What does a bladder diary record?

• A. Day-to-day urinary symptoms including leakage, urgency, and voids.
• B. Post-void residual measurement.
• C. Pad weight measurement.
• D. Urinalysis results.

Answer: (A)

A bladder diary is used to document daily urinary habits and symptoms, capturing how often you void, when urges occur, and when leakage happens. This kind of record helps quantify the frequency and timing of incontinence episodes and relates them to daily activities or fluid intake, guiding diagnoses and treatment decisions. It does not involve clinical measurements like post-void residual after voiding (which requires a bladder scan or catheterization), pad weight (a rough leakage estimate sometimes used informally but not the diary’s primary purpose), or urinalysis results (lab tests of urine composition). So the record of day-to-day urinary symptoms, including leakage, urgency, and voids, is what the bladder diary tracks.