What Is Gelnique Used For?
Gelnique™ (
oxybutynin gel) is a prescription medication approved for treating an
overactive bladder. Gelnique belongs to a group of medications known as anticholinergics or antimuscarinics. It is the first overactive bladder medication available in the form of a gel that is applied to the skin.
Some people just accept that an overactive bladder is simply a normal part of aging. However, it is not something a person must live with. There are effective treatments for an overactive bladder.
An overactive bladder is caused by
contractions of the bladder muscle that are too frequent and usually uncontrollable. Normally, the bladder fills slowly until nerve signals tell your brain that the bladder is full and you need to use the bathroom. Then the bladder muscles contract when you urinate. However, in some people, the bladder muscles contract frequently and spastically. This causes the following overactive bladder symptoms:
- A frequent need to urinate (usually defined as needing to go more than 8 times in 24 hours)
- A sudden, strong urge to urinate (known as urinary urgency)
- Leaking accidents (known as urinary incontinence or urge incontinence).
Sometimes, an overactive bladder is caused by other medical problems, such as an
enlarged prostate (also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, or
BPH). In these cases, it is best to treat the underlying problem instead of using Gelnique. The medication is not approved for other types of
bladder problems. In fact, Gelnique may actually make some other types of bladder problems worse.
