Incontinence: Simple Lifestyle Changes or Medical Treatment can Ease Discomfort or Stop Urinary Incontinence.

Urinary incontinence, loss of bladder control, is a common health problem usually related to age. In most cases affects elderly people while women are more likely to suffer from incontinence than men.

Types of Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence, urine leaking, happens when pelvic muscles are either too weak or too active. Therefore there are going to be different types of incontinence.

• Stress incontinence happens when the muscles that keep the bladder closed are weak, so leakage happens when one sneezes, laughs or lifts heavy objects.
• Second type or urinary incontinence is urge incontinence or overactive bladder. If bladder muscles become too active one can feel a strong urge to urinate even though there is very little urine in the bladder. The last but not less difficult is overflow incontinence when the one can’t empty the bladder completely.

Causes of Urinary Incontinence

There is a broad spectrum of reasons for urinary incontinence. The most common ones are blockage in the urinary system, brain or nerve problems, mental health problems that make it hard to feel and respond to the urge to urinate, problems with the urinary system, nerve and muscle problems. In some cases, incontinence will come and go away itself without special treatment but if it continues long term then the one should immediately seek for doctor’s help.

Primary care doctors can treat incontinence after running a few tests to determine what is the cause. The most common tests are: cystoscopy (viewing the inside of the bladder), PVR (post-void residual) to measure the amount of urine left after patient urinates, urinalysis, urine cultures to check for infection, urodynamic studies (to measure pressure and urine flow), uroflow (to measure the pattern of urine flow). Treatment will vary based on test results and the cause of incontinence.

Treating Urinary Incontinence

There are two main treatments for strengthening pelvic muscles such as: bladder retaining – where one urinates on a schedule, whether or not there is a need to go, and Kegel exercises – where pelvic floor muscles are squeezed for 10 seconds then relaxed for 10 seconds. Strengthening pelvic muscles can help control the bladder and therefore the process of urinating and urge itself.
Other treatments include a diet with more fiber, one should quit smoking as well as avoid alcohol and coffee drinks together with foods that stimulate the bladder, and diabetics have to keep their sugar level controlled.

In Century Medical and Dental Center (Downtown Brooklyn, Gravesend and Flatbush), primary care doctor successfully diagnoses urinary incontinence by having PVR test, pelvic sonogram, urinalysis and urine culture performed. After the cause is found, doctors will give their best to find the proper treatment for all patients suffering from incontinence. If the surgery or furthermore complex testing are needed, affiliated with the Brooklyn Hospital, primary care physician will arrange and assure the patient’s further medical treatment. Urinary incontinence can be embarrassing and difficult to live with.

Don’t hesitate, visit the primary care physician and start your treatment.
In Century Medical and Dental Center (Downtown Brooklyn, Gravesend and Flatbush) we can bring happy days back.