Neurogenic Bladder Health Article

Alternative treatment

The cause of the bladder problem must be determined and treated appropriately. If nerve damage is not permanent, homeopathy and acupuncture may help restore function.

Prognosis

Individuals with an overactive bladder caused by spinal cord lesions at or above the seventh thoracic vertebra, are at risk for sympathetic dysreflexia, a life-threatening condition which can occur when the bladder (and/or rectum) becomes overly full. Initial symptoms include sweating (particularly on the forehead) and headache, with progression to slow heart rate (bradycardia) and high blood pressure (hypertension). Patients should notify their physician promptly if symptoms do not subside after the bladder (or rectum) is emptied, or if the bladder (or rectum) is full and cannot be emptied.

BOOKS

Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. Urinary Incontinence in Adults: Acute and Chronic Management. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996.

Doughty, Dorothy B. Urinary and Fecal Incontinence. St. Louis: Mosby-Year Book, 1991.

Monaham, Frances D., and Marianne Neighbors. Medical-Surgical Nursing: Foundations for Clinical Practice. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Co., 1998.

Suddarth, Doris S. The Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1991.

ORGANIZATIONS

Bladder Health Council, American Foundation for Urologic Disease. 300 West Pratt St., Suite 401, Baltimore, MD 21201. (800) 242-2383 or (410) 727-2908.

National Association for Continence. P.O. Box 8310, Spartanburg, SC 29305-8310. (800) 252-3337. <http://www.nafc.org>.

Simon Foundation for Continence. Box 835, Wilmette, IL 60091.

Kathleen D. Wright, RN

KEY TERMS

Anticholinergic—An agent that blocks certain nerve impulses.

Catheterization—Insertion of a slender, flexible tube into the bladder to drain urine.

Compliance—A term used to describe how well a patient's behavior follows medical advice.

Cystometry—A test of bladder function in which pressure and volume of fluid in the bladder are measured during filling, storage, and voiding.

Cystoscopy—A direct method of bladder study and visualization using a cystoscope (self-contained optical lens system). The cystoscope can be manipulated to view the entire bladder, with a guide system to pass it up into the ureters (tubes leading from the kidneys to the bladder).

Glans penis—The bulbous tip of the penis.

Motor nerves—Nerves that cause movement when stimulated.

Parasympathomimetic—An agent whose effects mimic those resulting from stimulation of the parasympathetic nerves.

Perineal—The diamond-shaped region of the body between the pubic arch and the anus.

Reflex—An involuntary response to a particular stimulus.

Sensory nerves—Nerves that convey impulses from sense organs to the higher parts of the nervous system, including the brain.

Sphincter—A band of muscles that surrounds a natural opening in the body; these muscles can open or close the opening by relaxing or contracting.

Ureter—A tube leading from one of the kidneys to the bladder.

Urethra—The tube that leads from the bladder to the outside of the body.

Urostomy—A diversion of the urinary flow away from the bladder, resulting in output through the abdominal wall. The most common method involves use of a portion of intestine to conduct the urine out through the abdomen and into an external pouch worn for urine collection.