What Happens When Your Bladder Is ‘Overactive?’ 🤪

• Author: Dr. Lee Seung Hwan, Tong-In Clinic

• Editor : Sia

Hello! I'm Lee Seung Hwan, doctor at Tong-in Korean Medicine Clinic.

Winter has arrived!

While summer helps eliminate bodily waste through sweating, winter brings almost no sweating—making proper urination even more important.

But if you experience the following symptoms, you should suspect 'overactive bladder':

"I feel the urge to pee constantly, so whenever I see a bathroom, I just go in."

"I get anxious if I don't use the bathroom before long drives."

"I wake up every hour at night to pee, so I can't sleep deeply."

This isn't yet at the "bladder infection" level, but it could be a sign that prevention and early treatment are needed.

Why Does Overactive Bladder Occur?

The bladder is a muscular pouch that stores and expels urine. Healthy adults can store up to 400-500cc of urine in their bladder. Typically, you feel the urge at 150cc and must use the bathroom at 200-300cc. People with an overactive bladder can't hold even half that amount (50-100cc).

📌 Overactive Bladder Symptoms

Overactive bladder shows these symptoms:

1. Urgent, hard-to-control urges

2. Frequent urination

3. Waking at night to urinate

4. (Severe cases) Urinary incontinence

According to a survey of 2,005 Korean adults aged 40 and above, 30.5% experienced at least one of these three symptoms—urgency, frequency, or urge incontinence—indicating overactive bladder.

Patients often think "it's just aging" or feel embarrassed about seeking medical treatment for urogenital problems. Some assume these symptoms are untreatable.

However, missing early treatment opportunities tends to worsen and make symptoms chronic, lowering quality of life.

📌 Causes of Overactive Bladder

The exact cause remains unclear, but it's believed to stem from heightened bladder sensory function and detrusor overactivity. Factors like aging, gender, obesity, caffeine, alcohol, smoking, hypertension, menopause, and childbirth can influence symptoms.

'Aging' is the main cause of an overactive bladder, except in cases of neurological disorders. However, for those under 30, mental issues like stress and depression are primary causes. In young patients, stress appears to affect the brain's urination center negatively, making the bladder abnormally sensitive so urges occur with minimal urine.

This positions overactive bladder syndrome within the category of somatization and psychosomatic disorders. Additionally, over 30% of people with an overactive bladder also experience depression.

🚨 If You Have These Symptoms, Suspect Cauda Equina Syndrome!

If you have severe lower back pain, can't hold urine well, and experience bowel accidents?

This could indicate 'Mami(cauda equina) syndrome.'

This term 'Mami (마미,馬尾, horse tail)' refers to spinal nerve endings starting at lumbar vertebrae 1-2, named for resembling a horse's tail. It often accompanies lumbar disc herniation or spinal stenosis.

This syndrome requires emergency surgery, and faster surgery improves recovery chances!

🚨 Diseases Suspected by Urine Color

If your urine color looks abnormal along with overactive bladder symptoms, additional testing and treatment may be needed:

1. Dark brownish-red: Bile excretion or liver disease suspected

2. Red: Blood - cancer, infection, stones (urination may be very painful)

3. Milky yellow: Pus infection - may need cause identification and antibiotic treatment
   
   

Overactive Bladder Treatment

Korean medicine uses the term 'im-jeung (임증)' for this condition—a concept that encompasses not only overactive bladder but also cystitis.

Treatment involves herbal prescriptions that address bladder dampness-heat and improve urination difficulties, along with acupuncture and moxibustion to regulate urination and fluid metabolism.

📌 Inversion Exercise: Relieve Fatigue

Inversion table exercise is helpful for an overactive bladder. Lie on an inversion bench with your head slightly lower. By reversing gravity's effect, inversion exercise relieves muscle fatigue in areas that typically sag downward (pelvic floor, bladder, etc.) and gently pulls them upward.

🚨Caution!

Making the angle too steep can strain joints like ankles, knees, and lower back, and depending on your weight and health condition, could cause serious injury! Start at a comfortable angle, gradually increase time (around 30 minutes), and we recommend exercising only up to 45 degrees.

📌 Corn Silk Tea: Stress Down

An effective tea for an overactive bladder is "corn silk tea." While commercial products exist, we recommend making it slightly stronger than store-bought versions.

Corn silk is also used as a herbal medicine. Its sweet taste makes it enjoyable for all ages. It not only promotes urination but also reduces stress.

Prepare about 8g of well-washed corn silk and steep it in about 200ml of hot water for 30 minutes. It's more convenient if you put the corn silk in an eco-friendly tea bag before steeping.

📌 Job's Tears Rice: Reduce Swelling

Another special food is "job's tears rice." Job's tears (also called "ui-i-in" as an herbal medicine) help eliminate body swelling through urination and smooth the skin.

Cook rice with a 3:1 ratio of rice to job's tears. The chewy texture of job's tears is appealing. Since job's tears are harder than rice, those with weak digestive systems should soak them overnight before cooking.

Job's tears have a lower carbohydrate content than other grains, higher protein and dietary fiber, and increased satiety—making them suitable for a healthy diet.

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<3-Line Summary>

• urgency, frequency, or urge incontinence - connected to stress.
• Inversion exercises help!
• Corn silk tea and job's tears rice are GOOD!

Still struggling with symptoms even after trying these methods?

Visit a nearby Korean medicine clinic for active treatments, including acupuncture, cupping, herbal injections, and herbal prescriptions. Not only symptoms but also your mood—which tends toward depression—will improve together!

Stay warm in body and heart this cold winter. 🔥 💙