Causes And Treatment For Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence prevents the bladder from filling and controlling. However, it is not a disease in itself. Instead, it is a consequence of other disorders that affect the bladder. But don’t worry: in the following, we will discuss the main forms of treatment for urinary incontinence.

The defining feature of urinary incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine. A person with urinary incontinence cannot control their bladder, and urine leakage occurs at inappropriate times.

Sometimes urine leaks when you make any kind of effort, such as sneezing or coughing. At other times, incontinence can occur because the bladder is full.

Urinary incontinence is not just a health problem. Those who suffer from this condition often have social problems. Patients are afraid of urinating involuntarily at inappropriate times or in front of other people.

Causes of transient urinary incontinence

Causes of chronic urinary incontinence

• Prolapse: Occurs when the pelvic muscles are weakened and the pelvic organs go down. For example, this is the case for women with complicated or multiple births. The descent of these organs is called “prolapse.”
• Old age: Aging weakens the muscles in the body, including the bladder muscle. In women, menopause lowers estrogen levels and also damages urinary tissues.
• Gynecological surgery: The bladder is an organ held in place by other organs, especially the uterus. When women undergo gynecological surgery, they may have urinary incontinence.
• Prostate problems: In men, prostate problems most often cause urinary incontinence. The most common problem is benign prostatic hyperplasia and the most severe is prostate cancer.
• Neurological disorders: Certain nervous system problems can affect the nerves in the bladder, triggering urine leakage. The term is “neurogenic bladder”. Urinary incontinence occurs in Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis.
• Psychological disorders: Stress or anxiety can cause this bladder problem. Watering the bed for children under the age of six is ​​an eloquent example of this.

Treatment for non-drug urinary incontinence

Medications are not always needed to treat urinary incontinence. One of the main recommendations is to regulate the intake of fluids consumed during the day. You can do this without lowering the quantities. It is necessary to change the way you consume fluids to prevent the formation of large amounts of urine in a short time.

It is best to drink more water in the morning, then decrease the amount as the hours go by. In the case of children who wet the bed, it is advisable for them to serve dinner earlier. In this way, there will be more time between food intake and bedtime.

Drug-based treatment for urinary incontinence

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you can’t solve the problem on your own. You may need to take medication. Other times, urinary incontinence is caused by a disease that needs specific treatment.

These drugs are intended to prevent the involuntary contraction of the bladder. In addition, they cause the urethra to remain closed as urine enters the bladder. Specialist doctors usually prescribe anticholinergic drugs. This type of medicine makes it difficult for the muscles of the bladder to contract. The best known drug is called oxybutynin.

Anticholinergics are very effective, but can cause some unpleasant side effects. In addition, patients suffering from glaucoma and cardiac arrhythmias cannot take these drugs.

If the side effects are too intense, you should talk to your doctor about replacing or stopping treatment.

If neither the change of diet nor the administration of drugs works, the last option is surgery to correct urinary incontinence.