subject: Incontinence: Who Suffers and What can be done about it [print this page] When a person suffers from an involuntary leakage of urine from the bladder it is a condition known as urinary incontinence. There are people who face urinary incontinence only temporarily as a side effect from medical treatments, bladder infections, limited mobility, and childbirth. Other causes of urinary incontinence are due to more chronic medical conditions such as birth defects, bladder weakness, blocked urethra, spinal cord injury, nerve disorders, pelvic muscle weakness, and vaginal prolapse.
Types of urinary incontinence are classified as stress, urge, mixed and overflow. Stress incontinency entails urine loss during physical activity that increases abdominal pressure (coughing, sneezing, and laughing). Stress incontinency is treated by injections, nonsurgical treatments, medications, and surgical treatments.
Urge incontinency symptoms are urine loss with urgent need to void and involuntary bladder contraction. This type of incontinency can be treated by nonsurgical treatments, medications, and surgical treatments. Mixed incontinency has the same symptoms as both stress and urge incontinence, and can be treated in the same ways.
Overflow incontinency is probably the most serious. It is a constant dribbling of urine; bladder never completely empties. This type of urinary incontinence is more common in people who have disorders associated with nerve supply. Overflow incontinency can be treated by using medications, and intermittent self-catheterization.
A catheter is a medical tube that a doctor inserts into a patients cavity for the purpose of draining or injecting fluids. For these specific individuals using the proper catheter could make a huge difference in their physical comfort levels day to day. Medical catheters are made from materials such as silicone rubber and latex. If using these products, the person should change them often to prevent any skin irritation or urinary tract infections from developing.
A person who is experiencing urinary incontinence can help prevent or improve their situation by avoiding taking to many medications such as over the counter cough medicine. They can also try practicing Kegel exercises, eating daily dose of fruits, veggies, and grains to prevent constipation, as well as avoiding nicotine for it tends to irritate the bladder.
Incontinence: Who Suffers and What can be done about it
