Urinary Incontinence
An estimated 11 million women in the U.S. have incontinence. The four major types of incontinence that women suffer from are:
- Stress Urinary Incontinence: the unintentional leakage of urine during sudden movements such as sneezing, coughing, laughing, exercising and getting up from a sitting or lying position.
- Over Active Bladder/Urge Incontinence: the strong, intense urge to urinate, followed by leakage of urine.
- Mixed Incontinence: when women have symptoms of both stress and urge incontinence.
- Overflow Incontinence: leakage occurs because the bladder never completely empties.
If you suffer from urinary loss, ask yourself:
- Do you experience sudden urine leakage while sneezing, coughing, laughing or exercising?
- Do you wear pads to absorb any unplanned urine leakage/?
- Do you avoid certain activities to prevent leakage?
- Does the availability of restroom facilities affect your decisions when planning an outing or trip?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions you should talk to your healthcare provider about possible treatment options. A simple Urodynamic Study maybe ordered to evaluate your bladder and urethral function.
It shouldn’t be embarrassing. Incontinence is a medical condition that is easily treated.