Dropped Bladder

What Is a Prolapsed Bladder?

A prolapsed bladder is a bladder problem that is unique to women. For those women who don't know what is and how it occurs, it can be extremely disconcerting. The purpose of this article is to relieve some of the anxiety that comes with this condition. The medical name for a prolapsed bladder is a cystocele.

What is a dropped bladder? The walls of the vagina are designed to help support the bladder and keep it in the correct anatomical position. But in certain circumstances, the walls stretch and weaken. They can even tear. When this happens, part of the bladder can drop into the vaginal opening. For this reason, a prolapsed bladder is sometimes called a dropped bladder.

Prolapsed bladder causes In order to understand the causes of a prolapsed bladder, you need to understand how your body is designed. The bladder, uterus and rectum are the organs that fill the pelvic cavity. They’re supported by muscles, ligaments and connective tissue found on the pelvic floor.

A prolapsed bladder occurs when the muscles that support the pelvic wall are strained and become weak. This can happen during childbirth because the muscles of the vagina go through tremendous strain during this time in a woman’s life. Even though the walls of the vagina will heal, they don’t always regain the strength they once had. This is the most common of all prolapsed bladder causes.

Chronic constipation is another typical cause. So is straining yourself by doing a lot of heavy lifting. Violent coughing or bronchitis can also cause a dropped bladder, along with being obese.

After a woman goes through menopause, her estrogen levels decrease, which can also cause a dropped bladder.

Prolapsed bladder symptoms If you have a mild case, you may not notice any prolapsed bladder symptoms at all. However, if the condition worsens you may begin to feel fullness or a lot of pressure in the pelvis and vaginal area. This will get worse when you stand for long periods of time.

Other prolapsed bladder symptoms include pain when you lift, bear down, strain or cough. You may also feel the need to use the bathroom a lot - even after you've just been there. In severe cases, a soft bulge of tissue can protrude through the vaginal opening and you can feel it when sitting down.

A prolapsed bladder may lead to frequent bladder infections, pain or leakage during sex and loss of urinary control when laughing, sneezing or coughing. If the condition is serious, you may not be able to control urination at all.

Prolapsed bladder treatment Treatment for a prolapsed bladder depends on how serious the condition is. In mild cases where there are no obvious symptoms, you may not need any treatment at all. However, doing exercises to strengthen the pelvic muscles is recommended to prevent the condition from getting worse. If the problem is bad enough that symptoms are present but mild, then you may be able to correct the problem without surgery.

Instead of surgery some women use a vaginal pessary, which is a rubber or plastic ring inserted into the vagina to support the bladder. This is a temporary prolapsed bladder treatment but it can often be used for years. Estrogen therapy is another option that can be used for women who have gone through menopause.

If a prolapsed bladder is severe enough, then surgery may be the best treatment option. This may be no other way to keep the bladder and nearby organs in place. If you elect to have surgery to repair the damage, the surgeon will put the prolapsed part of the bladder back into place, and remove the stretched tissue. He or she will then tighten the muscles and ligaments of the pelvic floor so it will hold the bladder in place.

There is a chance that a prolapsed bladder can re-occur after a few years even if you do choose to have surgery. For this reason, the surgeon may recommend a hysterectomy if the tissues that support the vagina are unusually thin and weak.

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