Overactive bladder is a distressing condition that results in a sudden urge to urinate, along with difficulty in controlling the urge. People suffering from this condition may often feel embarrassed and isolate themselves. However, the good news is that a brief examination of the patient can help determine the exact cause of the condition and treat it. Several simple changes can help manage the symptoms.

Understanding the early warning symptoms of overactive bladder

is important to start treatment at the earliest. Here are some common signs that indicate this condition and require medical attention:

• A sudden urge to urinate that is often difficult to control:  This is one of the few and definite early warning symptoms of overactive bladder. The condition occurs when the muscles of the bladder start contracting involuntarily, even when the amount of urine in the bladder is low. These involuntary contractions increase the feeling of urgency to urinate.
• Unintentional loss of urine (urinary incontinence):  Urinary incontinence is the loss of bladder control that results in the unintentional outflow of urine. This occurs in case there is an unexpected and uncontrollable bladder-muscle contraction when urine is entering the bladder. Generally, people with this condition are unable to recognize whether or not they need to urinate, which leads to leakage. This leakage can be as little as a few drops to several ounces of urine, and this is the most disturbing symptom of an overactive bladder as it can cause stressful and embarrassing situations for people with the condition. This symptom can be a result of a general infection, a bladder infection, a tumor in the bladder, or neurogenic bladder.
• Frequent urination:  This is another early warning symptom of overactive bladder. People suffering from this usually feel the need to urinate eight or more times in a single day, and the bladder may not be full when the need arises. If one has this condition, they may need to frequently leave social gatherings in order to relieve themselves. It is important to understand that the frequent urination in this condition isn’t related to the amount of fluids one consumes. The need to urinate will still occur if one limits their fluid intake.
• Waking up more than twice in a night to urinate (nocturia):  Nocturia is a condition in which a person wakes up several times at night to urinate, which results in the disruption of their sleep cycle. This symptom is an extension of the frequent urination symptom and can result in people, especially the elderly, not getting sound sleep at night.

These are some of the common early warning symptoms of overactive bladder. In case one experiences any of these symptoms, they must consult a doctor for further examination.