Urinary Incontinence
Palm Beach Health Network offers hope to men and women who suffer from chronic urinary incontinence. Our dynamic team of compassionate physicians, nurses, and rehabilitation professionals offer personalized treatments from exercise plans to surgical options.
Incontinence is a symptom, not a disease. On a temporary basis, it can be caused by urinary tract infections, constipation or certain medications. Persistent urinary incontinence may be caused by weakness of the bladder or the muscles supporting it, overactive bladder muscles or urinary tract blockage.
Types of urinary incontinence include:
- Stress incontinence: caused by certain activities such as coughing, sneezing or laughing, which can increase abdominal pressure on the bladder
- Urge incontinence: when the need to urinate happens unexpectedly
- Overflow incontinence: when small amounts of leakage occur due to a full bladder
- Functional incontinence: affects people with normal bladder control but who cannot get to the bathroom quickly enough due to physical limitations or mental disease
Once the cause of urinary incontinence has been identified, treatment options usually fall into three main categories.
- Behavioral techniques require making certain lifestyle changes. For example, set up a schedule to go to the bathroom every few hours or retrain the bladder to gradually extend the time between bathroom trips. Kegel exercises are recommended to strengthen the muscles below the bladder that control urination and make up the pelvic floor.
- Medications can be prescribed to treat an overactive bladder or urge incontinence. These drugs block nerve impulses to the bladder, decreasing the urgency and frequency of urination.
- Medical devices or surgery are also available to treat incontinence. Women can use a urethral insert (a small tampon-like disposable device) or pessary (a vaginal insert) to help manage stress incontinence. More than 200 variations of surgical procedures can be performed to treat causes of urinary incontinence. These include placement of an artificial urinary sphincter to control urine flow, injection of a bulking agent (such as collagen) into the urethra to create resistance against urine flow or implantation of a sacral nerve stimulator to help control the bladder. A bladder neck suspension, or sling procedure, can be done to help hold up the bladder and narrow the urethra to prevent leakage.
Urinary incontinence should not be suffered in silence, and hiding incontinence can lead to rashes, sores, and skin or urinary tract infections. Don’t let embarrassment hold you back from getting the care you need. The healthcare professional at the Palm Beach Health Network can help you understand and treat urinary incontinence, so you can take control and prevent accidents from occurring.
