What are Treatments for Urinary Incontinence?

What Treatments Alleviate Bladder Leakage

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Depending on your type of Urinary Incontinence a combination of treatments may be necessary. From moderate to severe, each case is treated differently. The underlying cause of your Urinary Incontinence plays a major factor as well, so talk to your doctor about which treatment would work the best for you! Your trusted physician will probably recommend the least invasive treatments and first. And if all else fails, a more serious path may be discussed. Either way treatment is available for Urinary Incontinence, so you can look forward to living an active lifestyle once more.

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Behavioral Techniques

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Bladder Training

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Start by holding in your pee for about ten minutes after you feel the urge to urinate. Try to delay urination as long as you can before urinating, as this will lengthen the time in between bathroom trips. Eventually the amount of times you go to the bathroom in a day will decrease with this training.

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Stop and Go (Double Voiding)

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Double voiding teaches you and your bladder how to completely drain your bladder of urine. This is especially good for people who have Overflow Urinary Incontinence. Double Voiding means urinating, then waiting for a few moments, and try urinating again.

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Routine Toilet Trips

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Some people with Urinary incontinence do not realize when they are urinating or have to urinate. To avoid wetting oneself, schedule your toilet trips. Try to urinate every two to four hours, instead of waiting for an accident to happen.

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Diet Change

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Certain foods and beverages increase the urge to urinate. The contents within these foods and drinks act as diuretics and you will experience the need to go to the bathroom far more than if you avoided these foods. The majority of these foods have caffeine, high acidity, or alcohol. A change in your diet can result in weight loss as well. But if you find the correct diet, for example one with a lot of fiber, you can alleviate your Urinary Incontinence.

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By increasing your physical activity and avoiding troublesome foods, you may lose weight. This alleviates excess pressure on the bladder. The less pressure on your bladder the better. Stress Urinary Incontinence is very much affected by pressure on the bladder, so your bladder leakage will lessen with less pressure.

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Pelvic Floor Muscles Exercises (Kegels)

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Exercises that strengthen the pelvic floor muscles are called Kegels. Pelvic Floor muscles are a major part of the support system in your urinary tract. They control and support the actions of the bladder. If you do these exercises on a consistent basis you may discover amazing results. There have been reported cases of completely diminished Urinary Incontinence. Most people see their bladder leakage significantly decrease.

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These exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, for both men and women, which in turn helps you maintain your Urinary Incontinence. If it is too difficult for you to learn how to do kegels, talk to your doctor. Your physician can introduce you to biofeedback, which monitors bodily functions and teaches you how to control them yourself.

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These exercises are especially effective for those with Stress Urinary Incontinence and Urge Urinary Incontinence.

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Electrodes

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Electrodes are a form of electronic stimulation. They are thin devices, temporarily inserted into your vagina or rectum in order to stimulate and strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. The electrical stimulation is gentle. It can be very effective for those with Stress Urinary Incontinence and Urge Urinary Incontinence. You may need consistent treatment over the course of several months to see results. If you remain patient, positive results over controlling your bladder leakage are most likely to result.

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Medication

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The most common medications to treat Urinary Incontinence are:

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Anticholienergics (Ditropan XL, Detrol, Enablex, Toviaz, Vesicare, Sanctura). These are helpful with Overactive Bladder and Urge Incontinence.

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Mirabegron (Myrbetriq). This is used to treat Urge Urinary Incontinence. Mirabegron relaxes the bladder, the muscles around it, and can increase the amount of urine your bladder can hold. You may even be able to increase the amount you urinate at one time. This helps to almost completely empty your bladder and allow for more comfort.

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Alpha Blockers (Flomax, Uraxatral, Rapaflo, Hytrin, Cardura). Men who have Urge or Overflow Urinary Incontinence benefit from these medications. Alpha Blockers relax the bladder neck muscles and muscle fibers in the prostate. The relaxation of these muscles make it easier to empty the bladder.

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Topical Estrogen. Women who have Urinary Incontinence can use Topical Estrogen to reduce symptoms. This medication comes in the form of vaginal cream, a ring or a patch. It rejuvenates tissues in the urethra and vaginal areas.

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Medical devices

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Women with Urinary Incontinence benefit from these devices:

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Urethral Insert. This insert is a tampon-like disposable device that you slide into the urethra. You do this before doing specific activities, like volleyball, that trigger Urinary Incontinence. Essentially, the Urethral Insert is a plug that prevents leakage, and is removed before urinating.

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Pessary. This vaginal insert is a stiff ring that you slip into your vagina and can wear all day. Pessaries help to support your bladder, which is right next to the vagina, and prevent bladder leakage. Women who have Urinary Incontinence because of a prolapsed bladder or uterus find the Pessary device especially helpful.

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Interventional therapies

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Bulking Material Injections. Synthetic Material is injected into the tissue that surrounds the urethra. This synthetic material is called Bulking Material. Bulking Material reduces bladder leakage by helping the urethra to stay closed. Generally, this procedure needs to be repeated. It is not as effective as surgery and other more invasive treatments.

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Botox Injections (Botulinum Toxin Type A). Botox injections into the bladder can greatly benefit those with Overactive Bladder. If your Urinary Incontinence medications do not work or have not been as helpful as they should, Botox Injections may be recommended.

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Nerve Stimulators. These stimulators look very similar to pacemakers. They are placed under your skin (sometimes in a nerve in the ankle) and deliver painless electrical pulses to the bladder nerves (sacral nerves). Sacral nerves are involved in controlling the bladder, so those with Urge Urinary Incontinence try nerve stimulators quite often if other treatments have not been successful.

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Surgical Options

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If the less invasive treatments don’t work, a lot of people have turned to surgery to treat their Urinary Incontinence. The symptoms of Urinary Incontinence can be alleviated with these surgical procedures:

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Bladder Neck Suspension. The Bladder Neck is the thick muscle area that connects the bladder to the urethra. The Bladder Neck Suspension is supposed to support the bladder neck and the urethra. An abdominal incision is allows access to the pelvic area. This is all done under general or spinal anesthesia

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Sling Procedures. Sling Procedures treat Stress Urinary Incontinence. A sling is wrapped around your urethra and the bladder neck like a hammock. The procedure involves using strips of your body’s tissue, synthetic material or mesh to create this pelvic sling. The sling supports the urethra by keeping it appropriately closed. So when you laugh or sneeze, you will not experience bladder leakage.

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Prolapse Surgery. Women who experience Mixed Urinary Incontinence and Pelvic Organ Prolapse will treat their symptoms with this surgery. It repairs the prolapse of the bladder or urethra. Organ prolapse surgery may involves the repair or removal or certain organs, depending on which one has prolapsed or been damaged. Such removals and repairs include, the removal of the uterus (hysterectomy), repair of the rectum (rectocele) and small bowel (enterocele), repair of the vaginal wall (vaginal vault suspension), and the closure of the vagina (vaginal obliteration).

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The pelvic organ prolapse surgery can involve the Sling Procedure as well.

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Artificial Urinary Sphincter. This procedure is very helpful for men who have Urinary Incontinence due to prostate cancer, treatment of prostate cancer, or an enlarged prostate. The artificial urinary sphincter is kind of what it sounds like. A small, fluid-filled ring is placed around the bladder neck to maintain closure of the urinary sphincter until you are ready to urinate. When you are ready to urinate you press a valve that is inserted beneath your skin. This deflates the ring and allows urine to pass through your body to the outside.

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Adult Diapers and Catheters

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If any medical treatment does not work, or does not completely diminish your Urinary Incontinence, there are many other products to alleviate the symptoms. Urine leakage is very inconvenient, so adult diapers and catheters help to make your life easier.

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Adult Diapers. Adult Diapers is an umbrella term for all absorbent pads and protective garments. Because these absorbent pads are designed for adults, they can easily be worn under normal clothing. There are many types of adult diapers that are sensitive to the skin and proved complete absorbency while remaining discreet. Other forms of absorbent pads include disposable underpads (place on bed or chairs), liners and inserts (place inside normal underwear or protective adult diapers), and even swim diapers that can be worn under swim shorts and trunks. There are specific designs for men and women to provide extra comfort and accuracy as well.

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Catheter. If your Urinary Incontinence involves the inability to properly empty your bladder, a catheter may be recommended. Talk to your doctor about this treatment. It involves a soft tube (catheter) inserted into the urethra several times a day to drain the urine from your bladder. With included instruction, you will learn how to clean the catheter to safely reuse it again.

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As you can see the treatments for Urinary Incontinence are vast and can vary. Talk to your doctor about which treatment is best for you. You are unique and so is your treatment.