Midlife bladder issues are common for women
UCI Health urologist Dr. Jessica Yih urges sufferers to seek help and improve their quality of life
IN THE NEWS: It's common for urinary frequency and incontinence to increase around midlife, but many women don’t seek treatment, believing it’s part of aging.
Dr. Jessica Yih, a urologist at the UCI Health Center for Urological Care, spoke with Yahoo Health about how a gradual decrease in estrogen levels impacts the acidity of vulva and vagina, increasing the chance of infection and yeast overgrowth, which weakens the bladder and urethra.
“When these tissues become fragile or irritated you can start to feel bladder symptoms like urgency and frequency. Plus, you may experience trace amounts of blood in the urine and repeat urinary tract infections.”
The good news is that there are things that women can do to improve their daily lives. For example, drink when thirsty, and don’t empty the bladder before you need to.
“Emptying your bladder before you need to can backfire. It retrains it to feel like you need to go to the bathroom when it's not full."
Yih is an assistant professor with the Department of Urology at the UC Irvine School of Medicine. She treats issues pertaining to female sexual health, including menopause, arousal and orgasm disorders. She sees male patients for sexual health disorders, erectile dysfunction and infertility.
Make an appointment at the Center for Urological Care at 714-456-7005.
About UCI Health
UCI Health, one of California’s largest academic health systems, is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The 1,317-bed system comprises its main campus UCI Medical Center, its flagship hospital in Orange, Calif., the UCI Health — Irvine medical campus, four hospitals and affiliated physicians of the UCI Health Community Network in Orange and Los Angeles counties and a network of ambulatory care centers across the region. UCI Medical Center provides tertiary and quaternary care and is home to the only Orange County-based National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department and regional burn center. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves 5.6 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).