Dr. Anand Arumugam

Overactive bladder, also known as OAB, is a condition where sudden involuntary contractions of the urinary bladder's muscular walls cause bladder storage dysfunction. It leads to sudden and frequent urges to urinate (urinary urgency), as well as unintentional leakage or urine (urinary incontinence).

This is a condition that affects both men and women and causes tremendous discomfort in nearly every aspect of daily life. The specific causes of OAB vary from case to case but it is generally attributed to infection of the urinary tract or dysfunction of the nervous system. The symptoms are intensified by unhealthy lifestyle choices such as overindulging in caffeinated drinks, spicy foods and alcohol.

There are several ways in which you can deal with the problem of OAB, depending on the nature of the case. It is necessary for you to consult a urologist for a detailed diagnosis to formulate the best treatment option.

Following are the most effective remedies to treat an overactive bladder:

1. Lifestyle Modifications: Also known as behavioral therapy, this is the first step in the treatment of OAB. It involves inculcating simple changes into everyday habits such as avoiding food and drinks that irritate the bladder, scheduling (and in some cases, practice delaying) bathroom visits, exercising the pelvic floor and bladder muscles, keeping a record of urinating habits in a 'bladder diary' for better understanding the problem, etc. You can incorporate these habits into everyday activities for an easy alleviation of the problem with absolutely no side effects.

2. Medication and Surgery: There are several different kinds of medicines and drugs that can treat the problem of OAB. The most common types are muscle relaxants that loosen the muscles of the urinary bladder to prevent involuntary contractions, and antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs that treat urinary tract infections. Many types of implants are surgically set into the pelvic area to act as electrical nerve stimulators for neuromodulation therapy. Reconstructive bladder surgery is another remedial option.

3. Devices and Products: Urinary urgency and incontinence can be managed through the external use of various devices and products which collect and hold urine or absorb leakages. These include indwelling catheters, condom catheters (for men), urine drainage bags, absorbent pads and adult diapers, and toilet substitutes such as bedpans and bedside urinals.

A kidney stone is a hard, crystalline mineral development, which forms within the kidney or the urinary tract. It is called nephrolithiasis in medical terms. Kidney stones occur due to the decrease in urine volume or due to an excess of substances in the urine which are stone-forming in nature. Dehydration is considered to be a primary risk factor for kidney stones too.

Causes of kidney stones:Kidney stones develop when the urine contains increased amounts of crystal forming substances. They include calcium, oxalate and uric acid in amounts which the fluid in the urine cannot dilute. Your urine may also lack the substances which help in prevention of crystals from sticking to each other, thereby enhancing the conditions for kidney stones to form.

The balance of your urine can change due to several factors:

1. Not drinking sufficient amount of water makes the salts, minerals and other substances present in the urine to stick together, which may lead to the formation of a stone.
2. The normal urine balance may get disrupted due to several health conditions, which lead to kidney stone formation. Diseases such as gout or certain inflammatory bowel diseases can also cause kidney stones.
3. Many cases of kidney stones are hereditary and run in families, affecting family members over many generations.
4. A rare cause of kidney stone formation is the overproduction of hormones by the parathyroid glands, which results in increased levels of calcium leading to calcium kidney stones.

Types of kidney stones
Kidney stones are of different types, which occur due to several, different causes. They are as follows:

1. Calcium stones: Calcium stones account for being the most common form of kidney stones. They occur due to excessive calcium in the urine. This may happen due to an inherited condition known as hypercalciuria, the overreaction of the parathyroid gland, kidney diseases, several cancers or from a condition known as sarcoidosis. The stones may be large and smooth or rough and spiky.
2. Struvite stones: These stones are caused due to infections. And they usually occur after a urinary tract infection. This form of kidney stone is more common in women though.
3. Uric acid stones: These stones occur due to large amounts of uric acid in the urine. It may occur from having a high protein diet, from a health condition called gout or from a hereditary condition where the amount of uric acid in urine increases.
4. Cystine stones: These are rare kidney stones and occur due to a hereditary health condition known as cystinuria.

Kidney stones occur due to the change in balance of water, salts and minerals, which are present in the urine. Insufficient water consumption is often the most common cause of kidney stones. So make sure you drink lots of water to keep stone formation at bay. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a doctor and ask a free question.

What are the functions of the kidney?

The kidneys filter waste and excess fluid from the blood. As kidneys fail, the waste accumulates in the body. The two most important enzymes, which kidney makes are erythropoietin & renin. Erythropoietin are made by the kidneys if there is less oxygen in the blood. It tells the bone marrow to make more red blood cells. So this means there will be more oxygen carried in the blood.

Renin is made by the kidney if there is low blood pressure, low volume of blood, or too low salts in the blood Renin make the blood vessels smaller and tells the adrenal gland to make aldosterone. It also makes a person feel thirsty and all of this makes the blood pressure go up. Since Kidney plays a very important role in the overall functioning of the body, it’s very important to take care of its health.

Let’s have a look on various kind of kidney disease including the one which are chronic:

1. Kidney stones
2. Kidney Infections
3. Glomerulonephritis
4. Congenital Kidney disease
5. Diabetic Nephropathy
6. Hypertensive Nephropathy
7. Cancer

Now what is Chronic Kidney Disease?

Chronic kidney disease include conditions that damage your kidneys and decrease their ability to keep healthy by doing the jobs listed, if it gets worse, wastes can build to high levels in the blood and make person sick.
Chronic kidney disease is caused by diabetes, high blood pressure and other disorders.

What causes chronic kidney disease?
The two main causes of chronic kidney disease are diabetes & high blood pressure which are responsible for up to two third of the cases. Other conditions that affect the kidney are:
1. A group of diseases that cause inflammation and damage to the kidney’s filtering unit.
2. Inherited disease such as poly cystic kidney disease.
3. Malformation that occur as a baby develop in mother’s womb.
4. Lupus and other disease that affect the body’s immune system.
5. Repeated urinary infections.

What are the symptoms of chronic kidney disease?
1. Feel more tired and have less energy
2. Have trouble concentrating
3. Poor appetite
4. Trouble sleeping
5. Muscle cramping at night
6. Swollen feet and ankles
7. Puffiness around the eyes especially in the morning
8. Dry itchy skin
9. Need to urinate more often, especially at night.

In case of the similar symptoms one needs to get it diagnosed and connect with the physician for good care and treatment. Stay Healthy!