Identifying incontinence and if you are at risk

Urinary incontinence — The loss of bladder control — is a common and often embarrassing problem. The severity ranges from occasional leakage when you cough or sneeze to having an urge to urinate that’s so sudden and strong you cannot get to a toilet in time.اضافة اعلان

Though it occurs more often as people get older, urinary incontinence isn’t an inevitable consequence of aging. If urinary incontinence affects your daily activities, don’t hesitate to see your doctor. For most people, simple lifestyle and dietary changes or medical care can treat symptoms of urinary incontinence.

Many people experience occasional, minor leakage. 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 neurological 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 — most often this refers to a combination of stress incontinence and urge incontinence.

When to see a doctor

You may feel uncomfortable discussing incontinence with your doctor. But if incontinence is frequent or is affecting your quality of life, it’s important to seek medical advice because urinary incontinence may cause you to restrict your activities and limit your social interactions, as well as negatively impact your quality of life. It can also increase the risk of falls in older adults as they rush to the toilet or indicate a more serious underlying condition.

Temporary urinary incontinence may be caused by certain drinks, foods, and medications that might act as diuretics — stimulating your bladder and increasing your volume of urine. These can include caffeine, carbonated drinks and sparkling water, artificial sweeteners, chocolate, chili peppers, foods that are high in spice, sugar or acid, especially citrus fruits, heart and blood pressure medications, sedatives, and muscle relaxants.

Some easily treatable medical conditions can also cause urinary incontinence, such as:

• Urinary tract infection: Infections can irritate your bladder, causing you to have strong urges to urinate.

• Pregnancy: Hormonal changes and the increased weight of the fetus can lead to stress incontinence.

• Childbirth: Delivery can weaken muscles needed for bladder control and damage bladder nerves and supportive tissue, leading to a dropped (prolapsed) pelvic floor. 

• Changes with age: Aging of the bladder muscle can decrease the bladder’s capacity to store urine. Also, involuntary bladder contractions become more frequent as you get older.

• Menopause. After menopause, women produce less estrogen, a hormone that helps keep the lining of the bladder and urethra healthy. Deterioration of these tissues can aggravate incontinence.

• Obstruction: A tumor anywhere along your urinary tract can block the normal flow of urine, leading to overflow incontinence. Urinary stones — hard, stone-like masses that form in the bladder — sometimes cause urine leakage.

• Neurological disorders: Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, a stroke, a brain tumor, or a spinal injury can interfere with nerve signals involved in bladder control, causing urinary incontinence.

There are certain risk factors involved with urinary incontinence. Firstly, women are more likely to have stress incontinence. Pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, and normal female anatomy account for this difference.
 
Secondly, age can play a factor as you get older. The muscles in your bladder and urethra lose some of their strength with aging. Changes with age reduce how much your bladder can hold and increase the chances of involuntary release.

Extra weight increases pressure on your bladder and surrounding muscles, which weakens them and allows urine to leak out when you cough or sneeze. Smoking is another risk factor, while family history can play a part. If a close family member has urinary incontinence, especially urge incontinence, your risk of developing the condition is higher.

Neurological disease or diabetes may also increase your risk of incontinence.
Apart from the expected conditions associated with incontinence, complications of chronic urinary incontinence can include skin problems, such as rashes, skin infections, and sores that develop from constantly wet skin. The risk of urinary tract infections is also increased.

Urinary incontinence isn’t always preventable. However, to can do things to help decrease your risk, including maintaining a healthy weight, practicing pelvic floor exercises, avoiding bladder irritants, such as caffeine, alcohol, and acidic foods, and eating more fiber, which can prevent constipation, a cause of urinary incontinence.



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