Page 23 - Seniorstoday July-2023 Issue
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enter the bladder and fester there, and
could then travel anywhere in the urinary
tract.
Common symptoms are fever often
accompanied with chills, increased
urination, burning and irritation while
passing urine. It can also cause hematuria
and abdominal pain.
Contained to the bladder, it’s not a critical
Stress: The most common type, this condition, but if it spreads to the kidneys, it
occurs when there is increased intra pelvic can cause complications.
pressure, causing the urine to escape.
In normal situations, the increased Nocturnal urination
pressure causes the pelvic muscles to A condition causing you to wake up
contract, constricting the urethra and several times a night to urinate, this is
stopping the flow of urine. However, usually seen in people over 60 years of age.
certain conditions like old age, pregnancy, Another possible cause could be excessive
hormonal changes cause the muscles and liquid intake, especially before bedtime.
urethra to weaken, causing incontinence Pregnancy is one of the most common
even on sneezing or coughing. reasons for nocturia.
Overflow Incontinence: This happens Medical conditions such as diabetes, UTI,
when the bladder doesn’t empty completely, bladder inflammation can also aggravate
leaving residual urine in the bladder. It nocturia.
overfills rapidly, leading to incontinence.
It’s usually seen as an effect of diseases like Urinary retention
diabetes. Urinary retention -when you can’t fully
Urge incontinence: the need to urinate empty your bladder- can cause a persistent
comes over suddenly and sometimes feeling like you need to urinate, pain
unexpectedly, and the person isn’t able in your lower abdomen, and frequent
to control the flow. It’s associated with a urination. It can be caused by various
pathological change in the bladder or nerve factors, such as -neurological factors,
damage. infections, bladder muscle dysfunction,
Mixed: A combination of stress and urge obstruction, medications.
incontinence, this is the most common type Increased urination
seen, especially in seniors and in hospitals. Urinating up to 7 times in 24 hours is
common, and a normal.
UTI Increased urination – more than 8 to
One of the most common bladder problems, 9 times a day and at least once at night,
it affects one in three women across the is a common symptom, affecting a large
world; it’s likely either you or someone you population.
know has suffered from this condition at Reasons include UTI; pregnancy induced
least once. hormonal dysfunction, diabetes, certain
Urinary infection occurs when bacteria medicines like diuretics, foods that act like
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #49 | JULY 2023 23
