More about Incontinence?

Urinary incontinence is the unintentional passing of urine, and is a common problem thought to affect around 4 million people in Australia¹. This means that if you are suffering from this condition you are not alone and there is nothing to feel ashamed about, there are many people walking around, living healthy happy lives that suffer from bladder and bowel weakness.

Anyone, at any age can suffer from it, although it is more common in elderly people. The condition also on average affects more women than men². Often, the main reason the body passes urine involuntarily is due to either weak pelvic floor muscles or the fact that the signal indicating the bladder is full becomes interrupted on its path to the brain.

People suffering from incontinence should not feel embarrassed or isolated. While a loss of control in the muscles that operate the bladder is not uncommon, it’s not an inevitable part of growing older. Help is available. The condition can often be cured, and can almost always be managed.

It is important to understand the different types of the syndrome. In our Urinary Incontinence section we outline the four most common types, including Urge Incontinence, Stress Incontinence, Overflow Incontinence and Bowel Incontinence. The Stress and Urge varieties are the most common forms and are thought to make up approximately 90% of incontinence cases³.

Sufferers of incontinence are advised to consult with their doctors and to be open and honest, even though it is a delicate subject. The more accurate the information the doctor gets from patients (for example patient history, symptoms and current treatments), the better equipped they will be to develop a strategy and plan for managing and curing the problem.

Incontinence treatments

There are a variety of different treatments available out there, from do-it-yourself exercises that you can do in the privacy of your own home through to surgical procedures, most of which have a high success rate; it is all about what you feel comfortable with and what will work for you. A recent study ⁴ found that just losing weight helped reduce the instances of incontinence by up to 70% in women surveyed.

There are several different ways to treat and manage incontinence, what follows are some of the most popular and effective treatments and techniques.

• Kegal muscle exercises can strengthen the pelvic floor, which in turn can reduce the instances of involuntary bladder leakage that you may experience⁵
• Lifestyle techniques to help regain bladder control, such as avoiding caffeine, lifting heavy objects and managing your fluid intake
• Medication is also occasionally used to try to return the normal function of the bladder. There are a wide variety of medications out there, and they all do different things but achieve the same goal, that is, to reduce the incidence of incontinence. It’s advisable to try other treatment options prior to medication due to the possibility of side effects.
• Surgery may be recommended if other treatments fail. Surgery can be used to increase bladder capacity, limit nerve impulses to the controlling bladder muscles or tighten the pelvic floor muscles. There are numerous surgical options available depending on the type and severity of your condition.

Incontinence affects both sexes although the causes and treatments may vary between men and women. Depend provides protection for both male and female incontinence sufferers. Within our ask our experts area, you can get all your questions answered by our panel of health experts. Finding out what other people are asking may also give you confidence to ask your own delicate questions and receive the peace of mind that many other people in Australia are going through a similar ordeal, and are still managing to maintain their quality of life. Growing older and wiser doesn’t need to equal doing less; Depend helps incontinence sufferers keep a normal daily routine and live life.

References:

1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Canberra, Australia incontinence data analysis and development (March 2006)

2. Password F., View I. How widespread are the symptoms of an overactive bladder and how are they managed? A population-based prevalence study. BJU Int 2001; 87: 760–6.

3. Urinary Incontinence, Medical and Surgical Aspects-Author: Michael O’Shaughnessy, MD, FACOG, Assistant Chief, Director of Urogynecology, Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California at San Francisco, UCSF Fresno University Medical Center

4. N Engl J Med 2009; 360:481-490, Jan 29, 2009

5. Choi H, Palmer MH, Park J (2007). “Meta-analysis of pelvic floor muscle training: randomized controlled trials in incontinent women”.