Incontinence Choice FAQ – Everything you wanted to know about incontinence, but were afraid to ask. Incontinence is certainly a common problem. It tends to be somewhat more common as people age, but certainly it cuts across all age groups and sexes. The good news is that incontinence is generally a very treatable problem. However, it is important to have a good and complete understand prior to treatment.
Our FAQ will help answer questions about incontinence and other bladder control issues that exist.
General Urinary Incontinence
- A. What is urinary incontinence?
- Incontinence is a very common condition which includes involuntary loss of urine. This condition can occur for a number of reasons but is most commonly associated with the loss of urine or faecal matter when coughing, sneezing, or exercising or by the inability to hold urine when the urge to urinate occurs.
Both men and women are affected by incontinence, most typically as they get older. Several types and causes of incontinence exist, and many can be treated to either eliminate or significantly reduce the problem. - B. What are the different kinds of urinary incontinence?
- There are a number of different types of incontinence which people may suffer from, the most common types are Stress and urge incontinence.
Urge incontinence is when the users bladder feels like it has to be relieved immediately, regardless of how much urine is in the bladder. The user may suffer symptoms which include needing to urinate immediately (urgency), needing to urinate often (frequency), and having to get up at night to urinate (nocturia). When one cannot get to the bathroom in time and leaks, this is urge incontinence.
Stress incontinence is sometimes called exertional incontinence, this type of incontinence is often experienced when activities such as laughing, coughing, and sneezing take place and can cause urine to leak unexpectedly. Women are the most common sufferers of this type of incontinence and is often caused by physical changes occurring with and after pregnancy.
Mixed incontinence is when a person suffers from both urge and stress incontinence.
Dribbling incontinence is the dribbling of urine immediately after urination is completed. This can occur in men and women.
Overflow incontinence if often caused by the retention of urine in the bladder after the suffer has finished urinating, overflow incontinence is most common in men. Symptoms include dribbling of urine, urgency, hesitancy (waiting for the urine stream to begin), weak urine stream, straining to urinate, and urinating small amounts of urine at a time.
Congenital incontinence is the cause of a child born with the bladder or ureter(s) out of place is said to have congenital incontinence disorder.
Functional incontinence is when people are physically unable to make it to the bathroom in time due to a physical or mental condition, they are said to have functional incontinence.
Neuropathic incontinence affects the suffers by affecting one or more nerves related to the bladder can cause different symptoms of incontinence. Abnormalities in the brain such as a stroke or a neurological disease can affect bladder function.
Traumatic incontinence is often caused by ann injury to the pelvis, such as a fracture, or a complication of surgery can cause traumatic incontinence. - C. What are the symptoms of urinary incontinence?
- People who suffer from leakage of urine from the bladder as the most common symptom of incontinence.
There are several other types of symptom that the user may suffer, through various types of urinary incontinence.
Frequency - People who urinate more often than usual
Dribbling - The dripping or dribbling of urine after suffer has completed urination
Urgency - Suffers who feel the need to urinate immediately
Hesitancy - Difficulty starting the urine stream when trying to urinate
Dysuria - When the suffer experiences pain or burning with urination
Hematuria - Blood in the urine, which causes a pink or reddish color
Straining - When the suffere experiences the need to bear down to start urinating
- D. What causes urinary incontinence?
- There are several factors which may lead to incontinence, some of which are gender-specific - Many of these causes are very treatable or avoidable. Among the contributing factors for incontinence are the following:
Menopause
Prolapsed bladder in women
Bladder disease such as bladder cancer
Fistula
Diabetes
Urinary tract infection
Medication side effects
Impacted stool
Muscle weakness in the bladder and surrounding areas
Enlarged prostate or prostate surgery in men
Spinal cord injury
Disabilities or impaired mobility
Neurological disease (stroke, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease)
Pelvic surgery, such as a hysterectomy in women
Radiation therapy to the pelvis for cancer
Pregnancy
Childbirth - E. When should I seek medical attention?
- See a doctor immediately if notice blood in your urine (pink or reddish urine) or have pain or burning when urinating.
Make an appointment to see your doctor if you suffer from any of the following symptoms: leak urine, get up more than twice a night to urinate, feel the urgent need to urinate often, have difficulty starting the urine stream, feel the bladder is still full after urinating, or dribble urine after going to the bathroom.
- F. What are the treatments for urinary incontinence?
- Treatment options for urinary incontinence suffers include, but are not limited to: behavioral, medical, and surgical therapies. The best type of treatment often depends on the type and cause of your urinary incontinence. When the suffer has urge incontinence the emphasis is on finding and treating the underlying cause.
Elsewhere when stress incontinence is the problem, surgery may be the most effective way to eliminate symptoms of incontinence. Medications are available which may also improve symptoms of some types of incontinence.
There are several behavioural techniques that are often the first treatment for incontinence sufferers because they are non-invasive and have no side effects which may affect the user.
Behavioural therapy - is the understanding theory that you may be able to change your habits to reduce or eliminate episodes of incontinence through several behavioural techniques.
Biofeedback - involves retraining the bladder through pelvic muscle tightening and relaxing that is guided by a trained technologist.
Timed voiding and bladder training involves the incontinence sufferer keeping to a schedule for their urination which may help to minimize your symptoms.
Pelvic-floor stimulation for women can help increase the tone of pelvic-floor muscles by having a small probe inserted into the vagina or rectum that delivers painless electrical pulses.
Pelvic-floor exercises are often recommended in particular Kegel exercises help women strengthen muscles used during urination.
Weighted vaginal cone: For women, a cone-shaped weight is inserted into the vagina and exercises are performed to strengthen pelvic floor muscles.
Urethral plugs can help to block urine flow, a small tampon-like plug is inserted into the urethra.
Medical Techniques are available for extreme cases of incontinence, these include but are not limited to the following:
In some cases, catheterising may be used to drain urine from the bladder directly. During this procedure, a thin tube is inserted into the urethra and bladder to drain urine.
Adrenergic agonists such as midodrine (ProAmatine) and pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) may increase internal sphincter tone in people with stress incontinence. These medications may have serious side effects, such as high blood pressure, and are therefore not commonly prescribed for stress incontinence.
Topical oestrogen cream is sometimes prescribed to menopausal women to strengthen pelvic muscles and improve the health of vaginal tissues thus alleviating some of the underlying causes of their incontinence.
Surgical Techniques can correct an anatomical defect or alter bladder muscle function. All surgeries need to be carefully discussed with your physician because of potential complications and varying success rates and indications.
