What exactly is urinary Incontinence?
Urinary Incontinence (UI) is the inability to regulate a person’s urine. You may be unable to retain your urine until you reach the toilet. It may be a temporary condition caused by another health concern, or it could be a long-term issue you’ll have to deal with. Urinary Incontinence can range from a minor loss of urine to severe Incontinence. It can happen at any age; however, it is more frequent in women over the age of 50 and men after prostate surgery. It can range from little wetness to severe.
The fear of wetting might prevent you from participating in activities with your family and friends. Incontinence during sex can be quite stressful.
Urinary Incontinence occurs when a person cannot stop his urine from spilling out. Urinary Incontinence has an impact on one’s emotional and social-psychological well-being. People with urine incontinence have more difficulties going about their regular activities. They don’t want to be too far away from a toilet. Stress and urge incontinence are the two most common types of Incontinence. Women are twice as likely as men to experience Incontinence. Obesity, menopause, smoking, persistent constipation, and numerous pregnancies are some risk factors in females. In contrast, post-radiation or surgery to remove the prostate gland, prostate cancer (radical prostatectomy) are the risk factor in male urinary Incontinence.
One in eight women experience urinary Incontinence. After giving birth, many women find it difficult to control when they urinate. However, the majority of new mothers accept such incidents as usual. Urinary Incontinence is one of the most prevalent pelvic floor complications that arise after childbirth.
What is the cause of urine incontinence?
Changes caused by some disorders or medications may result in urinary incontinence. It may also occur at the beginning of an illness. Incontinence is more common in women during or after pregnancy and delivery. Menopausal hormone changes might also cause it. It is due to strained and weak pelvic muscles. Among the other common causes are:
- Birth flaws
- Aging
- Urinary tract infection (which may be the only symptom)
- An enlarged prostate gland or prostate treatment for males
- Stool retention in the bowels
- Being overweight puts more strain on the bladder and the muscles that control it.
- Spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis all cause nerve damage.
What is the primary cause of male Incontinence?
- Prostate gland dysfunction is the primary cause of Incontinence in men. A painful inflammation of the prostate gland called prostatitis may be the cause of Incontinence in men. Damage or injury following surgery to the muscles or nerves.
- A narrow urethra or an enlarged prostate gland are frequently the causes of this. As the bladder fills up to capacity, the pressure inside the bladder increases, forcing the excess urine to pass through the obstruction and exit the bladder.
What are the Types of Urinary Incontinence?
Urge incontinence
Urgency incontinence is the inability to control urine long enough to reach a toilet. It is connected with frequent peeing and a strong, abrupt need to pee. It might be a distinct issue, but it can also be a symptom of other diseases or problems that require medical treatment. Factors that contribute to stress incontinence include:
- childbirth and pregnancy
- menopause, as a decreased level of estrogen might cause muscular weakness
- Hysterectomy, as well as a few other surgical procedures
- Age
- Obesity
Stress incontinence
When you leak urine during activities like sneezing or coughing, this is generally due to stress incontinence. Your pelvic floor muscles are weak and no longer support your pelvic organs. Because of your muscular weakness, you are more prone to leak urine when you move about. Many people experience leakage concerns when they laugh, cough, sneeze, run, jump, or lift objects. All of these movements put a strain on your bladder. You are more prone to leak urine if your pelvic muscles are weak. Women who have recently given birth are more likely to experience stress incontinence.
Stress incontinence SUI can occur in men who have had prostate surgery.SUI is brought on by a weakness in the pelvic floor that typically occurs after radiation therapy or surgery to remove the prostate gland due to an enlarged gland (trans-urethral resection of the prostate, or TURP) or prostate cancer (radical prostatectomy). The urethra, the tube that runs from the bladder along the penis, is encircled by the prostate gland, which is situated at the base of the bladder. Here, at the junction of the bladder and urethra, a ring of muscles known as a sphincter closes like a shutter on a camera. Supporting pelvic floor muscles also can voluntarily close, stopping urine flow. Together, these systems enable bladder control.
- However, after prostate surgery, these muscles may become too weak to control urine flow if the bladder-closing sphincter is damaged or the nerves that control it are injured. It can lead to leakage, especially when the bladder experiences increased pressure.
Functional Incontinence
Functional Incontinence is urine leakage caused by physical conditions such as arthritis, injury, or other limitations that make it difficult to reach a toilet on time.
Overflow Incontinence
It occurs when a person cannot fully empty their bladder, which overflows when additional urine is generated. It is frequently observed in patients who have diabetes or spinal cord injury.
Mixed Incontinence
Urine dripping with urge incontinence generally occurs after a strong, sudden desire to urinate and before you can get to a toilet. Some women with urge incontinence can use toilets but need to urinate more than eight times each day. Urge incontinence is sometimes known as “overactive bladder.” Urge incontinence is more frequent in older women. It might happen unexpectedly, such as when sleeping or after drinking water. It is referred to as “mixed” Incontinence. Many women who have incontinence experience both stress and urge Incontinence. It is referred to as “mixed” Incontinence.
What are the Symptoms of Urinary Incontinence
The following are some of the most common symptoms of urinary Incontinence. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently.
- Need to run to the toilet or leaking urine if you do not arrive on time
- Urine leaks when moving or exercising
- Urine leakage that interferes with activity.
- Urine incontinence as a result of coughing, sneezing, or laughing
- Urine discharge that begins or persists after surgery
- Constant wetness without the sense of urine leaks
- The feeling of insufficient bladder emptying
What Impact of Urinary Incontinence Occurs in the Human Body?
- Cause you to restrict your activities and limit your social interactions.
- Negatively impacts your quality of life.
- It increases the risk of falls in older adults as they rush to the toilet.
- Indicates a more serious underlying condition.
- Urinary Incontinence is the leaking of urine that you can’t control.
What are the Risk Factors of Urinary Incontinence?
The following things may increase your chances of developing UI:
- Gender: Women have stress incontinence twice as frequently as men. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to have urge and overflow incontinence.
- Aging: Getting Older As we age, our bladder and urinary sphincter muscles weaken, resulting in frequent and unexpected desires to urinate. Even though Incontinence is more prevalent in older people, it is not seen as a typical component of the aging process.
- Extra body fat: Extra body fat puts pressure on the bladder, which can cause urine leakage during exercise, coughing, or sneezing.
- Other chronic illnesses: Urinary Incontinence can be exacerbated by vascular disease, renal illness, diabetes, prostate cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and other disorders.
- Sports impact: While sports do not cause incontinence, running, jumping, and other activities that put an abrupt strain on the bladder might produce leakage on occasion.
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs): A urinary tract infection (urethra, ureters, bladder, and kidneys) can cause pain and increase your urge to urinate more frequently. The need to urinate often goes away after treatment.
- Pregnancy: As your uterus develops during pregnancy, it puts more strain on your bladder. Most women who have Incontinence during pregnancy note that it goes away within a few weeks of giving birth.
- Medications: Some medicines, such as diuretics and antidepressants, might cause Incontinence.
- Beverages: Certain beverages, such as coffee and alcohol, might cause you to urinate significantly more often. When you quit consuming these beverages, your urge to urinate more often usually reduces.
- Pelvic floor disorders: Problems involving your pelvic floor muscles may impact how your organs operate, especially your bladder.
- Stroke: A stroke can impair muscular control. It includes the muscles that control your urine system.
- Diabetes: Diabetes causes your body to generate more urine. This increase in urine volume may cause leakage issues. Furthermore, peripheral neuropathy can impair bladder function.
- Menopause is another phase of transition in a woman’s body when hormone levels fluctuate fast, and pelvic floor muscles might get weaker—something that may occur as you grow older.
How is it done to diagnose Incontinence?
Often, the process of diagnosing incontinence begins with a discussion with your healthcare professional about your medical history and bladder control concerns. Your provider may ask you questions such as:
- How frequently do you urinate?
- Do you leak urine between bathroom trips? How frequently does this occur, and how much urine do you leak each time?
- How long have you been suffering from incontinence?
What is the treatment for urine incontinence?
Your symptoms, age, and overall health will determine your treatment. It will also depend on the severity of the problem. Treatment for UI varies according to the reason and may involve the following:
- Behavioral treatments: These will assist you in regaining bladder control.
- Bladder retraining: It teaches you to resist the impulse to urinate and to increase the duration between urinating gradually.
- Toileting timetable: This training employs routine or planned toileting, habit training regimens, and prompts to empty the bladder every 2 to 4 hours.
- Pelvic muscle rehabilitation: Pelvic floor physical therapists are essential in assisting people suffering from urine incontinence by offering specialized care and customized treatment programs. Here’s how they can help with urinary incontinence management and treatment:
- Dietary Modification: Avoiding bladder irritants such as coffee, alcohol, and citrus foods is part of the dietary modifications.
- Pelvic muscle rehabilitation (to enhance pelvic muscle tone and avoid leaks) consists of the following steps:
- Kegel exercises: Regular, daily pelvic muscle training can improve and even prevent urine incontinence.
- Biofeedback: When used with Kegel exercises, biofeedback helps people become more aware of and control their pelvic muscles.
- Small weights are retained within the vagina by contracting the vaginal muscles during vaginal weight training
isn’t Incontinence in the urine just a natural aspect of getting older?
No, Incontinence may be exacerbated by aging-related changes (e.g., menopause in women, prostate enlargement in men), but you don’t have to accept the condition. Urinary Incontinence is almost always curable or manageable.
Conclusion
Treatment is determined by the severity of the symptoms and the kind of incontinence. It may require bladder training, specific exercises, medications, and, in severe circumstances, surgery. UI is not a typical component of the aging process. However, it is prevalent among older people.