FRIDAY, February 19, 2021 (HealthDay News) – About 1 in 2 women over the age of 50 are dealing with the humiliation of urinary incontinence, but experts say no one should suffer quietly.
Long Island Jewish Forest Hills urology chief in New York, Dr. Christopher Hartman said that it is often regarded as an inevitable problem of aging, that most women do not even seek treatment for their urinary leakage.
Why is that?
“Many women often refer to embarrassment as the reason for their delay in seeking care.
Before deciding to seek help, women should determine what type of urinary incontinence they are experiencing. Stress incontinence is most often caused by laughing, coughing, sneezing, or exercising. Hartman, on the contrary, explained that impulse incontinence occurs when a person has a strong urge to urinate and cannot stop that sensation. This is typically the result of a problem with the bladder itself or certain triggers that cause the bladder to contract, such as caffeine and spicy foods.
The third type is a combination of mixed incontinence, stress, and impulse type incontinence. Less common is overflow incontinence in which a woman does not completely empty her bladder, Hartman said.
A urologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, Dr. Beyond what type of incontinence occurs, the severity of the condition can vary greatly, said Elizabeth Kavaler.
“Urinary incontinence is involuntary loss of urine. A few drops can leak until a complete accident,” he said. “More than 25 million Americans admit that they regularly have problems controlling their bladders, driving the industry that exceeds $ 33 billion a year in preventative products, medicines, and surgery.”
So what can trigger incontinence?
Kavaler said that stress incontinence is due to pelvic floor weakness. Stress incontinence in women is associated with vaginal births, chronic constipation, obesity, and chronic lung disease. Stress incontinence can be seen after prostate cancer surgery in men.
Risk factors for emergency incontinence include being over the age of 50, neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and stroke, and urinary tract infections.
