Prevention and Treatment of Urinary Incontinence

A middle-aged woman's struggle with not being able to talk to others

Why you may need the treatment for urinary incontinence

It's easy to think of urinary incontinence as just a condition where urine leaks, leading to the question, "Is treatment really necessary?" However, urinary incontinence can cause significant disruptions to daily life. The uncertainty of when and how urine might leak can lead to feelings of anxiety and excessive stress.

Experienced by about 40% of women, urinary incontinence is a condition in which urine leaks from the bladder against one's will, causing problems, and is more common in middle-aged women than in men.

Urinary incontinence is a treatable condition, so it's important to seek appropriate treatment with the help of a healthcare provider, as the discomfort and impact on quality of life can be significant if it's treated as a normal part of aging, ashamed or ignored.

  • 1
    Accurate diagnosis and treatment: Accurately identifying the type of incontinence (stress, urge, etc.) and cause is important for proper treatment planning.
  • 2
    Discover potential risks: Other health problems (cystitis, enlarged prostate) associated with urinary incontinence can be detected and treated. In rare cases, urinary incontinence can also be a sign of spinal cord disease.
  • 3
    Improved quality of life: Urinary incontinence can cause embarrassment, difficulty with daily activities, and decreased self-esteem, so proper treatment can significantly improve quality of life.
  • 4
    Help prevent complications: Untreated urge incontinence, especially in cases of neurological disease, can lead to serious complications, including increased bladder pressure, kidney inflammation, and kidney failure.
  • 5
    Personalized care: Considering your condition, medical history, lifestyle, and more, we can suggest the most appropriate treatment for you.
  • 6
    The good thing about early diagnosis: The earlier incontinence is treated, the better the outcome.
  • 7
    Identify comorbidities: Other health issues related to urinary incontinence (e.g., cystitis, prostate enlargement) can be detected and treated.
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Types of Urinary Incontinence

Stress Incontinence

The sudden straining of the abdomen due to coughing or sneezing, which causes urine to leak out. It often occurs after prostate surgery in men and after pregnancy, childbirth, or menopause in women.

Urge Incontinence

Getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom when your bladder is not fully filled with urine, or having to pee uncontrollably on the way to the bathroom.

Overflow Incontinence

Problems with urinary function, such as inability to completely empty the bladder and delayed urination, or inability to empty the bladder due to insufficient bladder pressure, causing it to refill and overflow.

Middle-aged female urinary incontinence

How to self-test for urinary incontinence

  • 1
    Urine leaks out when you cough or sneeze.
  • 2
    I feel pain in my lower abdomen when I urinate.
  • 3
    My stomach hurts when I urinate.
  • 4
    On your way to the bathroom, you can't hold it in and urine leaks out.
  • 5
    You urinate in your sleep more than 2 times a night.
  • 6
    I don't feel better after urinating.
  • 7
    I've leaked urine during sexual intercourse.

Restore your self-esteem with the right personalized treatment for urinary incontinence!

Causes of urinary incontinence in middle-aged women

Shorter urethra compared to men

Elevated abdominal pressure

Pregnancy and childbirth effects

Medications and stress

Congenital defect

Pelvic muscle relaxation due to aging

Menopause and hormonal changes

Eating foods that irritate the bladder

How to treat urinary incontinence

Your doctor will decide how to treat you after consulting with you, taking into account the type of incontinence, severity, and your condition.

For combined incontinence, surgical treatment for overflow incontinence may be combined with medication for urge incontinence

Treating urinary incontinence

โ–ช๏ธ Midurethral sling surgery: A method of supporting the urethra with an artificial tape, used primarily for stress urinary incontinence in women.

 

โ–ช๏ธ Botulism toxin injections: Surgery to inject botulism toxin into the bladder to inhibit overcontraction of the detrusor muscle, used for urge incontinence

 

โ–ช๏ธ Sacral Nerve Modulation: A treatment that stimulates the sacral nerve, which connects the anus and rectum, to relieve tension in the bladder and pelvic muscles to control urination.

 

โ–ช๏ธ Bladder volume augmentation: Treatments to improve urination function by increasing the volume of the bladder that stores urine

 

โ–ช๏ธ Artificial Urethral Sphincter Insertion: A treatment used for urinary incontinence after prostate surgery in men, effective for patients with difficulty controlling urination

โ–ช๏ธ Pelvic floor exercises (Kegel exercises): Exercises to help treat urinary incontinence by strengthening the sphincter, repeating each exercise 10 times at least 8 to 10 times a day.

 

โ–ช๏ธ Biofeedback: How to exercise with a monitor that detects pelvic floor contractions

 

โ–ช๏ธ Electrostimulation therapy: Stimulates the pelvic floor muscles with a mild electric current to strengthen and contract the muscles to improve urinary control.

 

โ–ช๏ธ Extracorporeal magnetic innervation: Improves urination function by stimulating muscles and nerves with magnetic fields

 

โ–ช๏ธ Behavioral therapy: Train your bladder by holding and collecting urine while controlling your fluid intake.

 

โ–ช๏ธ : Medication treatment: Use of anticholinergics or beta3 receptor agonists for urgency incontinence, and no medication for urge incontinence in women

Kegel exercises helpful for urinary incontinence

Kegel exercises were first developed by American gynecologist Arnold Kegel to exercise the pelvic floor muscles. They were developed to treat female urinary incontinence by strengthening the pelvic muscles that have been stretched by childbirth or aging, and are known in the medical community as "pelvic floor exercises."

Kegel exercises have become popular as a sexual intercourseual enhancement exercise, as they have been found to be effective not only for urinary incontinence, but also for promoting sexual intercourseual sensation. Our muscles get weaker with each passing day, and as they get weaker, our body's ability to contract and relax deteriorates, so doing Kegel exercises every day is a great way to help prevent incontinence.

  • For maximum effectiveness, it's best to do it every day, morning and evening.
  • We recommend doing 10 repetitions of each movement at least 8 to 10 times a day.
  • Kegel exercises may seem tedious at first, but with practice, you'll be able to do them in a short amount of time.

Urinary incontinence is most common in middle-aged women, but it can also occur in younger women due to poor lifestyle habits or excessive stress.

Urinary incontinence, which affects about 40% adult women, is a condition that is treated with surgery under local anesthesia, without the need for skin incisions, when symptoms do not improve with nonsurgical methods such as medication or physical therapy.