How to Calm Bladder Spasms

Your kidneys filter waste from your blood and use it to create urine, a continuous process that produces small increments of urine every 10 to 15 seconds. Your bladder then stores the urine. Once it is full, the brain signals the bladder to contract its muscles and excrete the urine. Bladder spasms occur when the bladder muscles suffer from intense muscle cramps and force you to urinate immediately. Occurring most frequently in elderly people, bladder spasms are one of the most common causes of incontinence or bladder leakage. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to calm these uncomfortable, inconvenient spasms.

Instructions

• 1

  Get a proper diagnosis. Consult your physician, as bladder spasms can often be a sign of other health problems, such as urinary disease. After studying your medical history and symptoms, your doctor may ask you to provide urine and blood samples for tests, and she may even suggest a cystoscopy to rule out bladder cysts or bladder cancer.

• 2

  Help prevent any bladder leaks using timed bathroom breaks. Empty your bladder every 90 minutes to two hours until your bladder spasms improve.

• 3

  Keep a food diary to track any relationship between what you eat and when your bladder spasms occur. Many people find that certain foods aggravate their symptoms.

• 4

  Strengthen your bladder and pelvic muscles using Kegel exercises. Strong bladder muscles are less likely to suffer from bladder spasms. Contract and then relax the muscles you use to stop urinating midstream for 15 minutes at a time.

• 5

  Ask your doctor about prescription drugs available to treat your bladder spasms. Most of the time, he will offer you anticholinergics, such as oxybutynin chloride and tolterodine. These drugs will help stabilize your bladder.