Urine Incontinence In Women

Urine incontinence is a medical condition in which the urinary bladder loses control and the urine leaks from the bladder, unintentionally or accidentally. The problem is embarrassing because you are helpless in controlling your urge to urinate and sometimes the urine leaks even while coughing or sneezing. Urine incontinence is mostly caused due to aging and hence this problem is witnessed in most of the aged people. However, apart from aging there are various other factors too that contribute to this problem. Changing hormonal levels, body functions, medications and some illnesses, are also contributors to urine incontinence. In some cases, presence of any type of urinary tract infection also causes urine incontinence.

Prominent Symptoms of Urine Incontinence

One must be aware of the most prominent symptoms of urine incontinence, however, the signs and symptoms may vary from one patient to another.

●      Leaking of urine if not able to reach the washroom on time.

●      Urge to urinate in between the bathroom trips.

●      Urine leakage with coughing or sneezing

●      Leaking urine while you are laughing

●      Leaking of urine while doing any sort of physical activity

●      Feeling that the bladder is not getting completely empty

●      Constant feeling of wetness around the urethra

Urinary incontinence in itself is a medical condition that is serious and brings embarrassment to the people suffering from it. In many cases, urine incontinence can be a symptom of any other severe illness, hence it is required to immediately consult your doctor if you notice any one of the above symptoms.

Types of Urine Incontinence

It is very important to understand the type of urine incontinence that a person is suffering from, to get the right treatment.

Following are the types of urine incontinence:

1.     Stress Urinary Incontinence: This is one of the most common forms of urine incontinence. The urine is held in the urinary bladder which is controlled by the pelvic muscles. Stress incontinence is caused when the pelvic muscles have stretched and any sort of physical activity, coughing, sneezing or laughing, puts pressure on the pelvic muscles, causing the urine to leak. The severity may range from a few drops to a spoon full of leakage.

2.     Urge Incontinence or Overactive Bladder: Urge incontinence or overactive bladder condition causes a strong urge to urinate, even when your bladder isn’t full. If you are unable to reach the bathroom on time, it may also cause involuntary leakage of urine. It also causes you to urinate all throughout the night. This incontinence can hamper your daily activities, because you always fear urine leakage if you are not near to a bathroom. When you have an urge incontinence, your bladder muscles become very active and they squeeze even when your bladder is not completely full. Urge incontinence is mostly common in men who have prostate problems and women who are in their menopause stage. The major causes of this type of incontinence are identified to be some kind of infection in the body, neurological disorder.

3.     Overflow Incontinence: This medical condition is very common in men who have prostate problems or you have had prostate surgery. In overflow incontinence, the bladder cannot hold the urine that it makes or does not get completely empty. This causes constant dribbling or leakage. The major cause for this incontinence is identified to be any sort of blockage that does not allow the bladder muscles to squeeze, the way they should.

4.     Mixed Incontinence: Some people suffer from one or more types of urine incontinence. Generally, when you suffer from stress urinary incontinence and overactive bladder incontinence, it is called mixed incontinence. People suffering from this type of incontinence feel a sudden strong urge to urinate while the urine also leaks constantly.

Why does urine incontinence affect women more than men?

Women are more prone to this medical condition and may develop urine incontinence during pregnancy, childbirth or after menopause. All these changes that happen to the women’s body affect the urinary tract and the pelvic muscles. Due to this, it takes extra effort for the muscles to hold the urine in the bladder, but sometimes this stress and pressure causes urine incontinence or leakage. Female urethra is also shorter as compared to the male urethra, which is why the muscles try harder to hold the urine before you are ready to urinate.

During pregnancy, as the foetus grows inside the body, the baby weight puts pressure on the pelvic muscles, urethra and urinary bladder. This causes urine leakage as the pelvic muscles become weak.

If a woman delivers a child through vaginal birth, it weakens the pelvic floor muscles and may sometimes damage the nervous system that controls the urinary bladder. This causes urine incontinence in certain women.

Women who are in their menopause stage suffer from bladder problems, mostly due to low levels of estrogen. This weakens the urethra which helps in holding the urine causing problems of urine incontinence.

Treatment for Urine Incontinence

The treatment for urine incontinence involves use of devices and products that help in holding and collecting the urine. These products are suitable for both men and women, of all ages.

1.     Catheters: A catheter is a soft and thin tube that is inserted into your urethra. Catheters help to collect the urine in a bag that lies outside the body.

2.     Urethral inserts: They are tampons like products that can be inserted inside the urethra and serve as absorbents, to prevent leaks.

3.     Vaginal Pessary: It is a ring-like device that is inserted in cases where the bladder has prolapsed. The device needs to be removed and cleaned on a regular basis.

4.     Bulking Agents: Bulking agents are fillers such as collagen or carbon beads. They are used to fill and plump the tissues around the bladder, so that it gets the capacity to hold the urine. These fillers are temporary and they become ineffective with time. They prove to be a great cure for stress urinary incontinence.

5.     Sacral nerve stimulation: This process involves implanting a stimulator at the lower back of the patient. This stimulator releases electrical impulses that blocks the messages from your bladder to the brain, that cause the urge to urinate. They also strengthen the pelvic muscles so that the bladder can hold the urine and prevents leakages.

6.     Adult diapers and pads: Adult diapers and pads are the most convenient way to get rid of the embarrassment of urine leakage. You can wear them anywhere and anytime and are one of the easiest preventive measures.

7.     Medication: Medicines like estrogen replacement therapy and pseudoephedrine are used to treat urine incontinence. These drugs relax the bladder and reduce the sudden and strong urge to urinate. They also swell the area around the urethra to protect the unintentional urine leakage.

If you are suffering from menopause, you should start taking certain preventive measures, to help decrease the risk of urine incontinence. Avoid any pelvic floor exercise, avoid caffeine, quit smoking and maintain a healthy diet regime, to decrease the risk of urine incontinence.