Urinary incontinence is not an inevitable or normal part of aging. Women are more likely to experience urinary incontinence. The problems that can occur are: Skin breakdown, embarrassment, frustration, depression, and loss of self-esteem. These secondary problems of urinary incontinence can lead to social isolation, and loss of independence.
Urinary incontinence can be successfully treated.
Be honest with your private physician. Don't hide your problem from embarrassment and continue using peripads after menopause. Take note of how long you have been experiencing the problem and let your doctor know this fact. There can be many different causes of urinary incontinence. The most common type is "stress incontinence." Stress incontinence occurs when small amounts of urine leak from an increase in intra-abdominal pressure. This is more common in women who have had multiple pregnancies. This might happen while coughing, laughing, sneezing and exercising. Let your doctor know if your urinary incontinence occurs during these times. It could be "stress incontinence." You might write down the times it occurs. Keeping a journal of your symptoms and times they occur is a great resource to refer to while talking to your doctor.
You can strengthen the muscles that control urine flow by doing pelvic floor muscle exercises called Kegal exercises. Kegal exercises can be done by women and men. One way is to tighten the pubococcygeal muscle (ask your doctor how to locate this muscle). Count slowly to three, then relax. Repeat the exericse 10 times for a set, 5 times per day and gradually increase to sets of 15 to 20 done 5 times per day. Your abdominal muscles should not move if you are doing the exercise correctly.
Biofeedback therapy may also help. If these conservative therapies do not work, your doctor may prescribe an alpha-adrenergic agonist such as pseudoephedrine or a tricyclic antidepressant like imipramine might be prescribed.
Whatever the cause of your urinary incontinence problems, if you will keep a journal of your symptoms and times the problems occur, it will be much more helpful to your doctor in diagnosing your problem and prescribing an appropriate treatment.
Remember....urinary incontinence can be successfully treated and it is nothing to be embarrassed about. You just need to be honest with your doctor with your descriptions of the problem so he/she can prescribe an appropriate treatment for you. Urinary incontinence is not a normal and/or inevitable part of aging. Don't isolate yourself and let yourself become frustrated and depressed over it. Seek help openly with your private physician, and continue to enjoy time with your shih tzu and continue those long, soulful walks without the worry of urinary incontinence.
Stress incontinence occurs when the muscle (sphincter) surrounding the urethra opens at an inappropriate time. This can happen when you laugh, sneeze, cough, lift something, or change posture. Stress incontinence can be caused by surgery to treat an enlarged prostate or prostate cancer, radiation therapy to treat prostate cancer, or removal of the prostate. For more information, see the topics Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) or Prostate Cancer.
Urge incontinence is caused by bladder contractions that are too strong to be stopped by the sphincter. Often the urge is a response to something that makes you anticipate urination, such as waiting to use a toilet, unlocking the door when returning home, or even turning on a faucet. The bladder contractions can be caused by many conditions, including:
Urinary tract infection.
Bowel problems, such as constipation.
Prostatitis, a painful infection of the prostate gland.
Certain neurological conditions that affect nerve signals from the brain, such as Parkinson's disease or stroke.
Kidney or bladder stones.
Blockage due to prostate cancer or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Overactive bladder is a kind of urge incontinence. But not everyone with overactive bladder leaks urine. For more information, see the topic Overactive Bladder.
Overflow incontinence usually is caused by obstruction of the urethra from BPH or prostate cancer or when the bladder muscles contract weakly or don't contract when they should. Other causes include:
Narrowing of the urethra (stricture).
Medicines, such as antihistamines, and decongestants.
Nerve conditions, such as diabetes or multiple sclerosis.
Functional incontinence is a rare form of incontinence caused by physical or mental limitations that restrict a man's ability to reach the toilet in time.
Both Connie Limon & Dadhwal are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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