Urinary incontinence — the loss of bladder control — is a common and often embarrassing problem. The severity ranges from occasionally leaking urine when you cough or sneeze to having an urge to urinate that’s so sudden and strong you don’t get to a toilet in time.
Incontinence
Curious about the Urinary Incontinence?
What is the Urinary Incontinence?
Urinary incontinence — the loss of bladder control — is a common and often embarrassing problem. The severity ranges from occasionally leaking urine when you cough or sneeze to having an urge to urinate that’s so sudden and strong you don’t get to a toilet in time.
Although incontinence is a consequence of aging, it may affect women of all ages. For most people, simple lifestyle changes or medical treatment can ease discomfort or stop urinary incontinence. If urinary incontinence affects your daily activities, our urological team can discuss the best option for you.
What are the symptoms of Incontinence?
Many people experience occasional, minor leaks of urine. Others may lose small to moderate amounts of urine more frequently. Types of urinary incontinence include:
- Stress incontinence. Urine leaks when you exert pressure on your bladder by coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising or lifting something heavy.
- Urge incontinence. You have a sudden, intense urge to urinate followed by an involuntary loss of urine. You may need to urinate often, including throughout the night. Urge incontinence may be caused by a minor condition, such as infection, or a more-severe condition such as a neurologic disorder or diabetes.
- Overflow incontinence. You experience frequent or constant dribbling of urine due to a bladder that doesn’t empty completely.
- Functional incontinence. A physical or mental impairment keeps you from making it to the toilet in time. For example, if you have severe arthritis, you may not be able to unbutton your pants quickly enough.
- Mixed incontinence. You experience more than one type of urinary incontinence.
When to see a doctor?
If incontinence is frequent or is affecting your quality of life, it’s important to seek medical advice because urinary incontinence may:
- Indicate a more-serious underlying condition
- Cause you to restrict your activities and limit your social interactions
- Increase the risk of falls in older adults as they rush to the toilet
What treatments do we offer?
- Botox – Relaxes the over active bladder muscles
- MonaLisa Touch
Urinary Incontinence FAQs
Taking a history and performing a physical examination are used to diagnose patients with urinary incontinence.
Usually a urinalysis is performed and, depending on the findings of the history and physical, further testing with either x-ray studies or a urodynamics study may be appropriate.
Get a full evaluation prior to any treatment because the treatments are different due to the cause of the incontinence.
Yes, incontinence can come and go depending on its cause. For instance, some patients will complain of stress incontinence only when they have a severe cold with coughing or during periods of excessive activity.
Patients with urge incontinence frequently report increased leakage during cold weather and sometimes related to dietary factors such as excessive fluid intake, particularly with products containing caffeine such as coffee.
In women, pregnancy and vaginal delivery is probably the most common cause of urinary incontinence. And in some cases, general aging may be the cause.
