Urinary incontinence affects more than 25 million American adults. It’s not at all uncommon.
Despite the numbers, many people with urinary incontinence feel shame and embarrassment about it. Thankfully, there are a great number of treatment options available for this condition.
To learn more about treatment for urinary incontinence, read the information below.
Types of Urinary Incontinence
To determine the best treatment plan, a physician needs to determine which types of urinary incontinence they are treating. The different types include:
- Functional
- Overflow
- Urgency
- Stress
Functional incontinence occurs when a person cannot reach the toilet in time to void their bladder, due to a separate condition like an injury or disability. Urgency incontinence, on the other hand, is the inability to reach the toilet in time due to the strong, sudden nature of the need to urinate.
Overflow incontinence happens when there is too much urine for the bladder to hold. Finally, stress incontinence involves some type of physical stress, like coughing or exercising.
Exercise and Behavioral Methods
In simple cases, small behavioral changes may be enough to treat urinary incontinence. For example, avoiding natural diuretics like coffee or alcohol can help reduce the urgent need to urinate.
Additionally, patients can try bladder training, where they hold off their trip to the toilet for an increasing amount of time. Ideally, they can increase their time between trips to 2-3 hours. When at the toilet, release fully once, wait a few minutes, then try to release again.
There are also pelvic exercises that can strengthen the muscles that control urination. It involves contracting the Kegel muscles for 10 sets of 5-10 seconds.
Medication for Incontinence
Medications used to treat incontinence include estrogen, alpha blockers, anticholinergics, and mirabegron.
Most medications and exercises target urge incontinence. Unfortunately, medications often only alleviate symptoms and do not solve the root cause of the condition. They also have undesirable side effects.
Minimally Invasive Treatment Options
Minimally invasive treatments are some of the best options for those who suffer from urinary incontinence. These treatments may include things like electrical stimulation, medical devices, or injections.
Injection treatment options involve either Botox or an injection of synthetic bulking material. Injections of Botox can relax the muscle involved with urge incontinence and allow you time to get to the bathroom. Injections of bulking material are placed in the urethra to reduce leakage.
Electrical stimulation is a popular option to strengthen pelvic floor muscles. There are even cutting edge options, like needling treatments with the Morpheus8 V device, that are available to you.
Treatment for Urinary Incontinence: Booking an Appointment
The good news is that there is an effective treatment for urinary incontinence. In fact, there are a wide array of treatment options. These options range from non-invasive to entirely invasive, and the right choice depends on your type of incontinence and your genitalia.
If you found this guide helpful, take a moment to browse the other articles on our page.
