Incontinence:

Incontinence is a common problem and although more common in older women, it can occur in both men and ladies, young and old. Given its embarrassing nature, people often suffer in silence rather than seek help. Equally, a lot of people believe there is little, if anything, that can be done for incontinence and so don’t bother mentioning it to their doctor or nurse. It is a sobering thought that about 10 million people in the UK are thought to suffer to some extent.

Incontinence is a symptom rather than a disease and simply refers to the involuntary passing of urine.

There are three main types of incontinence, stress, urge and dribble. When urine leaks on sneezing, coughing, laughing or jumping, stress incontinence is present. This affects women in particular and is caused by a weakness of the pelvic floor muscles, which form a 'sling' to support the bladder and womb. With increasing age and particularly as a result of childbirth, these muscles become weaker. Once women pass through the menopause, falling levels of the hormone oestrogen can also contribute to this weakness.

Urge incontinence is when someone has an overwhelming urge to pass urine and is then unable to get to the toilet in time. Affected people tend to pass urine more frequently than normal, both during the day and through the night. Urge incontinence is considered to reflect an unstable or over-active bladder. For reasons that are still unclear, the muscles of the bladder contract too early, ie before the bladder is full, and the body’s ability to control these contractions and thus retain the urine in the bladder is reduced. Urge incontinence can affect both men and women and is more common in older people.

Dribbling incontinence is seen in men usually over the age of 60 and is one symptom of an enlarged prostate gland (Prostatism).

The good news is that if you are affected by incontinence, you needn't just put up with it. All types of incontinence can be treated. Specific treatments vary with the type of incontinence.

Stress incontinence often responds well to regular pelvic floor exercises. If this fails, several forms of surgical operation can be performed.

Urge incontinence can often be relieved with a programme of "bladder retraining", in which people are encouraged to go to the toilet at specific intervals with the time between these intervals gradually increased over the weeks, thereby retraining the bladder to hold on to the urine for increasing periods. Medication can also be used for urge incontinence; newer preparations are both well tolerated and have a low incidence of troublesome side effects.

Even if you are not keen on any specific treatment for your incontinence, don't be afraid to contact your surgery – practice nurses can provide advice and a variety of incontinence pads/pants.

Sister Lynn Garnick at Wellway Medical Group has a special interest in helping people, both men and women, troubled with incontinence. A monthly Continence Clinic is held in which the specific type of problem can be assessed and appropriate advice on pelvic floor exercises, bladder retraining and/or medication can be discussed. Sister Garnick can be contacted via Reception at Wellway (Morpeth).

TIP - if you are needing to get up several times to pass urine during the night it may be worth cutting back on the number of drinks you have in the evening - particularly alcoholic drinks and those containing caffeine (eg, tea, coffee and cola drinks). All of these have a mild diuretic action which tend to result in the body producing more urine than the amount of fluid in the drink!

Remember:

There is no need to suffer in silence - Do something!

Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice or substituted for professional advice. Always consult your doctor with your questions and concerns.