Common Causes Of Urinary Incontinence In Men:
The following are common causes of urinary incontinence:
Types Of Urinary Incontinence
There are different types of incontinence:
- Stress incontinence occurs when urine leaks as pressure is put on the bladder, for example, during exercise, coughing, sneezing, laughing, or lifting heavy objects. Its the most common type of bladder control problem in younger and middle-age women. It may begin around the time of menopause.
- Urge incontinence happens when people have a sudden need to urinate and cannot hold their urine long enough to get to the toilet. It may be a problem for people who have diabetes, Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease, multiple sclerosis, or stroke.
- Overflow incontinence happens when small amounts of urine leak from a bladder that is always full. A man can have trouble emptying his bladder if an enlarged prostate is blocking the urethra. Diabetes and spinal cord injuries can also cause this type of incontinence.
- Functional incontinence occurs in many older people who have normal bladder control. They just have a problem getting to the toilet because of arthritis or other disorders that make it hard to move quickly.
What Else Causes Bladder Control Problems In Women
Certain life events and health problems can lead to stress incontinence in women by weakening the pelvic floor muscles
- pregnancy and childbirth
- menopause
Weak pelvic floor muscles can make it hard for your bladder to hold urine in during stress incontinence. Stress incontinence occurs when an actioncoughing, sneezing, laughing, or physical activityputs pressure on your bladder and causes urine to leak. A weak pelvic floor can also cause fecal incontinence, or bowel control problems.
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Does Your Menstrual Cycle Affect Bladder Control
A range of hormones govern your menstrual cycle, and a number of ailments and conditions have been blamed on these hormones through the years. One of these conditions is leaking urine, known as urinary incontinence, which some women experience around the time of their menstrual cycles.
Urinary incontinence takes several forms. There is stress incontinence, which is when a woman leaks a bit of urine when sneezing, coughing, laughing, jumping, or engaging in other movements. There is also urge incontinence, or the sudden need or desire to urinate. Some women experience both types, which is called mixed incontinence.
Early theories on why this incontinence occurs centered on the hormones involved in menstruation. Was it estrogen? Progesterone? Something else?
When Should I See A Doctor About Incontinence
Its important to know that incontinence can be treated. Many people believe that its something that just goes along with aging and is an unavoidable issue. If you find that incontinence is disturbing your daily activities and causing you to miss out on things you typically enjoy, talk to your healthcare provider. There are a wide range of options to treat incontinence.
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Living With Bowel Incontinence
You can help manage bowel incontinence by following a bowel care plan and using the toilet before you leave home. You can also make sure you carry your medications, supplies, fecal deodorants, and a change of clothes with you.
Anal discomfort, itching, and irritation can be common. Here are some ways to help manage these symptoms:
- Wash the anal area after a bowel movement or use baby wipes.
- Use a moisture-barrier cream in the anal area.
- Use wick pads or disposable underwear.
- Change soiled underwear frequently to keep the anal area clean and dry.
How Soon After Starting Kegel Exercises Will Urinary Incontinence Get Better
It may take 4 to 6 weeks before you notice any improvement in your symptoms.10
Kegel exercises work differently for each person. Your symptoms may go away totally, you may notice an improvement in your symptoms but still have some leakage, or you may not see any improvement at all. But even if your symptoms dont get better, Kegel exercises can help prevent your incontinence from getting worse.
You may need to continue doing Kegel exercises for the rest of your life. Even if your symptoms improve, urinary incontinence can come back if you stop doing the exercises.
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Treatments For Male Urinary Incontinence
There are a number of treatment approaches for urinary incontinence to improve bladder control for men, depending on how severe it is and its underlying cause. A combination of treatments might be necessary. There are several categories of medications to treat overactive bladder and relax the bladder muscles and medications for men with incontinence caused by an enlarged prostate. Neuromodulation techniques include percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation, Botox injections in the bladder, and Interstim implantation. When indicated, surgical procedures are available to help alleviate incontinence issues.
The Different Types Of Urinary Incontinence
Urinary incontinence is an umbrella term for numerous different symptoms of leaking urine. The main types are:
- Urge incontinence
- Spasmodic bladder
- Bladder spasms
These symptoms can range from a small dribble whenever you sneeze, to full emptying of the bladder without control.
Unfortunately, women are at a higher risk of developing urinary incontinence due to pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause.
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How Is Incontinence Diagnosed
Often, the diagnosis process for incontinence will start with a conversation with your healthcare provider about your medical history and bladder control issues. Your provider might ask you questions like:
- How often do you urinate?
- Do you leak urine between trips to the toilet, how often does this happen and how much urine do you leak each time?
- How long have you been experiencing incontinence?
These questions can help your provider figure out a pattern with your leakage, which often points to a specific type of incontinence. When your provider is asking about your medical history, its important to list all of your medications because some medications can cause incontinence. Your provider will also ask about any past pregnancies and the details around each delivery.
There are also several specific tests that your provider might do to diagnose incontinence, including:
While at home, your provider might recommend you keep track of any leakage in a journal for a few days. By writing down how often you experience incontinence issues over the span of a few days, your provider might be able to identify a pattern. This can really help in the diagnosis process. Make sure to write down how often you need to urinate, how much you are able to go each time, if you leak between trips to the bathroom and any activities you might be doing when you leak urine. Youll then bring this journal with you to your appointment and talk about it with your provider.
What Are The Risk Factors For Leaking Urine
Each type of incontinence can happen for different reasons, but there are some universal factors that can make incontinence more likely. According to MedlinePlus, adults are more likely to develop urinary incontinence if they:
Having a birth defect that affects the structure of your urinary tract can also raise your risk. Your risk is also higher if a close family member has urinary incontinence, especially urge incontinence, per the Mayo Clinic.
Many times, people with no risk factors can experience urinary incontinence. “Almost 70% of urge incontinence is idiopathic, meaning we don’t know what causes it to happen in otherwise perfectly healthy people,” says Dr. Sheyn.
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Am I At A Higher Risk Of Incontinence At An Older Age
Your body constantly changes throughout your life. As you age, the muscles that support your pelvic organs can weaken. This means that your bladder and urethra have less support often leading to urine leakage. Your risk for developing incontinence as you age might be higher if you have a chronic health condition, have given birth to children, went through menopause, have an enlarged prostate or have had prostate cancer surgery. Its important to talk to your healthcare provider over time about the risks of incontinence and ways you can manage it without interference to your daily life.
How Is Urinary Incontinence Treated
You and your doctor or nurse will work together to create a treatment plan. You may start with steps you can take at home. If these steps do not improve your symptoms, your doctor or nurse may recommend other treatments depending on whether you have stress incontinence or urge incontinence or both.
Be patient as you work with your doctor or nurse on a treatment plan. It may take a month or longer for different treatments to begin working.
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Causes Of Total Incontinence
Total incontinence occurs when your bladder cannot store any urine at all. It can result in you either passing large amounts of urine constantly, or passing urine occasionally with frequent leaking.
Total incontinence can be caused by:
- a problem with your bladder from birth
- injury to your spinal cord, which can disrupt the nerve signals between your brain and your bladder
- a bladder fistula, which is a small tunnel-like hole that can form between the bladder and a nearby area, such as the vagina, in women
Q Why Do Younger Women Suffer From Urinary Incontinence
Teenagers and young women involved in sports are more likely to suffer from urinary incontinence. Women who are parachuters and gymnasts suffer from urinary incontinence as hitting the ground might cause weakening of the pelvic muscles. Some pre-existing or genetic issues also cause this problem. Weak pelvic muscles can run in the family. Activities like running or weightlifting can also make the pelvic floor muscles weak.
According to research, women who are sexually active also are more likely to report similar issues than women who are sexually inactive.
This clears up the common misconception that only pregnant and older women can suffer from this issue. Women who have not experienced childbirth can have weaker pelvic muscles too. But their issue can get worse after pregnancy. The risks of urinary incontinence are more among young women whose mothers suffer from similar problems.
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The 4 Types Of Urinary Incontinence And How They Are Diagnosed
If youve ever leaked urine or had trouble getting to the bathroom quickly enough, youre not alone. Almost half of all women leak urine at some point in their lives a condition known as urinary incontinence.
Urinary incontinence can be frustrating and embarrassing. Fortunately, treatment can make a difference. At Virtuosa GYN in San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Susan Crockett offers patients with urinary incontinence a full range of treatment options, from lifestyle changes and exercise to medication and surgery.
To give you a better understanding of your condition, Dr. Crockett offers the following information about the main types of urinary incontinence, along with details about what causes them and how they are diagnosed and treated.
What Causes Bladder Weakness
Bladder weakness usually occurs when the muscles in the pelvic floor or sphincter have been damaged or weakened.
Both men and women have a pelvic floor. It is made up of layers of muscles which hold the bladder and bowel in place and help to stop leaks. The sphincter is a circular muscle that goes around the urethra and squeezes as the bladder fills up to create a seal so that urine cant leak out.
In women, these muscles can be weakened during pregnancy by the extra weight and natural hormonal changes. Childbirth can cause more problems especially if delivery is prolonged or the baby is large. Forceps and ventouse assisted deliveries may increase the risk of damage, muscle tearing or episiotomies can cause further damage.
Some women develop stress urinary incontinence after the menopause. This is because the pelvic floor becomes weaker following hormone changes within the body. Even before the menopause, some women may notice that they have a weaker bladder than normal in the week before a period. Stress urinary incontinence may occur after a hysterectomy and also after operations on the bladder.
People who have been constipated for a long time or have a chronic cough may also be prone to stress urinary incontinence. Men can develop stress urinary incontinence if they are experiencing problems related to their prostate gland or post prostate surgery.
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Bladder And Bowel Incontinence
Incontinence is a loss of control of a person’s bowels or bladder which can cause accidental leakage of body fluids and waste. Incontinence can be more than a physical problem. It can disrupt your quality of life if its not managed well.
Fear, anxiety, and anger are common feelings for people dealing with incontinence. You may avoid being intimate or having sex because you are afraid of urine, gas, or stool leakage. Fear of having an accident may keep you from being physically active, enjoying hobbies, or spending extended time outside your home.
Both men and women can have incontinence during and after surgery or some other treatments for cancer. Incontinence can also occur because of other non-cancer medical conditions. Be sure to talk to your health care team if you have difficulty controlling urination or bowels. Talking about incontinence can be embarrassing, but being open and honest with your health care team can help manage it.
What Causes Urinary Incontinence
There are many different causes of urinary incontinence. It is important to check within yourself to see what could be the cause because this will help the doctor assess which form of treatment is best.
There are both medical reasons and lifestyle reasons that can lead to sudden onset urinary incontinence.
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Managing Bladder Or Urinary Incontinence
Sometimes urinary incontinence can last a short time, depending on what’s causing it. But sometimes incontinence can be long-term and uncomfortable, making some everyday activities difficult to manage.
Your health care team will ask you questions to determine the type of bladder incontinence you might have. Then, you might need tests to verify the type and learn the cause of it which will help them know the best way to manage it.
- Pelvic floor muscle strengthening may be recommended. A physical therapist that specializes in pelvic floor muscle exercises can help. This might help muscle strength and bladder control get better by doing exercises that tighten and relax muscles that control the flow of urine.
- Bladder training canhelp manage how often you need to urinate throughout the day, by assigning certain time intervals to empty your bladder.
Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Like Yarlap
According to research, over 50% of women who try to do a Kegel exercise for bladder leakage do them incorrectly, even with a pamphlet for instructions.
Northwestern University Department of Physical Therapy stated that NMES has been used for muscle strengthening, maintenance of muscle mass and strength.
NMES sends a signal into your muscles to do initiate exercise for you. It does not block pain as TENS devices do.
Like we said earlier if you are using your butt, abs, or thighs to do a Kegel those are the wrong muscles! If you find Kegel exercises hard or you do not have enough time OR you think I do not even know if Im using the right muscles, this is where NMES comes in!
NMES is commonly used by physical therapists.
Yarlap® is an NMES device for pelvic floor muscles reeducation for treating bladder leakage. Yarlap® is FDA cleared to treat female urinary incontinence by doing the pelvic floor muscles exercises for you.
Please Keep in Mind: that occasionally you will find devices online that promote Kegel and pelvic floor muscles trainers. But, like any wellness device or anything that goes into your vagina: do your research before buying it. You want to make sure that these devices are FDA cleared for over-the-counter usage. This means they have been properly tested and have a quality control protocol in place.
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Why You May Have Bladder Leaks At Night
Often times, bladder leakage at night is a form of overflow incontinence. If you experience overflow incontinence, the involuntary release of urine from an overly full bladder, you likely experience urine leaks â a lot! Even at night. You naturally have to use the bathroom less while youâre sleeping than when youâre awake. This is because your body produces a hormone called ADH â anti diuretic hormone â that signals to your kidneys to produce less urine. However, some people donât produce the appropriate amount of ADH at night, leading to too much urine production.
Alternatively, even if your body produces enough ADH, your kidneys may not respond to the hormone. This means that your body will still produce too much urine, leading to maximum bladder capacity and leakage at night.
Often times, bedwetting in adults is genetic. If one of your parents wets the bed, you have a 40 percent chance of wetting the bed at some point in your adult life as well.