Urinary Incontinence

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Urinary incontinence is the unintentional passing of urine. It is a common condition affecting a large part of the population.

There are different types of urinary incontinence:

• Stress incontinence (SUI) – urine leaks out during physical efforts; for example, while coughing or laughing
• Urge incontinence (UI) – urine leaks along with a sudden, strong urge to pass urine
• Overflow incontinence – urine leaks frequently and constantly since the bladder doesn’t empty completely
• Functional incontinence – a physical or mental disorder prevents the patient from passing urine in time
• Mixed incontinence – more than one type of urinary incontinence
• Urinary incontinence may occur following pregnancy and vaginal delivery, obesity, diabetes and ageing.

Lifestyle changing such as weight loss reduced consumption of coffee and alcohol and quit smoking may help improve incontinence symptoms.

Pelvic floor exercises and bladder training are largely used to reduce incontinence episodes.

Medications and specific treatments such as posterior tibial nerve stimulation can be administered to ease urge incontinence symptoms.

Surgery is an option, especially when incontinence is secondary to urethral hypermobility and bladder prolapse.