and urinating frequently (urinary frequency).

These symptoms can be caused by any of the following conditions.

Ask the doctors

Q. I suffer from mild urinary incontinence. A friend suggested that I try bladder training. Is this a real treatment?

A. Yes, some women with urinary frequency and overactive bladder might benefit from bladder training. The idea behind bladder training is to teach your body to respond more appropriately to bladder signals.

Antidepressants and opioids are common offenders.

It's frustrating when you feel the urge to move your bowels but can't seem to go. Before blaming your diet, consider whether medication side effects are causing your constipation.

Possible suspects

Many medications can contribute to constipation, including the following:

Rising resistance to antibiotics driven by overprescription and overuse has led to a decline in the effectiveness of antibiotics in treating urinary tract infections. If your doctor wants to prescribe an antibiotic, be sure to ask if it’s necessary, and what alternatives there might be.

Some men with an enlarged prostate gland (benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH for short) eventually start to experience urinary incontinence, the involuntary discharge of urine. The incontinence can be related to overactive bladder, one of the changes in bladder function caused by BPH.

Normally, the brain says "time to go" when your bladder is only partially full. That gives you a fair warning to find a place to relieve yourself. When you decide to let go, a valve called the urinary sphincter opens to allow the bladder to drain. Muscles in the bladder wall squeeze inward to empty the storage tank.

Research we're watching

Infections — especially those in the urinary tract, known as UTIs — may raise the risk of a stroke, a new study finds.

Researchers examined the electronic medical records of more than 191,000 stroke patients to see if they'd been hospitalized or gone to an emergency room for an infection shortly before the stroke. They tracked infections of the abdomen, blood, respiratory tract, skin, or urinary tract.

The discomfort and potential embarrassment of urinary incontinence keeps many people from the activities they enjoy, but some simple behavioral changes can improve bladder control.