What are the symptoms of bladder sphincter relaxation?

Relaxation of the bladder sphincter may cause symptoms such as urinary incontinence, frequent urination and urgency, difficulty urinating, increased residual urine, and recurrent urinary tract infections. Bladder sphincter relaxation may be related to factors such as age, childbirth injury, neurological disease, prostate surgery, chronic increased abdominal pressure, etc. It usually manifests as stress urinary incontinence, urge incontinence and other types.

1. Urinary incontinence

Stress urinary incontinence is a classic symptom, and urine may leak when you cough or sneeze. Urgency urinary incontinence is accompanied by a strong urge to urinate and leakage of urine occurs before it is too late to go to the toilet. Mixed urinary incontinence has characteristics of both types and is common in middle-aged and older women. Long-term urinary incontinence may cause perineal skin eczema or urine odor problems.

2. Frequent urination and urgent urination

Increased bladder sensitivity leads to urination more than 8 times, and increased nocturia affects sleep. Sudden urinary urgency is difficult to suppress and is related to detrusor overactivity of the bladder. Some patients develop urinary urgency syndrome, a strong feeling of urination even when the bladder is not full.

3. Difficulty urinating

The onset of urination is delayed or the urine stream becomes thinner, requiring abdominal straining to empty the bladder. Residual urine output exceeding 50 ml may increase the risk of infection. Male patients have symptoms similar to those of prostatic hyperplasia and need to be identified through urodynamic examination.

4. Increase in residual urine

Post-voiding ultrasound examination shows residual urine in the bladder, which may lead to deterioration of bladder function in the long term. If the residual urine exceeds 100 ml, you need to be alert to the risk of urinary retention, which may be accompanied by a feeling of bloating in the lower abdomen. This symptom is particularly pronounced in patients with neurogenic bladder.

5. Recurrent urinary tract infections

Bacteria multiply in residual urine, causing frequent urination and painful urination. If the disease occurs more than three times a year, you need to be vigilant. Older women are more susceptible to infection due to reduced estrogen and may develop asymptomatic bacteriuria. Long-term infection may damage kidney function, and urine culture needs to be performed to guide medication.

It is recommended to drink 1500-2000 ml of water every day to avoid caffeine and alcohol stimulation. Kegel exercises can strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. Each contraction is held for 10 seconds and repeated for a set of 10-15 times. Obese people need to control their weight and reduce abdominal pressure, and patients with constipation should increase their dietary fiber intake. When symptoms continue to worsen or hematuria occurs, uroflowmetry and cystoscopy are required to determine the cause. Postmenopausal women may consider topical estrogen therapy to improve mucosal status.