If you are a woman suffering from urinary urgency, frequency, or leakage, then chances are that you have considered the fact that you may have overactive bladder, or OAB. You may have done some research to educate yourself about your condition, and learn about possible solutions. You may have even seen your doctor to get an accurate medical diagnosis.
And, if you are like many women, you may still be confused. Specifically, you may be confused about the difference between risk factors and triggers for OAB. If so, don’t worry. Many women with urinary incontinence are unclear about these two terms, so you are not alone. The good news is that this kind of confusion is simple to clear up!
Risk Factors for Overactive Bladder
In a previous article we discussed the risk factors for OAB. When we use the term “risk factors,” we are describing the constant or chronic factors in your life that may be causing your urinary urgency, frequency, or leakage.
Being overweight is an example of a lifestyle factor that puts you a risk for OAB. Another example of a risk factor is having a low level of estrogen, which is a chronic condition that can cause bladder irritability, leading to OAB symptoms.
In other words, risk factors are the constant conditions in your life that cause or put you at risk for OAB symptoms. When you adjust your lifestyle in a permanent way–by losing weight or stopping smoking, for instance–you reduce your risk of experiencing symptoms like urinary urgency and frequency. By removing the causes of OAB from your lifestyle, you reduce your chances of getting or having this condition.
Triggers for Overactive Bladder
Unlike risk factors, triggers do not refer to constant lifestyle conditions. Instead, triggers are momentary events that may immediately bring on symptoms such as urinary urgency or leakage.
For instance, some women with OAB may feel the urge to urinate when they hear the sound of running water. Other women have symptoms triggered by drinking caffeinated beverages or eating spicy foods. Additional triggers include immersion in cold water, sudden changes in position, or drinking small amounts of liquid.
One lifestyle risk factor that is also a trigger for OAB is smoking. As a lifestyle habit, smoking increases your risk of having OAB because nicotine causes your bladder to be constantly irritated. At the same time, whenever you smoke a cigarette, you can trigger your OAB symptoms in that moment. This makes smoking both a risk factor and a trigger for OAB. Hence, some women become confused about the difference between risk factors and triggers.
For the most part, however, triggers can bring on OAB symptoms in the moment, while risk factors are constants in your life that increase your chances of having OAB as a permanent condition (permanent, that is, until you change your lifestyle and reduce your risk).
Hopefully this short article helps clear up any confusion about the difference between risk factors and triggers for women’s urinary incontinence, of which OAB is just one of three types!
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