Urinary Incontinence

Urinary Incontinence

This is a common condition in which there is loss of bladder control. It leads to embarrassing situations. Severity of incontinence reaches from leaking of urine when abdominal pressure is applied like during coughing or sneezing to extreme urge of urination.

Symptoms

Commonly people have occasional and minor incontinence. Different types of urinary incontinence is there like;

  • Stress incontinence, during which urine leakage occur when some pressure is applied to the bladder.
  • Urge incontinence, during which sudden urge to urination occur accompanied by involuntary loss of muscle control.
  • Overflow incontinence, in which bladder doesn’t empty completely leading to constant drippling of urine
  • Functional incontinence occur due to some debilitating medical condition that keeps person from going to washroom.
  • Mixed incontinence occur when person has more than one type of incontinence.
Causes

Urinary incontinence is regarded as a symptom and not a disease. A number of reasons could cause urinary incontinence. Some of the are

  • Temporary incontinence can be caused by some drinks like alcohol, caffeine, carbonated drinks, sparkling water, high Spice foods, chocolates, excessive doses of Vitamin C etc
  • Urinary tract infectionUrine Incontinence Symptoms Causes Treatment
  • Constipation
  • In pregnancy due to hormonal changes
  • After vaginal delivery
  • Age related factor
  • After menopause or hysterectomy
  • Benign prostatic hyperplasia of prostate cancer
  • Urinary tract obstruction due to any cause
  • Neurological disorders like parkinsonism or multiple sclerosis
Complications
  • Rashes, sores or skin infection
  • Increase in a urinary tract infection
  • Affecting the quality of life
Diagnosis

Diagnosis of urinary incontinence depends upon the detailed medical history and complete general physical examination to rule out the type of disease. Others test and investigation include:

  • Urine analysis
  • Taking bladder diary
  • post-voidal residual management
Treatment

Treatment of this condition is done by following methods:

  • some behaviour therapies like: bladder training, double voiding diet and fluid management.
  • Pelvic floor exercise
  • electric stimulation to strengthen the pelvic floor
  • medications can be prescribed including anticholinergic, Mirabegron (Myrbetriq), Alpha blockers, tropical estrogens etc
  • medical devices can be inserted if a woman is having urinary incontinence including pessary and urethral insert.
  • Interventional therapies including bulking material injections, botulinum toxin type A injections(botox), nerve stimulators.
  • Surgery options can also be considered like sling procedures, bladder neck suspension, prolapse surgery, artificial sphincters
Home Remedies

a person having urinary incontinence must have following care to avoid any possible complications

  • Washcloths should be used to clean
  • air dry the skin
  • use Vaseline or other barrier cream to protect from skin rashes
  • yoga is sometimes helpful in overcoming the urgency
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