Urinary incontinence is the inability to control the bladder which leads to unwanted release of urine. Incontinence can range in severity from occasional accidental releases of small amounts of urine, to consistently releasing urine throughout the day. Urinary incontinence can be caused by many underlying conditions, which are often treatable.
Stress Incontinence
Stress incontinence is the release of during caused during episodes of increased stress on the bladder. Physical activities such as lifting heavy weight or strenuous exercise can lead to stress incontinence. Violent sneezing, coughing and laughing can also cause stress incontinence. Pregnancy and menopause can cause physical changes in women that make them more prone to stress incontinence.
Urge Incontinence
Urge incontinence is urine leakage that occurs when the urge to urinate occurs suddenly and so powerfully that you cannot reach a toilet in time to relieve yourself. Sometimes urge incontinence only leaves a minute or less to reach a toilet before the bladder will release urine. Age is a primary risk factor for urge incontinence; urinary tract infections and an overactive bladder can also cause strong urges to urinate.
Functional Incontinence
Functional incontinence is the release of urine that occurs due to an impairment of the individual that prevents them from reaching a toilet in time to relieve themselves. For instance, a person with poor motor function who takes 5 or 10 minutes to reach the bathroom may not be able to reach it in time to urinate unless he plans ahead. Oftentimes functional incontinence results from a combination of mental and physical impairment--mentally impaired individuals are not likely to think about having to go to the bathroom until the need is imminent.
Other Types of Incontinence
Overflow incontinence is a type of incontinence characterized by persistent releases of urine due to the bladder being full of urine. Often those with overflow incontinence have difficulty fully emptying their bladder when urinating. Gross total incontinence is a similar type of constant urinary leakage, which is caused by very low capacity in the bladder and physical defects.
Risk Factors
Several risk factors are known to increase the likelihood of incontinence. Age and gender are perhaps the two most important factors. Elderly people are far more likely to experience urinary incontinence than the young, since the strength of bladder muscles and both physical and mental aptitude decrease over time. Women more often experience stress incontinence due to their anatomy, while men are more likely to suffer from urge incontinence, due to problems with the prostate gland. Being overweight can also cause incontinence, since excess weight puts additional pressure on the bladder.
Treatment
Incontinence can be treated in a number of ways depending on the cause. Sometimes bladder training and strengthening exercises can be sufficient to allow a person to suppress the need to urinate enough to overcome accidental releases. Medications such as antibiotics, antidepressants and antispasmodics, which can calm overactive bladders and urge incontinence, are often used to treat incontinence. In some cases, catheters are used, which are tubes that can drain urine from the bladder, or pads can be used to absorb small amounts of urine released over the course of a day. Surgical procedures can also help remove causes of pressure on the bladder, and tighten the bladder's sphincter to make it easier to hold in urine.
Tags: also cause, release urine, stress incontinence, accidental releases, amounts urine, incontinence release