Rushing to the toilet??

LADIES (and sometimes men) – Do you have control of your bladder? Or does your bladder control you??
Bladder control problems can be quite common as we get older, particularly if we have had one or more children.
One such problem can be a very urgent need to rush to the toilet. Unfortunately many women assume this is due to a “weak bladder” or “weak pelvic floor”. It is true that these symptoms sometimes come on with other bladder problems but sometimes it can be a condition all on its own.
Our bladder can be very sensitive… we all know the association between being scared or nervous before a presentation, before a race and feeling like we need to pee. This is ok on the odd occasion but this kind of urgent bladder awareness shouldn’t be a regular occurrence.

Urgency and Over Active Bladder Syndrome are two examples of when our magnified feeling of needing to use the bathroom becomes too frequent and our normal bladder behaviour gets a bit out of sorts. There can be many contributing reasons for this. This usually feels like we need to rush to the toilet before we bust. Sometimes we rush to the toilet and then find we only have a normal amount to pass or even sometimes a small amount. It is possible that you still have a normal amount of urine to pass but seem to have lost control of being able decide to wait and have the feeling pass until later. When this urgent need to rush to the toilet happens more often than not this starts to effect our bladder control and everyday life. There are many things that can be done to help manage this, reduce the severity or sometimes even fix it all together. Talking to your doctor or a women’s health physiotherapist is the first step.

Some general tips for a healthy bladder are

1. Drinking water (approximately 1.5L)
   Concentrated urine irritates the bladder walls. Don’t go “just in case” regularly
   If we empty our bladder too often without letting it fill it can start to feel like half full is full

2. Keep an eye on Caffeine
   Lots of caffeine in the urine also irritates the bladder walls

3. Never RUSH to the toilet, go normal pace and calmly
   Getting worked up and rushed only feeds into the messages from the brain that increase the squeezing of your bladder.

4. Keep an eye out for a “UTI” – bladder infection
   This is always the first check when urgently rushing to the toilet and are often easy to treat
   

   Ask to book in with Kate  if you do think its time to speak to a women’s health physiotherapist about your bladder. Or simply click here to book with Kate online today.

Written By Kate Baldry