There are three main types of male incontinence:
Stress incontinence: This type of male incontinence occurs when outside pressure causes an already weakened bladder to leak urine. This outside pressure may come in the form of a cough, laugh or from lifting a heavy object.
Urge incontinence: This kind of male incontinence occurs when you get an extremely strong and sudden urge to go to the toilet, but you don’t always make it in time. Your bladder may also contract without you wanting it to, causing involuntary urine leakage.
Overflow incontinence: This variation of male incontinence occurs when your bladder is overfilled, and you cannot seem to fully empty your bladder. The bladder then leaks out the excess urine later. This is the most common form of male incontinence due to the high incidence of enlarged prostates and prostate surgeries carried out in Australia.
Visit the Depend male anatomy page to get a greater understanding of male incontinence.
Incontinence is usually caused by an underlying problem. An enlarged prostate and prostate surgery are both common causes of male incontinence. Depend has created a great resource on prostrate-related causes of male incontinence. Take a look!
Other causes of male incontinence include:
- Nervous system disorders: Such as Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease. These disorders can cause a leakage of urine
- Strokes: Which can cause bladder spasms
- Diabetes: As it can cause nerve damage in and around the bladder
- Urinary tract infections: Which can cause temporary male incontinence
Drinking alcohol and using certain anti-depressant medications can also exacerbate the loss of bladder control.
Treatment of male urinary incontinence depends on the underlying cause of it. However, there are lifestyle changes you can make to lessen the severity of incontinence.
The following are our top tips to eliminate known aggravators:
- Perform Kegel Exercises: These exercises can help strengthen your pelvic muscles and lessen the effects of incontinence
- Maintain a healthy weight: Excessive body weight can put pressure on the bladder, leading to more frequent instances of incontinence
- Bladder training: Bladder trainings involves increasing the time between going to the toilet to improve bladder capacity and bladder muscle strength
- Biofeedback: This technique involves using a simple instrument to record the small electrical signals produced when urinary muscles contract. These signals are changed into audio signals that help patients control urination. Using this method, weak muscles can be activated on demand, tense muscles can be relaxed, and muscle activity can be coordinated.
Products: Depend has a great range of male incontinence aids to treat any type and level of male incontinence. Some of the most popular Depend male incontinence aids are:
They key thing to realise is that there are many men out there in the same situation as you, and you should understand that with proper attention the problem can be successfully addressed.
Incontinence is not a disease, but is symptomatic of an underlying medical condition. By treating that condition, incontinence can be conquered in the majority of cases.
The Australian Government can help ease the financial difficulties incontinence sufferers may experience. The Continence Aids Payment Scheme (CAPS) provides payments to help consumers meet some of the costs of their continence products. For more information, please refer to our page on CAPS.