The Surprising Drinking Mistake That Makes Overactive Bladder Worse

“Women who have incontinence will very often dehydrate themselves and decrease their fluid intake in a common sense attempt to reduce bladder fullness so they reduce their incontinence,” says Lauri Romanzi, MD, a urogynecologist in New York City.

But the problem with dramatically cutting back your fluid intake too much is that you’re not only dehydrating your body, but your making your urine more concentrated too (hence the darker color). This extra-concentrated urine can irritate the bladder and make your OAB symptoms worse. (Here’s what else your urine color can reveal about your health).

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Written by:

Brittany Doohan

Brittany Doohan was the Content Director at HealthiNation and is currently the Editorial Director at Medscape. Through her work with Medscape, she won a Silver Telly Award in May 2022 for "Sleepless Nation: A Public Health Epidemic — Episode 2: A Decade Without a Diagnosis." She has worked in health journalism and video production for more than 8 years, and loves the challenge of explaining complex topics in an easy-to-understand and creative way.

Reviewed by:

Sanjai Sinha, MD

Sanjai Sinha, MD, is a board-certified physician with over 20 years of experience. He specializes in internal medicine.

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