What is the Difference Between UTI and Overactive Bladder

The key difference between UTI and overactive bladder is that UTI is a medical condition that occurs when the bladder and kidneys are infected by bacteria, while an overactive bladder is a medical condition that occurs when bladder muscles contract excessively.

Many people in the world experience urinary tract discomfort due to UTIs and overactive bladders. Both these conditions are characterized by a strong, frequent urge to urinate. This can make it difficult to differentiate these diseases. However, there are some peculiar differences between UTI and overactive bladder.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is UTI 
3. What is Overactive Bladder
4. Similarities – UTI and Overactive Bladder
5. UTI vs Overactive Bladder in Tabular Form
6. Summary – UTI vs Overactive Bladder

What is UTI (Urinary Tract Infection)?

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a medical condition that occurs when the bladder and kidneys are infected by bacteria. UTI is an infection in any part of the urinary system, including kidneys, bladders, ureters, and urethra. However, most UTI infections involve the bladder and the urethra. Women are at a greater risk of developing a UTI than men. The infections that are limited to the bladder can be painful and annoying. Serious consequences can occur if the infections spread to the kidneys. The urinary tract infection symptoms may include a strong and persistent urge to urinate, a burning sensation when urinating, passing frequent and small amounts of urine, urine that appears cloudy, urine that appears red, bright pink or cola colored urine, strong smelling urine, and pelvic pain in women.

There are three main types of UTI infections: kidneys (acute pyelonephritis), bladder (cystitis), and urethra (urethritis). The infections in the bladder (cystitis) are caused by Escherichia coli, which is a bacterium commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract. Sexual intercourse can cause cystitis. But all women are at higher risk of cystitis because of their anatomy (a short distance from the urethra to the anus and the urethral opening to the bladder). Moreover, urethritis can occur when GI bacteria spread from the anus to the urethra. Women have their urethra close to the vagina, and sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhea, chlamydia, and mycoplasma can cause urethritis.

UTI can be diagnosed through urine sample analysis in the laboratory, urine cultures, CT scans, MRIs, and cystoscopy. Furthermore, treatments for UTIs are antibiotics such as trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, fosfomycin, nitrofurantoin, cephalexin, ceftriaxone, and vaginal estrogen therapy.

What is Overactive Bladder?

Overactive bladder is a medical condition that occurs when bladder muscles contract excessively. The symptoms of this medical condition include a sudden urge to urinate that is difficult to control, experiencing unintentional loss of urine immediately after an urgent need to urinate, frequently urinating ( 8 or more times in 24 hours), and waking up more than two times in the night to urinate. Overactive bladder occurs when the muscles of the bladder start to contract on their own, even when the volume of urine in the bladder is very low. Many people with cognitive decline who have had a stroke or have Alzheimer’s disease are at the risk of developing an overactive bladder. People who have enlarged prostate and diabetes are also at a higher risk of overactive bladder.

Diagnosis of overactive bladder can be performed through medical history, physical examination (which includes rectal exam and pelvic exam in women), urine sample to test infection, traces of blood or other abnormalities, and neurological exams. Furthermore, treatments for overactive bladder include behavioral therapies, medications to relax the bladder (tolterodine, oxybutynin, solifenacin, fesoterodine, and mirabegron), bladder injections (onabotulinumtoxinA), nerve stimulation, percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS), and surgery to increase bladder capacity, and bladder removal.

What are the Similarities Between UTI and Overactive Bladder?

• UTI and overactive bladder are two medical conditions that cause urinary tract discomfort.
• Both UTI and overactive bladder are characterized by a strong, frequent urge to urinate.
• In both conditions, the bladder is affected.
• Both UTI and overactive bladder can be diagnosed through urine sample analysis in the laboratory.
• They can be treated through specific medications.

What is the Difference Between UTI and Overactive Bladder?

UTI is a medical condition that occurs when the bladder and kidneys are infected by bacteria while the overactive bladder is a medical condition that occurs when bladder muscles contract excessively. Thus, this is the key difference between UTI and overactive bladder. Furthermore, women are affected more than men by UTIs, but women and men are equally affected by an overactive bladder.

The below infographic presents the differences between UTI and overactive bladder in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – UTI vs Overactive Bladder

UTI and overactive bladder are two medical conditions that cause urinary tract discomfort. UTI is a medical condition that occurs when the bladder and kidneys are infected by bacteria, while overactive bladder is a medical condition that occurs when bladder muscles contract excessively. So, this is the key difference between UTI and overactive bladder.

Reference:

1. “Overactive Bladder.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 3 May 2022.
2. “Urinary Tract Infection (UTI).” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 23 Apr. 2021.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Depiction of a lady who has a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)” By Myupchar (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Urinary Incontinence” By Scientific Animations(CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia