What is bladder and rectum dysfunction?
Bladder and rectum dysfunction is a functional disorder of urination and bowel movement. This often includes various symptoms. A malfunction of the bladder leads to involuntary urine leakage.
Urination can no longer be controlled arbitrarily. There is often also the feeling that the bladder cannot be emptied completely (residual urine). This is accompanied by difficult urination.
The function of the rectum is also disturbed. Patients have sensitivity disorders in the anal region and suffer from fecal incontinence. This complex of symptoms is summarised under the term bladder and rectum dysfunction.
Associated symptoms
Depending on the cause of the bladder and rectum dysfunction, there are various accompanying symptoms. For example, if a herniated disc causes the symptoms, this is usually accompanied by massive back pain. These can also radiate into the legs or feet.
Other nerves can also be damaged by the bulging disc, which then leads to paralysis and sensitivity disorders. In most cases, bladder and rectum disorders are accompanied by numbness (loss of sensitivity) in the genitals, in the anal region and on the inner sides of the thighs. The nerves that control the bladder and bowel function supply these areas sensitively.
This often causes a sexual dysfunction. Immediate surgical intervention is necessary to prevent permanent damage and permanent incontinence. The bulging disc tissue must be surgically removed.
Treatment of bladder and rectum dysfunction
As already mentioned, there are several causes for bladder and rectum dysfunction. As different as the causes of the disease are, so are the treatment options. If the bladder and rectum dysfunction occurs as a result of a herniated disc, immediate surgical intervention is necessary.
If this disorder occurs in patients with multiple sclerosis, the patient would first be treated with a high-dose cortisone therapy. If the cause of the bladder and rectum dysfunction (e.g. paraplegia) cannot be eliminated, it is important to treat the symptoms. With regard to the bladder, this means preventing urine from backflowing into the kidneys and emptying the bladder regularly; this can be done with sterile disposable catheters.
Also in the case of intestinal dysfunction, the aim is to ensure regular, predictable and temporary bowel emptying. Here too, there are various aids available. – Bladder catheter – what is it good for? – Treatment of a slipped disc
- Multiple sclerosis therapy
When will I be well again?
How long the bladder and rectum disturbance lasts depends on the cause. Depending on the cause, the patient can control his excretions better again in the course of the disease. In the case of multiple sclerosis, the symptoms may recede after cortisone therapy.
If a herniated disc is treated surgically in time, the nerve tissue damaged by pressure can usually recover. The symptoms recede. Paraplegia is usually a permanent severance of the nerve fibres. The bladder and rectum disorder is usually permanent.
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