There isn’t anything more annoying than having to run to the bathroom regularly. For those living with urinary incontinence, this annoyance is constant. Urine incontinence is not just a problem for those who are enjoying the later years of their lives, many factors come into play for the medical issue to occur.
Urinary incontinence keeps many women from enjoying common pleasures, like laughing, due to the fear of leakage. It takes a hold on your life and will make you feel tied to a bathroom to avoid embarrassment. Understanding urinary incontinence and knowing your options for relief can give women suffering from this issue hope for not having to hang out all the time in the bathroom.
What is Urinary Incontinence?
Urinary incontinence is involuntary leakage of urine. One type of urinary leakage occurs in women when they cough, laugh, sneeze or perform physical activities. Other times, an overactive bladder causes sudden urges to urinate right after a woman has just gone to the bathroom. This sudden loss of bladder control can cause embarrassment during everyday life.
As women age, many things change in their bodies. Some things are a normal part of aging, and other changes may require medical assistance. According to the Cleveland Clinic, one-third of women leak urine involuntarily and although this is a large statistic, it still not considered normal. Doctors group together symptoms of incontinence to form four types of urinary incontinence:
- Stress incontinence – When you sneeze or laugh which puts pressure on the bladder. This can occur at any age, but mainly around women going through menopause. This is the most common type of incontinence.
- Urge incontinence – When you have a sudden urge to pee, so sudden it’s almost impossible to get to the toilet in time. This occurs for people suffering from stroke, diabetes, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s Disease.
- Overflow incontinence – When your bladder feels like it can never be fully emptied but continuously dribbles urine because you can never fully empty it. This can occur in men with enlarged prostates as well as a woman suffering from diabetes or spinal cord injuries.
- Functional incontinence – This occurs later in life when men and women have a harder time moving around. This can make it harder for them to reach the restroom in time due to their slower pace of life.
What causes urine incontinence
Many changes in the female body over the course of their life can cause bladder control problems. Prolapse can push the bladder down, causing the frequent urge to urinate due to stress on the part of the body where you store urine. Issues with the pelvic floor muscles cause loss of bladder control due to loss of control of muscle contraction. Here are some more causes of urinary incontinence:
- Birthing multiple children
- Delivering a large baby
- Pelvic trauma
- Weight gain
- Constipation
- Stress
- Menopause
- Smoking
Others suffer from overactive incontinence, which causes the urgent need to urinate throughout the day. Many women suffer from combinations of both.
Complications of urine incontinence
If left untreated, not only can it become embarrassing it can lead to issues that affect other aspects of your boy and your life. Constantly being wet between your legs can cause rashes and skin infections. When the area around your bladder and urethra is constantly damp, it will increase your risk of urinary tract infections. If any signs of these issues start to occur, contact your doctor right away.
What to do for Urinary Incontinence
If you are suffering from urinary incontinence, see a doctor to request a pelvic tone exam. An exam like this will evaluate your pelvic floor muscles and determine the need for treatment. Here are some popular ways of cures, remedies, and treatments available.
Natural relief remedies
If you prefer more natural relief for urinary incontinence, options are available for you without the need for medicine. Many women choose a more natural treatment for urine leakage. Some women try bladder retraining. Bladder retraining schedules when you use the restroom throughout the day and gradually extend the time in between your trips to retrain your body to hold urine longer.
Other women try Kegel exercises, which work to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles that hold the urine. However, these two methods are sometimes temporary and cannot keep the leakage away for good.
Femilift treatment
For those of you not wanting to take the natural route for relief for urinary incontinence, Femilift is a short, painless in-office procedure helping to strengthen pelvic floor muscles. The process gives more permanent long term results to treat urinary incontinence than at-home solutions.
Femilift uses a high-precision Alma CO2 with a 360-degree rotation capability to apply thermal energy and assists in vaginal mucosa revitalization and ultimately results in tightening and lubricating effect. Women have seen phenomenal results and solutions for vaginal issues like urinary incontinence, childbirth, and menopause.
Other options
- Changing lifestyle – Quitting smoking, avoiding stress and losing weight can all help with incontinence. Caffeine and alcohol can also have an effect on urine incontinence, so limiting your drinking of these beverages, especially before bed can help.
- Medicine – There are many prescriptions, over-the-counter pills, liquids, and creams that can help strengthen your pelvic wall or help with the consequences of incontinence. There are also vitamins and dietary supplements that can help. These options should be discussed with your doctor to avoid unwanted side effects.
- Devices – Someone woman are able to use urethral inserts to help prevent leakage in a prolapsed vagina. There are many different kinds, discuss them with your doctor. They will be able to tell you which devices work best for your type of incontinence.
Use Femilift to Reduce Symptoms of Urine Incontinence
When women are avoiding the joy of laughter, it only means urinary incontinence is a pest keeping them from enjoying life. Nevada Surgery and Cancer Care wants to give women the ability to laugh and sneeze without embarrassment with the quick laser vaginal tightening procedure known as Femilift. Contact us today to see how we can help you conquer urinary incontinence with our quality health care!