Evolving science and technology have introduced new and more efficient ways of treating a particular health problem. Among the other significant innovative treatments bladder Botox injections have made their prominent place in medical science. Bladder Botox injections are meant to manage overactive bladder and urinary incontinence.
This one is considered a major progress in the field of urology saving thousands of people from the embarrassment of overactive bladder. Here we will see how bladder botox injections work and explore its potential benefits.
What is Bladder Botox?
Botox is the short form of botulinum toxin that is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Though it is harmful for nature a controlled and diluted amount of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum is largely used in therapeutic applications to fix bladder issues. Overactive bladder and urine incontinence are effectively treated by botox injections. Urine incontinence is characterized by frequent and urgent need to urinate.
Understanding Bladder Overactivity and Incontinence
Let’s delve into the mechanism of botox injections and understand what kind of issues they can treat. Botox injection can treat bladder incontinence including involuntary urine leakage, unintentional urine loss usually when laughing, sneezing, and coughing, and frequent and urgent need to urinate. An overactive bladder can adversely affect one’s quality of life.
One loses his confidence, feels embarrassed, and isolates himself from social gatherings just to overcome and manage his bladder incontinence.
The Mechanism of Bladder Botox Injections
Bladder Botox injections just like other botox injections paralyze or relax the muscles of the bladder and simply alleviate the issues of bladder incontinence and over-activeness. In this very procedure a controlled and diluted amount of botox is injected into the bladder muscle with the help of a thin tube called a cystoscope that also has a camera at the end of it. The steps listed below will help a lot to understand how this process goes.
1- Preparation:
A local anesthetic or sedative is usually given to the patients before botox treatment. This ensures the patient’s comfort and ease during the treatment. Then the tube called a cystoscope is inserted into the bladder.
2- Injection:
The cystoscope has a camera at one of its ends, and the urologist uses this camera to inject the respective areas of targeted muscles. As there are no pain receptors in the bladder lining so the injections are painless.
3- Muscle Relaxation:
After the botox is injected, it paralyzes or relaxes the muscle by blocking the release of a neurotransmitter called, acetylcholine. This prevents the muscle from overly contracting and thus reduces the urge to urinate frequently and uncontrollably.
4- Treatment Duration:
The botox injection treatment duration is temporary lasting for several months. And loses its effectiveness after a specified period that may vary from person to person. When the muscles regain the activity, repeated injections are needed for sustained relief.
The Dramatic Benefits of Botox:
The following are some of its primary benefits:
Guaranteed Relief:
Bladder Botox injections are credited to bring quick and evident relief in patients by reducing the urgency and frequency of involuntary urine leakage.
Almost Non-Invasive:
A very short recovery time is needed, so with its non-invasive nature, it has almost zero downtime.
Improved Quality of Life:
The treatment improves the patient’s quality of life by improving his social relationships and physical well-being.
Non-Surgical Option:
This non-invasive procedure works effectively and needs no surgical operations.
Potential Side Effects:
The process is generally safe but has a few side effects written as under:
- The treatment gives temporary relief, but the patient may need repetitive injections for lasting effects.
- The patients may feel discomfort or irritation after receiving the treatment.
- The patients may suffer from urinary tract infections after the treatment that can be fixed shortly by following the instructions of your health care provider.
- After receiving the treatment the women feel reduced need to urinate during the day and night.
- Bladder botox injections eliminate the use of pads which the patients might use when suffering urinary incontinence.
Conclusion
Bladder Botox injection is a well-established treatment fixing the issues related to overactive bladder and urinary incontinence providing an opportunity to a large number of people to get control over their lives and enjoy physical health as well as their social life. though the treatment does not offer a permanent fix yet it is expected that botox injections will become more refined and improved with the growing advancement in the fields of science and medicine.
This very treatment has gained a lot of popularity among women who are facing urinary incontinence and have found the other prevalent treatments intolerable. The whole process is done under the supervision of an experienced medical practitioner who determines the required dose to fix the issue.
