subject: Understanding Incontinence - Solutions for Incontinence Management [print this page] Understanding Incontinence - Solutions for Incontinence Management
Incontinence can result from surgeries, childbirth, illness, birth defects, neurological problems, or muscular degeneration. Incontinence can be either urinary or fecal.
Over 3 million people in Britain suffer from incontinence, of whom 80 percent are women and 20 percent are men. Women are at greater risk of incontinence due to the physiological effects of pregnancy and childbirth.
The percentage of people suffering from incontinence increases with age. While aging itself doesn't cause incontinence, a decline in muscular strength with age is a major contributing factor.
Incontinence not only affects elderly people. It affects people from all age groups, genders, and ethnicities. Being an embarrassing topic for the vast majority of suffers, people may be reluctant to come forward and seek medical help. Why the needless suffering? There are cures and treatments readily available for incontinence. While many bouts of incontinence can be cured, even those cases that are too severe to be cured can, at the very least, be successfully managed and kept under control.
There has been a dramatic improvement in the incontinence products which have been made available over the years. This includes both washable as well as disposable products. Thanks to these products, incontinence sufferers can successfully manage their condition, and need not fear public embarrassment from foul odors or from wet stains. Today's modern incontinence products provide greater comfort and provide better protection, and they are practically impossible to notice underneath most clothing.
Understanding incontinence and diagnosing this condition can be challenging, since each person's bladder and bowel evacuation patterns is unique. What may be normal for one person may be considered abnormal for someone else. Therefore, it would be wise for everyone to develop an awareness of their normal routines, so that when a change to this routine occurs, you can raise it as a concern. This is the best path toward understanding incontinence and its impact on your life.
Below are some guidelines as to what is considered "normal" for the vast majority of people in terms of understanding incontinence. If you find your personal routine deviating significantly from this norm, you may wish to seek medical help:
- Urination up to 6 times in 24 hours is considered normal.
- Generally speaking, people should not need to urinate more than once every 3 hours.
- Urination should occur in a strong and continuous stream.
- Starting or stopping the stream shouldn't be difficult. Straining your muscles while urinating isn't normal. The inability to stop the flow of urine in mid-stream can be indicative of a problem.
