If you cough and find yourself leaking urine or have to get up often in the middle of any meeting, you are not alone. It might be due to urinary incontinence or an overactive bladder. The involuntary or sudden unexpected loss of urine is called urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence can happen due to various factors, including urinary tract infection and overactive bladder. According to recent research, around 17% of women and 16% of men over 18 years old have an overactive bladder, and an estimated 12.2 million adults have urge incontinence.
The good news is that you can treat it with one of the effective treatment processes called Botox. Some might think Botox is only associated with clearing out facial wrinkles. However, it also serves as a ‘life-changing’ aspect in the routine treatment for people suffering from overactive bladder conditions.
Bladder botox injections have been proven to significantly improve symptoms and quality of life in women with overactive bladder. Here’s your comprehensive guide on what you should learn about bladder botox injection.
What is Botox?
Botox (Botulinum A toxin) was approved by FDA in January 2013 to be administered for the indication of overactive bladder. The drug belongs to the neurotoxin drug class, considered for its potential use of paralyzing effect. As a result, small botox injections work are therapeutically administered to paralyze target muscles. Besides its cosmetic uses in smoothening facial wrinkles, it also treats people with certain muscular medical disorders, including an Overactive bladder.
How do bladder botox injections work?
Botox, a powerful drug, chemically affects muscle-nerve connection when locally injected. When you have the urge to urinate, chemical signals travel from nerve cells to the urinary bladder muscles, signalling it to contract. In an overactive bladder, the muscles contract unpredictably, leading to sudden and frequent urination urges or leaking urine even when it isn’t full.
When injected directly into the bladder muscles, Botox decreases the bladder’s muscle contractions by blocking the specific chemical singles. In short, it disrupts the neurotransmitters in the muscles of the bladder, preventing certain sensations that influence the person to need to urinate. When the signals are blocked, the muscle will relax, allowing the bladder to reach its higher capacity. The temporary paralysis helps quiet the frequent or urgent feeling of urination.
What is the procedure for injecting Botox into the bladder?
Botox injection treatment for an overactive bladder can be performed in a physician’s office. Before administering the injection, the health professional will fill your bladder with a numbing agent or offer a sedative to make you feel comfortable and relaxed. After giving the numbing agent, they insert a narrow tube, known as a cystoscope, up the urethra, and into the bladder.
A series of small botox injections are given through the cystoscope and to the bladder muscles. The procedure for the entire process, including giving a numbing agent, will take around 30 minutes. With that said, let’s discuss some benefits of bladder botox injections in the next section.
Benefits of Bladder botox injections
Patients experience significant benefits in symptoms after the treatment of bladder botox, including.
- Decreased or elimination of frequent episodes or urinary incontinence
- Reduced severe urgency
- Decreased number of urination times during the day and night.
With all these benefits, patients must also know what to expect after bladder botox injections, described in detail below.
What to expect after bladder botox injections?
After receiving the botox injections, there will be no pain. However, you might feel a slight sting or burn during urination. Some might have to face small amounts of blood in their urine. The person can leave home within 2-3 hours after the treatment. They can expect results within two weeks of the procedure.
Nonetheless, the patient has to repeat the treatment once they experience the overactive bladder symptoms. It is because the effect of the treatment is effective for around three months, which might last long between 6 and 12 months, depending on the health status and lifestyle of the individual.
Are there any risks in injecting botox into the bladder?
It is always important to consider the side effects of any medical procedure. Botox’s purpose is to decrease strength and natural contraction. It might lead to potential side effects within the first two weeks after treatment.
- Urinary Tract Infection
- Difficult or painful urination
- Urinary retention is the inability to empty your bladder, which requires a self-catheter temporarily.
Summary
Botox injections for overactive bladder aid in alleviating the symptoms when other relevant treatments and lifestyle changes have not worked. While this treatment is effective, the individuals must undergo repeat injections at routine intervals to maintain the positive effects. At ENRICHED MED SPA, we focus on improving the quality of your life through lifestyle modifications and invasive procedures. If you have an overactive bladder, you can talk with our specialists and sort out the best treatment option, helping to cope with incontinence for a long time.
