Urinary Incontinence In Women

By Kari Bailey, MD

Anne Arundel Urology

. https://aaurology.com/

More Special Articles

Urinary Incontinence In Women

Many women suffer from urinary incontinence, which can have a negative impact on quality of life. It can limit one from participating in physical activities as well as social functions. Many patients live with this problem for many years without undergoing evaluation or treatment.

There are several types of urinary incontinence with the most common being stress incontinence and urge incontinence. Stress incontinence is typically a condition caused by weakness or laxity of the urethra. Urine leakage occurs with coughing, sneezing, laughing or other physical activity. Urge incontinence is typically a condition caused by over activity of the bladder. The bladder squeezes or spasms involuntarily before the patient makes it to the bathroom. This leakage could occur while on the way to the bathroom or after a desire to urinate. Urge incontinence may be seen in conjunction with urinary frequency and urgency. Commonly women have a combination of urge and stress incontinence, which is referred to as mixed incontinence.

There are multiple treatment modalities for both types of incontinence. One option for either type of incontinence is behavior modification. One strategy is timed urination. If a patient tends to hold urination for a long period of time (over four hours), urinating more frequently could decrease leakage events. One suggestion is to urinate every 2-4 hours by the clock rather than waiting for the urge to urinate.

Another behavioral strategy is avoiding food triggers or foods that are irritating to the bladder. Unfortunately there are many food and drinks that irritate the bladder including caffeinated beverages, spicy foods, acidic foods and alcoholic beverages. Limiting exposure to these foods and drinks can decrease over activity of the bladder. Pelvic floor strengthening exercises are another useful strategy to prevent leakage. These can be simple at home Kegel exercises or more in-depth training with a pelvic floor physical therapist.

Depending on the type of incontinence and the patient characteristics, there are also medication and surgical treatments available to correct incontinence. Patients can regain an improved quality of life and increase participation in everyday activities with a combination of these management strategies.