Imperative urges - disorders in the body associated with a sharp and irresistible desire to urinate or defecate. These phenomena are a symptom of diseases of the genitourinary system and intestines.
Impaired urination
Imperative urges to urinate cause a person discomfort and interfere with a full life. This is due to the fact that after emptying the bladder after a short time, a person feels a sharp desire to go to the toilet again. There is a feeling that urination will happen immediately, and there is a fear that it will not be able to hold.
Sometimes this happens: in some cases, the symptom is accompanied by urinary incontinence. Typically, such phenomena are a sign of an inflammatory process of the urinary tract, less often the cause is an increase in intravesical pressure, and genital infections, operations, and even damage to the spinal cord and spinal injury can also provoke the disease.
Urgency
Imperative urges (urgency) haunt a person with a violation of urination constantly, not allowing to concentrate on ordinary everyday affairs. Do not confuse the usual strong urge to urinate with urgency. When it appears, it immediately becomes clear that not everything is in order in the body. It is characterized not only by incredibly strong urges, but also by their very frequent appearance. Such symptoms cannot be controlled, they are constantly disturbing, regardless of time of day, gender and age. Previously, statistics spoke of a more frequent exposure to illness of elderly people, now this phenomenon is increasingly common among young people.
There are times when urgency is accompanied by nocturia (mainly nightly urination) or incontinence. Often urgency leads a person to an inoperative state. Among urination disorders, urgency is the most common, and among other diseases it occupies a rather high position. If available, they say about hyperactivity of the bladder (GMF).
Causes
It was previously believed that the state of urgency is most often caused by urological and gynecological diseases, and it can also be a consequence of the operation. Now, modern research methods have established that the main cause of the symptoms of imperative uncontrollable urges is GMF syndrome. Overactivity of the bladder means its abnormal activity, which may be chronic. The reason for this is not fully understood, but diseases that provoke the appearance of GMF have been identified, and these are not only diseases of the genitourinary system (acute cystitis, adenoma, prostate cancer, bladder neck tumor ). Such provocateurs include heart failure, diabetes mellitus, neurological disorders, menopause, age-related changes, multiple sclerosis.
Diagnostics
People experiencing constant imperative urges are examined comprehensively, in several stages, so that the doctor can diagnose the true cause of these manifestations. To identify concomitant diseases, the patient undergoes an ultrasound of the internal organs - the bladder, prostate, and kidneys. Next, the analysis of urine, its sediment, culture for sterility is examined, the doctor conducts a physical examination (including a general examination, palpation).
The patient’s urination diary is studied, on the basis of which it is also possible to draw conclusions about the diagnosis, GMF is put in the presence of more than eight urinations per day and more than one per night. To identify the causes of hyperactivity, cystometry (measurement of the bladder volume) is performed, tests with water and Lidocaine are used to rule out neurological causes affecting the functions of detrusor (bladder muscle).
Treatment
Treatment of imperative urges, in which urination is frequent and unbearable, should be carried out as soon as possible. After all, it is impossible to live a full life with such symptoms, a person experiences not only physical inconvenience, but also constant stress. The goal of treatment is to establish control over the accumulation of fluid in the bladder. For this, anticholinergic drugs are used. They block nerve impulses that cause constant urge to urge.
In addition, antispasmodics are used in the treatment, which reduce the muscle tone of the urinary tract. Among these drugs, Spazmex is especially popular, which does not exclude the combination with other drugs and practically does not cause side effects. In addition to drug therapy, for a more effective result in the treatment, Kegel exercises (alternating tension and relaxation of the muscles responsible for urination) and behavioral therapy (using the toilet strictly according to the schedule) are used.
Non-drug therapies. Behavioral therapy
The combination of the use of drugs and alternative methods of treatment gives effective results in the fight against impaired urination. The main directions of non-drug treatment are strengthening the muscles of the bladder, as well as gaining the ability to control visits to the toilet. Behavioral therapy involves limiting fluid intake if it exceeds the norm, correcting the drinking regimen, excluding alcoholic and caffeinated drinks, and refusing to drink before bedtime. Most of the fluid entering the body during the day should be pure still water. The amount is determined purely individually, taking into account age and related diseases. Behavioral therapy involves setting a toilet routine at a strictly allotted time to train the bladder. This approach helps to halve imperative urges.
Kegel exercises for women
This is a set of exercises for women, designed to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor. As you know, women are more likely to suffer from incontinence, including stress (with laughter, sneezing, coughing). Exercising regularly helps reduce the urge to stool and learn how to control your pelvic muscles. The complex is very simple, easy to use and accessible to any woman.
Exercises train the muscles that are responsible for the bladder, rectum, uterus, urethra. They help cope with the incontinence of pregnant women in 70% of cases, and alleviate the condition of elderly women. Kegel exercises improve blood circulation in the pelvis and rectum, accelerate rehabilitation after childbirth, and prevent the development of hemorrhoids.
Urinary Disorders in Children
The child’s frequent demands to “go to the potty” should alert parents, especially if urination does not occur (false desires). If the baby asks for a toilet almost every 15 minutes, this is an occasion to see a doctor to find out the cause of such manifestations and to eliminate it as soon as possible. The reasons for the imperative urge in children are several:
- balanoposthitis in boys;
- vulvovaginitis in girls;
- urethritis (inflammation of the urinary tract);
- cystitis (inflammation of the bladder);
- pyelonephritis, kidney disease.
Such diseases are caused by infections or hypothermia. But this is not the only reason, in some cases there is an anomaly in the development of the genitourinary organs or a disease of the nervous system, including congenital malformations and injuries, psychiatric illnesses, and neuroses.
Desires to defecate
With the physiological need to empty the intestines, a person has a urge to defecate. In the case of normal functioning, such phenomena do not cause any discomfort. If the bowel malfunctions, imperative urges to defecate may occur. They cause a convulsive contraction of the intestinal muscles, usually accompanied by pain. Such symptoms may result from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In addition to frequent urges to stool, it can be accompanied by diarrhea (more than three times a day), constipation (stool less than three times a week), pain in the abdomen, flatulence.
After stool, there is a feeling of incomplete bowel movement. For treatment, antispasmodic drugs, such as Dicyclomine, are used. A prerequisite of therapy is a diet, the rejection of fatty, spicy and fried foods that irritate the intestines. One of the varieties of the disease is tenesmus. These are excessively strong imperative urges, accompanied by contraction of the muscles of the rectum and pain, but defecation does not occur. In this case, they still talk about false desires. The cause of this may be a rectal tumor, infection, chronic or acute colitis.