Research shows that approximately 30% of women struggle with urinary incontinence. There are various types of accidental urine loss or urinary incontinence, each one presenting with its causes and symptoms. However, all these conditions are treatable. Learn about this condition and find the best doctor for pelvic rehabilitation and urinary incontinence in Forest Hills.
Urinary Incontinence 101
This is the loss of bladder control. The condition is often embarrassing. It can start with the occasional passing of urine when you sneeze or cough. One can also have an urgent urge to suddenly urinate such that you don’t get to the bathroom in time. This condition is more common when people grow older. If this condition affects your daily activities, you need to seek medical attention to ease the discomfort.
Types of Urinary Incontinence
Stress
This is when it happens when you sneeze or cough, while lifting, laughing, or jumping. Common causes of this type of urinary incontinence include pregnancy, childbirth, surgical trauma, pelvic radiation, or menopause.
Urge
This is when you experience an occasional and sudden urge to urinate large volumes of urine. This condition can as well exist without urinary incontinence. This condition can be associated with childbirth, pelvic trauma, pregnancy, menopause, or neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s
Mixed
This is a mixture of urge and stress incontinence.
Overflow
This is a frequent trickle of urine due to lack of efficient bladder emptying. The signs of this condition are the same as those for stress incontinence. It can be due to spinal cord injury, neurological damage, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, enlarged prostate, or Parkinson’s disease.
Functional
A problem can bring this about in the urinary system or any pathology. It is also linked with cognitive or physical impairment like immobility, Alzheimer’s disease or head injury.
Reflex
This type is also known as the spastic bladder. The incontinence occurs when you have a full bladder and then an involuntary reflex triggers contraction leading to involuntary urination. The problems mostly occur after you have suffered a spinal cord injury above the area that is medically known as T12 level.
Treatment of Urinary Incontinence
There are many treatment options for the problem. Other than that, there are various steps that you might take to remedy the condition. If self-care does not help, your doctor can discuss the approaches that may help ease the discomfort. Some of the known approaches include
Behavioral modification therapy: Your doctor can suggest certain techniques that you should adopt. These could be limiting fluid intake, doing away with caffeine, and practicing to hold your urine for long.
Physical therapy: These exercises are meant to strengthen your pelvic floor. The pelvic floor is the group of muscles that together helps to contain and control urine flow.
Vaginal insert: Pessaries are used to support the urethra. These inserts help to prevent stress incontinence.
Medication: Some medicines block chemical messages found in the bladder’s nerves, thus relaxing the bladder muscles.
Other medications include injections, sling procedures, botox and even interstim therapy. If you are experiencing this condition, visiting Yakov Levy, MD, in Forest Hills, Queens, and Midtown East, Manhattan could end your problem. Schedule a consultation to learn more about urinary incontinence.
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