The Complete Urinary Incontinence Women’s Guide
The sudden involuntary urge to urinate while you try your best to avoid peeing can be embarrassing and an inconvenience to daily living. While both men and women experience this problem, it is much more common in women. In this urinary incontinence women’s guide, we tackle everything associated with this bladder dysfunction, including the cause, symptoms, treatment, and management.
Urinary incontinence is accidental peeing because of weakened pelvic muscles. Although the condition is more common in older populations it can occur at any age. Women have a higher likelihood of experiencing urinary incontinence than men because of various reasons relating to gender. The condition ranges from mild to severe, and from a slight involuntary loss of urine to frequent bed wetting.
The impact of urinary incontinence on a woman’s life is significant. The knowledge of knowing you have little to no control of your urine release, especially in public situations, interferes with mental and physical well being. Fortunately, medical advances in urology make it possible for you to learn to control this debilitating condition.
You are not alone as a woman with urinary incontinence. You can learn to manage and improve the condition’s symptoms with suitable treatment and care from a urologist. Continue reading this guide to learn more about the illness and available treatment options.
Causes of Urinary Incontinence in Women
Several factors increase your vulnerability for urinary incontinence as a woman. Anything that weakens or interferes with the functioning of your supportive pelvic muscles will trigger urinary incontinence.
Childbirth
For most women, involuntary urine leakage begins after giving birth due to the weakening of supportive pelvic floor muscles. Statistics show that 35% of women get urinary incontinence
after giving birth naturally. Furthermore, muscle strain as you give birth cause tears and nerve damage, which disrupt your pelvic muscles’ ability to control urine.
Another pregnancy-related cause of incontinence is hormonal changes during and after pregnancy. Hormone levels during this period cause your pelvic muscles to relax, triggering urine leakage when you laugh, cough, sneeze, or exercise.
Aging
As you age, your vesical muscles surrounding the bladder go through structural changes. You also lose nerve control in the lower urinary tractbecause of gradual weakening. These changes interfere with your ability to control peeing.
Additionally, as you reach menopause, your estrogen levels begin to drop. Estrogen is important because it:
- Stimulates collagen production in the pelvic floor muscles
- Enhances the urethra and bladder muscle function
- Promotes blood flow in the urogenital system
- Maintains the health of your bladder lining and urethra tissue
During menopause, your pelvic floor muscles will weaken, and may even malfunction, hindering your ability to withhold pee without sufficient estrogen levels.
Uterine Surgery
Full or partial hysterectomies can damage your pelvic floor muscles as well, interfering with your ability to control urination. This surgical procedure can also induce nerve trauma, resulting in stress urinary incontinence.
Urinary Tract Obstruction
Obstructions in and around the bladder can interfere with urine flow and trigger involuntary overflow leakage. For instance, kidney stones can travel to the bladder, creating blockages, which make it difficult to pass urine. They also increase your urge to urinate frequently. On the other hand, tumors add pressure to the bladder, weakening your control over bladder and bowel movements.
Neurological Disorders
You can also develop urinary incontinence when the muscles controlling your bladder and nerves experience communication challenges.
Types of Urinary Incontinence
- Stress incontinence – occurs when you exert pressure on the bladder by coughing, sneezing, laughing, or lifting heavy objects. Growths around the bladder or pregnancy can also add external pressure to the bladder, causing involuntary urine leakages.
- Urge incontinence – arises when the bladder contracts involuntarily, causing a sudden uncontrollable urge to urinate. Neurological conditions, bladder infections, or bladder irritants like caffeine or alcohol are the underlying cause of this condition.
- Overflow incontinence – occurs when the bladder does not empty completely, causing urine to overflow. An obstruction in the urinary tract, nerve damage, or certain medications cause this condition.
- Functional incontinence – occurs when a physical or cognitive impairment makes it difficult to reach the toilet in time, even if the bladder is not full.
- Mixed incontinence – you can also experience urinary incontinence from multiple causes. For instance, pressure and urge incontinence can co-occur.
Symptoms of Urinary Incontinence
Signs that you may have urinary incontinence include:
- Leaking urine when you exert pressure in your lower abdomen, like when moving, laughing, exercising, coughing, or lifting heavy objects
- Sudden uncontrollable peeing urges
- Bedwetting or waking up multiple times to pee at night
- Difficulty passing urine
- Feeling like you have not completely emptied your bladder
- Having a slow stream of urine
- Having a few urine drops after urinating
Treatment Options for Urinary Incontinence For Women
Consult a urologist if you suspect you have urine incontinence for treatment and advice on management. Treatment options available for women depend on the underlying cause. They include:
Macroplastique
In this procedure, your doctor injects a chemical agent to thicken the tissues surrounding your urethra. The extra volume enhances the performance of the sphincters, which closes your bladder to contain urine without leakages.
Urethral Sling Surgery
Your doctor can opt for urethral sling surgery if you have stress urinary incontinence. The sling is a tube that performs your bladder’s function by carrying and expelling urine out of the body.
Pelvic Exercises
Pelvic physical therapy like Kegel exercises strengthens your pelvic floor muscles, enhancing your urine flow control capabilities. You can perform such workouts anywhere once a trained physical therapist teaches you the ropes.
Pharmacotherapy
There are several medication options available depending on the type of your incontinence.
- Your doctor may prescribe anticholinergics to dull an overactive bladder in urge incontinence.
- You may get Desmopressin to reduce the urge to urinate at night or bedwetting.
- Your doctor can prescribe Mirabegron to promote complete bladder emptying and minimize the urination feeling after peeing.
Botox
Your doctor may recommend a Botulism injection to calm your overactive bladder muscles, minimizing the persistent urge to pee.
Get Treatment at Urology Specialists of the Carolinas
Urinary incontinence is a manageable condition that improves with proper interventions. At Urology Specialists of the Carolinas, we have a team of expert urologists onboard providing quality, affordable, and reliable care for urinary incontinence in women. Contact us to schedule an appointment at one of our locations today.
Contact us to schedule an appointment at one of our locations today.