Incontinence
Urinary incontinence (UI) is the involuntary loss of urine for any reason.
Urinary incontinence, or loss of bladder control, is a frustrating problem for more than 13 million Americans. Not knowing when or where you might have an accident and leak urine can affect everything you do, from work to social events, even exercise.
Urinary incontinence affects both men and women but is twice as common in women. Research suggests that half of older women may have some form of UI. Incontinence can be treated and often cured.
Click here to see if the research department in the Poughkeepsie office has a current study for urinary incontinence.
Causes
There are five main types of UI, and each has a different cause. In many cases, individuals experience symptoms of more than one type of inconti-nence. Proper diagnosis of the type of urinary incontinence is an important factor in successful treatment.
Stress Incontinence
The most common bladder control problem for women is characterized by leaking urine during a physical activity like lifting, exercising, even just sneezing or coughing. Stress incontinence is typically a result of urethral hypermobility or intrinsic sphincter deficiency. Hypermobility is a result of significant shifting of the urethra and bladder neck from their normal positions. Intrinsic Sphincter Deficiency (ISD) occurs when the urethral sphincter is unable to close tightly enough to hold urine in the bladder during exertion and typically results in significant leakage.
There are several reasons why these muscles may lose strength:
- Weight gain
- A sports injury
- Multiple pregnancies and vaginal childbirths
- Dropped bladder with dropped urethra
- Hormone changes (such as menapause)
- Damage to bladder nerves or muscles
- Aging
Urge Incontinence
This condition occurs when there is overactivity of the muscle surrounding the bladder. This overactivity causes your bladder to contract frequently and creates an overwhelming need to urinate–even if you just went. This condition, often "overactive bladder" (OAB), makes it difficult to hold your urine long enough to reach a toilet. The sudden urge may be triggered by the sound of running water, by sipping a drink, or by nothing at all. With this type of incontinence, you may leak large amounts of urine. You may also find yourself running to the bathroom even when your bladder is mostly empty.
Causes of urge incontinence include:
- Bladder irritation and infection
- Damage to bladder nerves or muscles
- Damage to the brain (such as from a stroke) or spinal cord injury
- Certain medications
Overactive Bladder (OAB)
The symptoms of OAB are similar to those of urge incontinence in that you feel the same sudden, frequent need to urinate. If you are diagnosed with overactive bladder, it does not mean you will have incontinence; many women are able to "hold it" until they reach the toilet. The biggest challenge for these patients is not urine leakage, it's the constant interruption in their activities with trips to the bathroom. Some people have symptoms only during the daytime, while others have frequency only at night, but most patients have issues both day and night.
Mixed Incontinence
A combination of stress incontinence and urge incontinence in which symptoms of both conditions are present.
Overflow Incontinence
When the bladder doesn't empty properly, it can result in "spill over" and a constant "overflow" of urine. If nerves are damaged, the signal never reaches the bladder and it stays full. A weakened bladder muscle can have the same result, and the constant pressure of urine on the neck of the bladder can cause dripping and leaking.
Causes of overflow incontinence may include:
- Stroke
- Certain medications
- Bladder outlet obstruction
- Spinal cord injury
- Diseases such as Parkinson's and diabetes
Functional Incontinence
Factors other than the condition of the urinary tract - such as medical problems interfering with thinking, moving or communicating - may hinder people in getting to a toilet in time and cause this form of urinary incontinence.