What is urinary incontinence?

Urinary incontinence means that you can’t always control when you urinate. As a result, you wet your clothes, which can be embarrassing. But it can be treated. It’s most common in men and women over 50 years old, but it can also affect younger people, especially women who have just given birth. Be sure to talk to your doctor if you have this problem. If you hide your incontinence, you risk getting rashes, sores, and skin and urinary tract infections. Also, you may find yourself avoiding friends and family because of fear and embarrassment.

What causes incontinence?

Urinary incontinence can be caused by many different medical problems, including weak pelvic muscles or diabetes. Thinning and drying of vaginal or urethral skin, especially after menopause in women and enlarged prostate gland or surgery in men can lead to incontinence. Certain medicines, build-up of stool in the bowels, not being able to move around, and urinary tract infection are some common causes.

Is urinary incontinence just part of growing older?

No. But changes with age can reduce how much urine your bladder can hold. Aging can make your stream of urine weaker and can cause you to feel the urge to urinate more often. This doesn’t mean you’ll have urinary incontinence just because you’re aging. With treatment, it can be controlled or cured.

How can it be treated?

Treatment depends on what’s causing the problem and what type of incontinence you have. Stress incontinence can be treated with Kegel Exercises or Bladder Training. Intractable incontinence may benefit from medication. These exercises help strengthen the muscles that control the bladder. They can be done anywhere, any time. Although designed for women, Kegel exercises can also help men. It may take 3 to 6 months to see an improvement.

Kegel exercises

To locate the right muscles, try stopping or slowing your urine flow without using your stomach, leg or buttock muscles. When you’re able to slow or stop the stream of urine, you’ve located the right muscles. Squeeze these muscles. Hold for a count of 10. Relax for a count of 10. Do this 20 times, 3 to 4 times a day. You may need to start slower, perhaps squeezing and relaxing your muscles for 4 seconds each and doing this 10 times, 3 or 4 times a day. Work your way up from there.

Bladder training: Some people with urge incontinence can learn to lengthen the time between urges to go to the bathroom. You start by urinating at set intervals, such as every 30 minutes to 2 hours--whether you feel the need to go or not. Then, gradually, lengthen the time between when you urinate--say by 30 minutes--until you’re urinating every 3 to 4 hours. Bladder training may take 3 to 12 weeks.