Overactive Bladder Glossary of Terms

Access: 1. In general, a means of approaching something. 2. In health care, the opportunity or right to receive health care. 3. In dialysis, the point on the body where a needle or catheter is inserted to gain entry to the bloodstream.

Aging: The process of becoming older, a process that is genetically determined and environmentally modulated.
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Biofeedback: A method of treatment that uses monitors to feed back to patients physiological information of which they are normally unaware. By watching the monitor, patients can learn by trial and error to adjust their thinking and other mental processes in order to control "involuntary" bodily processes such as blood pressure, temperature, gastrointestinal functioning, and brain wave activity.
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Bladder: Any pouch or other flexible enclosure that can hold liquids or gases but usually refers to the hollow organ in the lower abdomen that stores urine -- the urinary bladder. The kidneys filter waste from the blood and produce urine, which enters the bladder through two tubes called ureters. Urine leaves the bladder through another tube, the urethra . In women, the urethra is a short tube that opens just in front of the vagina . In men, it is longer, passing through the prostate gland and then the penis . Infection of the bladder is called cystitis .
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Caffeine: A stimulant found naturally in coffee beans, tea leaves, cocoa beans (chocolate) and kola nuts (cola) and added to soft drinks, foods, and medicines. A cup of coffee has 100-250 milligrams of caffeine. Black tea brewed for 4 minutes has 40-100 milligrams. Green tea has one-third as much caffeine as black tea.
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Condition: The term "condition" has a number of biomedical meanings including the following:

1. An unhealthy state, such as in "this is a progressive condition."
2. A state of fitness, such as "getting into condition."
3. Something that is essential to the occurrence of something else; essentially a "precondition."
4. As a verb: to cause a change in something so that a response that was previously associated with a certain stimulus becomes associated with another stimulus; to condition a person, as in behavioral conditioning.

Contraction: The tightening and shortening of a muscle.

Dementia : Significant loss of intellectual abilities such as memory capacity, severe enough to interfere with social or occupational functioning.
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Estrogen: Estrogen is a female hormone produced by the ovaries. Estrogen deficiency can lead to osteoporosis .
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Fiber : The parts of plants that cannot be digested, namely complex carbohydrates. Also known as bulk or roughage.
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Incontinence: Inability to control excretions. Urinary incontinence is inability to keep urine in the bladder. Fecal incontinence is inability to retain feces in the rectum.

Incontinent: Unable to control excretions, to hold urine in the bladder or keep feces in the rectum. This is the usual medical meaning of the word incontinent. Incontinent can also refer to a lack of self-restraint in the sexual arena or failure to refrain from sexual intercourse.

Involuntary: Done other than in accordance with the conscious will of the individual. The opposite of voluntary.
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Kegel exercises: Exercises designed to increase muscle strength and elasticity in the female pelvis. Kegel exercises may be recommended for treatment of an incompetent cervix, vaginal looseness after pregnancy and delivery, or urinary incontinence.

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. There are three types of muscle in the body. Muscle which is responsible for moving extremities and external areas of the body is called "skeletal muscle." Heart muscle is called "cardiac muscle." Muscle that is in the walls of arteries and bowel is called "smooth muscle."

Overactive bladder: A sudden involuntary contraction of the muscular wall of the bladder causing urinary urgency, an immediate unstoppable need to urinate. It is a form of urinary incontinence (the unintentional loss of urine) and affects about 1 in 11 adults, particularly older adults. Treatment may include pelvic muscle strengthening, behavioral therapy, and medications. Also called urge incontinence.

Pelvic: Having to do with the pelvis, the lower part of the abdomen, located between the hip bones.

Postmenopausal: After the menopause . Postmenopausal is defined formally as the time after which a woman has experienced twelve (12) consecutive months of amenorrhea (lack of menstruation) without a period.
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Rehabilitation: The process of restoration of skills by a person who has had an illness or injury so as to regain maximum self-sufficiency and function in a normal or as near normal manner as possible. For example, rehabilitation after a stroke may help the patient walk again and speak clearly again.
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Toilet: 1. In medicine, cleansing of a wound and the skin around it. 2. In obstetrics, cleansing of a woman just after childbirth. 3. In dentistry, the cleaning out of a cavity before a restoration. 4. A device for the disposal of urine and feces. Or the room containing such a device.
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Urge incontinence: A sudden involuntary contraction of the muscular wall of the bladder causing urinary urgency, an immediate unstoppable urge to urinate. It is a form of urinary incontinence (the unintentional loss of urine) and affects about 1 in 11 adults, particularly older adults. Treatment may include pelvic muscle strengthening, behavioral therapy, and medications. Also called overactive bladder.

Urinary: Having to do with the kidneys, ureters, and bladder. The urinary system represents the functional and anatomic aspects of the kidneys, ureters, and bladder.

Urinary incontinence : The unintentional loss of urine. Inability to hold urine in the bladder due to loss of voluntary control over the urinary sphincters resulting in the involuntary passage of urine.
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Urinary urgency: An immediate unstoppable urge to urinate, due to a sudden involuntary contraction of the muscular wall of the bladder .
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Urine: Liquid waste. The urine is a clear, transparent fluid. It normally has an amber color. The average amount of urine excreted in 24 hours is from 40 to 60 ounces (about 1,200 cubic centimeters). Chemically, the urine is mainly an aqueous (watery) solution of salt (sodium chloride) and substances called urea and uric acid. Normally, it contains about 960 parts of water to 40 parts of solid matter. Abnormally, it may contain sugar (in diabetes), albumen (a protein) (as in some forms of kidney disease), bile pigments (as in jaundice), or abnormal quantities of one or another of its normal components.

Vagina: The muscular canal extending from the cervix to the outside of the body. It is usually six to seven inches in length, and its walls are lined with mucus membrane . It includes two vaultlike structures, the anterior (front) vaginal fornix and the posterior (rear) vaginal fornix . The cervix protrudes slightly into the vagina, and it is through a tiny hole in the cervix (the os) that sperm make their way toward the internal reproductive organs. The vagina also includes numerous tiny glands that make vaginal secretions.
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Void: To urinate. Just as we can void a check and empty it of value, so can we void our bladder and empty it of urine.
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From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com

Urinalysis - Learn about the urinalysis test. Diseases and conditions such as urinary tract or kidney infection, kidney stones, kidney failure, diabetes, or high blood pressure can be diagnosed or monitored. Source:MedicineNet Cystoscopy and Ureteroscopy - Read about the side effects of cystoscopy and ureteroscopy, procedures used in the treatment of bladder problems (frequent urinary tract infections, kidney stones). Source:Government Sexual and Urologic Problems of Diabetes - Having diabetes can mean the early onset of sexual problems and urological problems for both men and women. Source:Government Read 38 more Overactive Bladder related articles ... Probiotics Help Adult Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery Common Medications Could Cause Physical Impairment in the Elderly Study: Female Incontinence Is Common Health Tip: Coping With Urinary Incontinence