Storage bladder symptoms include:

• Frequency – going to pass urine too frequently
• Urgency – the uncomfortable inability to defer urination
• Overactive bladder – a combination of these factors
• Urge incontinence – As above with urine leakage
• Nocturia – waking at night to pass urine

Voiding bladder symptoms can occur if there is a restriction. Most commonly this can be the caused by the prostate in men, but they can also affect women and include:

• Hesitancy – delayed start of urination
• Poor flow
• Intermittent stream
• Dribbling at the end of voiding

Blood in the urine is divided into visible and invisible (or found on testing)

Visible blood usually needs urgent investigations, especially in anyone over the age of 40, but often at any age.

Invisible blood can be a normal finding for some individuals. However, if it is found on two separate occasions or with other urinary symptoms, then this also requires investigations for most people over the age of 50 or younger if there are risk factors such as smoking.

Bladder or pelvic pain can be caused by inflammation. For example a urine infection and will often be associated with other symptoms such as frequency. It can also exist without an obvious underlying reason. For some the pain is worse when the bladder is full, for others it is during a void or at the end of the stream. It can also be referred pain from the back or a neighbouring organ such as the bowel or ovaries.

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are common, especially in women with at least 50% of them having a UTI in their lifetime. These can be recurrent causing disruptive urinary symptoms. UTIs in men are less common but more often relate to underlying conditions such as an enlarged prostate.

Most bladder infections cause cystitis symptoms with burning, stinging and frequent requirement to pass urine. Infections of the kidney may cause pain in the loin and are more likely to cause a temperature and other symptoms such as nausea.