Medical News: Articles

Incontinence: Ignorance is NOT Bliss

Incontinence, or the loss of bladder control, affects nearly 11 million women across the United States.

Incontinence, or the loss of bladder control, affects nearly 11 million women across the United States. While it strikes women of all ages, a startling one in six women over the age of 45 suffers from urinary incontinence. Many women with urine leakage feel that the embarrassment is the most difficult part of dealing with incontinence. They are unaware of when they’ll experience their next leak and are forced to wear pads and adult diapers. Most women simply stay at home rather than risk embarrassment in public.
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), half of all incontinence sufferers are undiagnosed and untreated. Since many women incorrectly accept incontinence as a natural part of getting older and are too embarrassed to approach their physicians with the problem, they deny themselves the vast array of treatment options now available that are simple, safe and effective. In effect, the uneasiness associated with incontinence forces them to alter their lifestyles rather than explore treatments and possibly a cure.

Understanding The Problem

Incontinence is not a disease but a symptom of an underlying condition. A broad range of conditions and disorders can cause incontinence in both men and women, including damage to the pelvic muscles from one or more pregnancies, trauma, repetitive strain, prior pelvic surgeries, bladder infections, drug side effects, hormone deficiencies, stroke, obesity, diabetes and prostate surgery.
There are four categories of incontinence, stress, overflow, urge, and reflex. One of the most common types, which accounts for nearly 50 percent of all incontinence cases, occurs if the urethra fails to close sufficiently. Simple physical movements such as sneezing, coughing, lifting or laughing exert pressure or Stress on the bladder, resulting in urine leakage.
Although the majority of incontinence cases occur in women over 50, incontinence affects women young and old, including teenage athletes, pregnant women, 30-something mothers, menopausal women and the elderly. It is the reason for 50 percent of all nursing home admissions.

Available Treatments

Contrary to common belief, incontinence is not a condition that women have to live with, and it is not a natural part of growing older. In fact, nearly 90 percent of all cases are treatable. A number of safe and effective treatments and management devices are available for stress incontinence. Depending on the case, the prescribed treatment will vary.
Kegel exercises, if performed correctly, can strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. They involve contracting the muscles that control urinary flow and then relaxing them. Some health practitioners also use EMG/biofeedback machines, vaginal weighted cones or electrical stimulation. Various medications can help alleviate stress incontinence, as well as incontinence caused by nerve damage and spinal cord injury. Surgery is also an option for some women, and new advances in techniques allow this to be done in an outpatient setting.
Whatever the remedy, women should know that they need not live with incontinence. All women should feel comfortable talking about this condition.
Not only do the available treatments improve the physical well being of patients, but they also provide tremendous psychological benefits, restoring a woman’s confidence so she can resume a normal, active life.