Urinary Incontinence

You may think you’re alone if you have urinary incontinence because most women simply don’t talk about it, yet an estimated 30-60% of women struggle with this embarrassing condition. The medical team at Advanced Women’s Healthcare have extensive experience effectively treating incontinence using numerous types of treatments. If you suffer from urine leakage, call the office and make an appointment with one of our providers today.

Urinary incontinence refers to a loss of bladder control resulting in unwanted urine leakage. Incontinence may develop from numerous possible problems. Age, pregnancy, and childbirth can all weaken the pelvic floor muscles used to control urination. Your bladder may not be able to hold the urine, or you could have problems with nerve signals controlling the bladder.

Additionally, hormonal changes can affect the urinary tract and, in some cases, pelvic organ prolapse may increase your risk of urinary incontinence.

There are two primary types of urinary incontinence:

This type of incontinence occurs when pressure on the bladder leads to urine leakage. It can happen when you’re physically active, from laughing, sneezing, or coughing, and even from bending over or picking up a heavy item. Stress incontinence also causes embarrassing leakage during sex.

Stress incontinence is more common in younger women. Women who have delivered a baby vaginally have more than double the risk of developing this type of incontinence.

As its name says, when you have this type of incontinence, you have such a sudden and strong urge to urinate that you leak urine or can’t make it to the bathroom in time. The sound of running water may trigger the urge. Urge incontinence is more common in older women.

You can also have both types of incontinence at the same time, which is called mixed incontinence. Treatments options are available for each form of urinary incontinence at Advanced Women’s Healthcare.

Your doctor at Advanced Women’s Healthcare may conduct urodynamic studies to evaluate concerns such as urine flow, the amount of pressure in your bladder, and the amount of urine that stays in your bladder.

For more on urodynamics and how to prepare for your test. Click here.

Your treatment is customized to meet your needs and may include one or more of the following.

• Pelvic floor exercises to improve muscle control
• Bladder training to delay urination
• Medications to relax bladder muscles
• Intravaginal support devices like a pessary to block leakage
• Collagen injections to partially block the urethra
• Minimally invasive surgery

Most surgeries for urinary incontinence are done on an outpatient basis and have a good success rate.

Don’t continue to struggle with urinary incontinence — help is available. Call Advanced Women’s Healthcare.