Urinary incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine and is a very common disease that affects one in three women of all ages and causes problems for them to maintain a full quality of life. When the problem is detected, it is necessary to go to the specialist because with the appropriate treatment, most cases have a solution. It is more frequent in women than in men but, contrary to what many people think, urinary incontinence is not associated with aging.
Some of the factors that increase its possible appearance are obesity, tobacco, bladder stimulants or drinking a lot of water. However, there are other factors that are more difficult to avoid, such as changes in the pelvic floor muscles associated with pregnancy or childbirth, menopause or side effects of treatments performed in the area such as surgery or radiotherapy.
To urinate, the muscles of the bladder contract to carry the stored urine to the urethra, a tube through which the urine contained in the bladder is expelled to the outside. At the same time, the muscles around the urethra relax to let urine out. When these muscles, for different reasons, do not work correctly, incontinence occurs.
Urinary incontinence has many causes. For example, a urinary tract or vaginal infection, an episode of constipation, or the effects of a medication can temporarily cause urine loss that resolves when the cause that originated it disappears. On other occasions, the causes that cause it are not momentary, but require more complex treatments to solve them. For example, the muscles of the bladder or the pelvic floor are sometimes weak or overactive and in both cases they have an incidence in the appearance of urine leakage.
In men it is very common for a blockage in the urinary tract to occur because the prostate has increased in size. Some neurological diseases cause this problem due to the involvement in the nervous system. This is the case of multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease that make the patient not have control of their own movements and cannot control the sphincters.
Several types of incontinence have been identified. Knowing what kind of incontinence you have is essential to choose the most appropriate and effective treatment.
Stress incontinence. It appears because of the realization of an effort. For example, when picking up a heavy object, sneezing or laughing. The bladder and abdomen have been pressed and cause an involuntary dribbling of urine that can be very slight (just a few drops) or more important (in the form of a stream). It especially affects young and middle-aged women or women with menopause.
Urge incontinence. It especially affects people who have diabetes or some type of neurological disease such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or multiple sclerosis. It can also be caused by a stroke or an infection. In these cases, patients suddenly have a strong need to urinate and cannot hold it. It is common for the frequency of the number of times it is necessary to urinate to increase significantly, even during the night.
Mixed urinary incontinence. Sometimes a combination of different types of incontinence occurs. Usually a combination of stress and urge incontinence.
Overflow incontinence. It occurs when small amounts of urine are lost because the bladder is always full. Some men have difficulty emptying their bladder because the prostate has enlarged and blocked the urethra, preventing all the urine from being expelled. Other possible causes of this type of incontinence are diabetes and spinal cord injuries.
Functional incontinence. It's a different kind of problem because the bladder and pelvic floor muscles work well. It is simply about people with mobility problems (due to different causes such as arthritis, trauma...) that prevent them from moving normally and do not get to the bathroom on time.
