Less Intrusive Urinary Incontinence Treatment

By Olivia Cross


Few people are able to speak up about the urinary incontinence due to its embarrassing nature. The problem was common in the old a while back but now affects people across different age groups on both genders. Over three quarters of those who seek urinary incontinence treatment are women.

The treatment offered to the patient is dependent on the severity of the problem and the type of urinary incontinence. The treatment options that are available include taking prescriptions, bladder training, pelvic muscle exercises, and surgery among others. Doctors always start with less intrusive methods if the condition is not severe. If the urologist discovers another condition as the cause for incontinence, the condition is first deal with before or along with incontinence treatment. Fistula, a condition caused by the tearing of the womb in women who experience prolonged and difficult labor and enlarged prostrate glands in menfolk are common causes of incontinence.

Lifestyle changes are one of the conservative treatments that do not involve any medical intervention whatever. The doctor may suggest that drop some behaviors and adopt better ones to improve the situation. You may also be forced to lower the amount of fluids you take on a daily basis to lower urine production in your body.

You may also be asked to reduce caffeine intake as it increases the amount of urine that would be produced by your body. Caffeine can found in many sports energy drinks, coffee and cola drinks. Obesity can also affect the effectiveness of your bladder; losing weight could help alleviate the problem.

There are muscles at the pelvic area that control the passage of urine. They are found around the urethra and the bladder and keep the passage shut until one is ready to urinate. If they get weak or some condition damages them, they may be strengthened by a therapy. The therapy involves physical contraction of the muscles by a patient. It is performed at least thrice a day with at least eight contractions every session. The progress of patient is monitored by the doctor and program adjusted accordingly.

If the exercise above does not improve your situation, electrical stimulation may be beneficial. The procedure is done by inserting a small probe in the vagina for women and anus for men. The device measures and lets out small pulses of currents in the muscles to help them contract. The procedure works well with other muscle exercises. Many find it a bit unpleasant but it has good results.

If you are suffering from urge incontinence, the doctor may recommend bladder training. In some cases, it may be combined with pelvic muscle training. The goal of bladder training is to increase the amount of time from when you feel the urge to urinate to when you do pass the urine. The training takes about six weeks.

For women with weak pelvic floor muscles and are unable to exercise them, vaginal cones could be of assistance. These are small weights that are inserted into vagina to help in pelvic floor muscle training. You are meant to hold the weights in place with your pelvic muscles. The weights come in different weights but, you start with the lightest to the heaviest. This kind of treatment is very helpful for women that suffer from stress incontinence.




About the Author: