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More than 33 million American adults experience some kind of urinary incontinence. Frequent urges to urinate and accidental urine leakage are often quite upsetting and embarrassing, but the board-certified urologists at Urology Associates can help you overcome these and other urinary incontinence symptoms using proven medical and surgical treatments.
Urinary incontinence means loss of bladder control. There are five kinds of urinary incontinence:
Stress Incontinence: Stress incontinence is urine leakage that occurs when you inadvertently pressure your bladder. If you have stress incontinence, you may have small accidents when you laugh, cough, sneeze, lift heavy objects, or exercise strenuously.
Urge Incontinence: Urge incontinence is a “gotta go now” sensation that leads to accidents before you can get to the bathroom.
Overflow Incontinence: Overflow incontinence is frequent or even continual urine loss. With this kind of incontinence, you generally lose tiny amounts of urine gradually because you’re unable to totally empty your bladder when you urinate.
Mixed Incontinence: Mixed incontinence means you have both stress and urge incontinence.
Functional Incontinence: Functional incontinence is urine loss because of physical or mental barriers, such as disease or medication side effects.
Urinary incontinence affects millions of men and women today, but it’s not a problem you have to live with. Urology Associates offers effective solutions for men and women of all ages.
You can experience temporary urinary incontinence if you drink a lot of alcohol or caffeinated, carbonated, or artificially sweetened beverages. Chocolate and spicy foods can lead to short-term incontinence too.
Some medications, including drugs for the heart and hypertension, sedatives, and muscle relaxants, can also cause temporary incontinence.
In men, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer treatment may cause urinary incontinence. In women, hormone changes during pregnancy, after menopause, and after hysterectomy can cause urinary incontinence.
Obstructions like kidney stones can cause urinary incontinence in either sex, as can neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis.
Certain risk factors increase your chances of developing urinary incontinence, including being overweight, smoking, diabetes, and a family history of urinary incontinence.
Your doctor conducts a physical exam and evaluates your medical history. Usually, you submit a urine sample for urinalysis.
Your urologist may also take a post-void residual urine measurement to check your total output. After your appointment, you may need to maintain a bladder diary that notes your fluid intake and urination patterns.
Treatment varies by type of incontinence, underlying conditions, and your personal situation. Common treatments include:
Medication: anticholinergics, Myrbetriq®, or alpha blockers for male overflow incontinence
Implanted urethral sling for urethral support
Artificial urinary sphincter for men
InterStim®: implanted electrical bladder stimulation for women
Kegel exercises for women
Behavioral changes like bladder training, double voiding, and scheduled urination
If you are suffering from urinary incontinence, never hesitate to give us a call. We can help find the right solution for your urinary incontinence, regardless of cause.
If you have further questions or are experiencing symptoms of a urologic condition, call us or schedule an appointment today.
843-884-8045