Have you ever had this kind of embarrassment – you can’t hold it in, you pee your pants; you pee many times a day; you always wake up at night with urine. These are all signs of overactive bladder (OAB for short). Recently, I have been admitted to the ward with serious symptoms of OAB, the incidence of OAB is particularly high in middle-aged and elderly patients, especially female patients, the key is that a large proportion of patients do not seek medical attention in a timely manner, most of them believe that urinary urgency, frequency, increased nocturia and incontinence is a natural phenomenon of old age rather than a disease, delaying medical attention largely aggravates the condition and reduces the quality of life. Therefore, I would like to briefly explain: OAB is a great danger to healthy life OAB has a great impact on the health and life of patients, especially in the areas of exercise, social interaction, daily behavior and sleep. For example: having to limit or discontinue exercise due to OAB symptoms; avoiding sex or reducing intimacy because of the fear that OAB will occur during sex; reducing social activities, afraid to travel; at work, affecting efficiency and reducing the time to focus; often needing special underwear and bedding to ensure hygiene and cleanliness. Over time, become isolated or even produce shame, depression and other adverse emotions, all of which greatly affect the quality of life of OAB patients. The four main symptoms of OAB There are many causes of OAB, such as prostate enlargement, pelvic floor muscle problems, neurological problems, endocrine system causes, etc. There may also be causes such as bladder abnormalities, urethra, local bladder lesions, infections, and psychological urinary frequency. If you suspect that you have symptoms of OAB, you should seek help from the urology department of a regular hospital. The urgency of urination is different from the urgency of urination in normal people, who can hold it in, but it is difficult to delay the urgency of urination in OAB patients, just like “I can’t go without urinating, if I don’t go, I will pee my pants. Urge incontinence Involuntary leakage of urine with urgency or immediately after the onset of urgency. Frequent urination Usually too frequent during the day or night, with ≥8 urinations during the day and <200ml per urination. Nocturnal urination Getting up more than once at night after going to sleep to urinate. Of these, urgency is the core symptom, with the majority of OAB patients experiencing urinary urgency 1-6 times per week. The proportion of wet OAB (i.e., with urge incontinence) gradually increases as the severity of the disease increases, and this condition is more pronounced in female patients. OAB treatment can begin with self-regulation According to Dr. Huang Hai, deputy chief of urology at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, self-regulation and training can be done first for overactive bladder syndrome, including: 1. Lifestyle changes Such as paying attention to water intake, drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water a day, avoiding a large intake of water at once, quitting alcohol and all foods and beverages containing caffeine, and no longer drinking water near night. Adjust your diet to avoid foods and drinks that irritate the bladder, such as coffee, tea, chocolate, and certain medications. Know where the toilet is when you go out, etc. 2. Bladder training (1) Do not rush into the bathroom immediately when you have an urge to urinate, but try to hold it for a while and wait for the feeling of urination to diminish. (2) Urinate once an hour, whether you need to or not. After that, you can gradually increase the time interval between urination. (3) Try the following techniques to help delay the urge to urinate --- Relax and turn your attention to other body sensations, such as breathing. Take 5-10 deep breaths slowly. This exercise can interfere with the wrong message sent by the brain about the urgency of urination. 3, pelvic floor muscle training First find the pelvic floor muscle, the muscle that controls this activity (i.e. the sphincter) by constantly stopping and starting to urinate during urination is the pelvic floor muscle. Then train the pelvic floor muscles by contracting the sphincter for 3 seconds, relaxing it for 3 seconds, and repeating 10 times. Repeat the pelvic floor exercises at least 2 times a day. Medication is important to persevere Through the above three self-regulation methods, if your OAB symptoms do not improve, it is time to follow the doctor's instructions and start medication. Experts say that anticholinergic drugs (M-receptor antagonists) are the most effective drugs available, and their main effect is to inhibit the sensitive effect of the bladder nerves. But don't expect the medication to be effective immediately; it can take weeks or months to achieve maximum benefit, so be sure to stay on the medication. In Chinese medicine, overactive bladder syndrome is divided into four types of discrimination, spleen and kidney deficiency type, Yin deficiency and internal heat type, liver depression and Qi stagnation type, and dampness and heat accumulation type. Accurate identification and treatment of medication according to the four diagnoses will be more effective, together with moderate Western medicine, both Chinese and Western medicine will greatly improve the quality of life of OAB patients.