Bladder pain can signal anything from a minor infection to a serious health condition like cancer. Symptoms may range from discomfort in the lower abdomen area to burning with urination. The good news is that bladder cancer is rare, and bladder pain is usually not serious.
People with severe bladder pain syndrome may urinate as often as 40 times a day, including during the night. Pain, pressure, or tenderness in the bladder, urethra, vulva, vagina, or rectum. Pain in the muscles of the pelvic floor, lower abdomen, and lower back. Pain that may get worse during your menstrual period.
As the bladder empties during urination, the muscles contract to squeeze the urine out through the urethra. Several different bladder problems can cause pain. The three most common causes of bladder pain are interstitial cystitis, urinary tract infection, and bladder cancer.
Interstitial Cystitis (IC) or Bladder Pain Syndrome (BPS) or IC/BPS is an issue of long-term bladder pain. It may feel like a bladder or urinary tract infection, but it's not. It is a feeling of discomfort and pressure in the bladder area that lasts for six weeks or more with no infection or other clear cause.
Mild cystitis will usually clear up on its own within a few days, although sometimes you may need to take antibiotics. See your GP for advice and treatment if: you have symptoms of cystitis for the first time. your symptoms don't start to improve within a few days.
Pain can occur at the start of urination or after urination. Pain at the start of your urination is often a symptom of a urinary tract infection. Pain after your urination can be a sign of a problem with the bladder or prostate.
These symptoms can include: Frequent urination: You may feel the need to urinate more often. Some people also experience urgency (sudden desire to pee). Pain/ burning with urination: During an infection, you may experience discomfort in pain in the suprapubic area and burning during urination.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve), to relieve pain. Tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline or imipramine (Tofranil), to help relax your bladder and block pain.
Medications that relax the bladder can be helpful for relieving symptoms of overactive bladder and reducing episodes of urge incontinence. These drugs include: Tolterodine (Detrol) Oxybutynin, which can be taken as a pill (Ditropan XL) or used as a skin patch (Oxytrol) or gel (Gelnique)
Bladder inflammation: Because dehydration concentrates the urine, resulting in a high level of minerals, it can irritate the lining of the bladder and cause painful bladder syndrome, or interstitial cystitis. Frequent, urgent urination and pelvic pain are common symptoms.
When should I see a health care professional? See a health care professional if you have symptoms of a bladder problem, such as trouble urinating, a loss of bladder control, waking to use the bathroom, pelvic pain, or leaking urine. Bladder problems can affect your quality of life and cause other health problems.
Bladder pressure is usually a sign that a person needs to urinate. But, it can also indicate an underlying health condition, such as interstitial cystitis. However, some people experience this pressure constantly, and it may feel like an ache. This is not normal and is likely caused by interstitial cystitis.
No, overactive bladder doesn't go away on its own. If you don't treat OAB, your symptoms can get worse, the muscles in your bladder that help control when you pee can become weak and your pelvic floor tissues can get thinner.
When you're anxious, the muscles tense up and your body puts pressure on areas like your bladder and your abdomen. This pressure may also cause you to need to urinate more often. Those with anxiety may also feel more physically tired from all of their anxiety symptoms, and this too may lead to more frequent urination.
You should start by eliminating, or at least cutting down, on the top seven irritants: coffee, tea, cola drinks, chocolate, alcohol, artificial sweeteners and cigarettes. You should allow at least two weeks without the food or drink before noticing any change in your bladder control.
"Once the stone makes it to your bladder, the pain might subside to some degree and you may notice urinary symptoms in its place. The final push from your bladder to outside of your body can reignite sharp feelings of pain, as the stone is now passing through another narrow tube called your urethra," says Dr. Kannady.
Burning or pain when urinating is the most common symptom. You may even feel a strong urge or need to urinate but only get a few drops. This is because the bladder is so irritated that it makes you feel like you have to urinate, even when you don't have much urine in your bladder.
The Difference Between a UTI and IC
In women who have interstitial cystitis, urine culture results will be negative, meaning that no bacteria are found in the urine as with a urinary tract infection. With IC, women may also experience pain during sexual intercourse, another symptom not commonly associated with a UTI.
Cystitis is a problem in which pain, pressure, or burning in the bladder is present. Most often, this problem is caused by germs such as bacteria. Cystitis may also be present when there is no infection.