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Archive for the ‘Urinary Incontinence’ Category

Urine Leak Becomes More Likely with Age

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

While urinary incontinence can happen at any age, it happens with far more frequency in the elderly. Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from incontinence, and up to thirty five percent of people over the age of sixty suffer from some type of urine leak. As an elderly person becomes bedridden their chances of having to deal with incontinence goes up to over fifty percent.

Healthy, active, older adults can be afflicted with urinary incontinence simply because there are a number of changes that happen in the urinary tract physiology as people age. These changes directly affect continence. For example, as you age your bladder becomes less elastic, and this causes the bladder to have a smaller capacity making older people have to go to the bathroom more frequently than their younger counterparts.

As you age your muscles weaken in general, and this includes the detrusor muscle, which is responsible for emptying the bladder. This weakened muscle results in a bladder that does not completely empty. The other thing that happens to the detrusor muscle is that it may also suffer from spontaneous contractions as you age, and these contractions result in a urine leak anywhere from a light leakage to a heavy flow.

Older adults can lose the ability to postpone urination, and they have a decreased closing pressure in the urethra. On top of that, the kidneys, whose job it is to concentrate urine, become less efficient causing the volume of urine to be larger. And finally the pelvic floor muscles, which support all of your internal organs, are also becoming weaker offering less support to the urinary system in general as you age.

For post menopausal women, estrogen deficiencies can cause weakness in the urethral sphincters causing incontinence as well, and for older men, prostate surgery can cause incontinence, which can be temporary or permanent.

While ageing is certainly a factor in urinary incontinence, it is not a guarantee that you will have the problem. Maintaining a healthy weight and diet, as well as getting regular exercise are all important factors in maintaining the health of your urinary system.

If you find that as you get older you are having to deal with a urine leak, either slight or heavy, by using the proper incontinence pads you can continue to live your same healthy, active lifestyle. With the worry of having an embarrassing urine leak in public completely removed, you can still enjoy your life with confidence.

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Bladder Problem is Common Condition

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

One of the most common medical problems is a bladder problem, however it is also one of the least discussed medical problems. There are many different causes for bladder problems, and there are also many different treatments and cures for these problems. Bladder problems can cause a myriad of secondary problems including skin irritations, infections, sexual dysfunction, sleep deprivation, social stigmas and low self esteem.

Urinary incontinence or bladder problems can be caused by physical trauma, disease, genetics or medication. While there are many different physical causes, incontinence can also be caused by psychological problems as well. The symptoms of incontinence can vary widely from a tiny amount of urine leakage to complete loss of bladder control.

Bladder problems can show up as a strong and immediate urgency to urinate where you may not be able to hold your bladder until you can reach a restroom. You may also have developed a frequency of urination where you have to go to the bathroom far more frequently than normal throughout the day and night. Frequent urination during sleeping hours is called nocturia and can be harmful because it deprives you of proper rest. Another manifestation of bladder problems is when there is a hesitancy when trying to begin urinating or when there is straining to force urination. Dribbling after urination is finished is also indicative of a bladder problem.

Other more troubling bladder problems include dysuria, which is a condition where urination causes pain, and hematuria, which indicates that there is blood in the urine.

There are lifestyle choices that we all make that can lead to bladder problems. Smoking is at the top of the list as it can irritate the bladder as well as cause harm to the immune system. Overeating can also lead to bladder problems, as excess body fat and obesity are direct causes to reduced muscle tone throughout the body including bladder and pelvic floor muscles, which support the organs that control the flow of urine. Exercise is essential to maintaining good overall muscle tone as well as bowel health, and becoming constipated can cause muscle damage from straining.

For women pregnancy and childbirth are both contributors to bladder problems, and later in life menopause in women increases the likelihood of developing problems with urinary incontinence. In men an enlarged prostate can cause bladder problems, and later in life the side effects of prostate surgery can cause problems with urinary incontinence.

Then there are any number of medications, diseases and injuries, especially to the spinal cord that can cause bladder problems as well. Treating a bladder problem can be done through behavior modification, medication or surgery depending on what the underlying cause is, and most bladder problems can be well managed even if they are not completely curable.

There are a few things that you can easily do to help your bladder and urinary system stay healthy including proper hydration, restricting foods that irritate the bladder including caffeine and alcohol, eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and voiding both the bladder and the bowels regularly. But if you have developed a bladder problem despite taking care of your bladder health, make sure to discuss the problem with your doctor, and while you are working towards a solution to your bladder problem, make sure that you avail yourself of the many incontinence pads and pants that can help you easily manage your problem. DryForLife has been supplying continence care products for over forty years and is available to help you deal with your bladder problem.

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Urinary Incontinence and the Internet

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Urinary incontinence is a relatively common problem that is barely discussed, because it is a problem that evokes deep seated embarrassment and angst. While incontinence is generally a symptom or a side effect of another underlying problem, it is a tough problem to deal with nonetheless. As it turns out the internet is an absolute blessing for anyone suffering from incontinence, because even though people are still quite reluctant to discuss incontinence in polite company, there is an abundance of information regarding the subject available online.

A study was conducted at the Department of Public Health and Primary Health Care (University of Bergen, Ulriksdal 8c, N-5009 Bergen, Norway, http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/319/7201/29) by Hogne Sandvik, which looked at the internet to see if it is a valuable resource for women who are dealing with urinary incontinence issues. The study evaluated a relatively limited group of internet sites including 25 web doctors, 2 news groups and 75 websites. All of these sites contained information on urinary incontinence.

What the study found is that while there is not much in-depth information about urinary incontinence, there is a lot of information, and it is generally correct. The website that was deemed to be the most informative interestingly could be found through a regular Internet search engine, but it did not show up in any of the medical index searches.

In the study an email question for advice was sent to each website with questions about incontinence from a fictitious woman, and about two thirds of the websites responded to the email. Half of the email responses were received within 24 hours, and 12 of the responses were quite comprehensive offering vitally helpful information.

Another interesting thing that the study found is that the quality of the website’s content was not reflected in its search engine ranking. So some of the less popular sites actually had better information than many of the more popular sites. There is a lot of high quality information regarding urinary incontinence on available on the Internet, and the information is timely and easy to access.

Since the Internet has become a source for everything from cooking to house hunting, it only makes sense that it works as a useful tool in gathering information and managing urinary incontinence. While the exact benefits of using the Internet in this way are still vastly unmeasured, it holds a lot of valuable information that is easy to retrieve. It is also an excellent place for people with incontinence to interact, and because there is a veil of anonymity in an online discussion, the sting of the social stigma is lessened.

So if you are working your way through a brush with incontinence, remember that while the Internet is not a substitute for discussing your problem with your doctor, it can be a valuable resource for information, practical solutions and moral support. You can even find incontinence products on the Internet, which you can order from the comfort of your home, and have them delivered directly to you. DryForLife has been helping customers manage their urinary incontinence by providing the right product at the right time. Using quality incontinence products can help keep you comfortable and confident.

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Urinary Incontinence in Women Increases with Age

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

As women age, they begin to have problems with some sort of urine leakage, and the incidence of urinary leakage seems to increase with age. While at first glance it may seem ordinary that any physical problem gets worse with age, perhaps women should not just accept this statistic as their inevitable future.

Why does urinary incontinence increase in women as they age?

1. Trauma – A major factor that many women have to deal with is the trauma that their body has endured going through childbirth. While some urinary incontinence in women may be immediate, other times the damage takes a while to manifest itself. Not only childbirth, but the pull of gravity on a woman’s pelvic organs can cause the bladder, uterus or bowel to shift out of their correct position causing increased pressure on the pelvic floor muscles, which can lead to urinary incontinence. Also as tissues weaken with age more problems begin.
2. Hormones – As women age their estrogen levels drop, and after menopause the levels begin declining even faster. Lower estrogen levels cause connective tissues to weaken. These connective tissues are a prominent part of the pelvic floor muscles, and as they weaken, they take the strength of the pelvic floor with them. The pelvic floor muscles offer support to a woman’s internal organs and help to control urine flow, so with weakened muscles comes urinary incontinence in women.
3. Exercise – Frequently as women age, they naturally become less active. With the decrease in activity, muscles become flabby, and the pelvic floor muscles are no exception. Exercise can help stave off many problems as women age, like urinary incontinence, if women make some lifestyle changes before it is too late.

While nature seems to be against women as they age, if they take care to maintain a healthy lifestyle including a well rounded diet and adequate exercise, they can actually hold their ground against Mother Nature. Though there may be times that illness or injury cause problems that women simply have to accept, it is nice to know that for the affects of simple aging women can paint their own bright future by heeding some simple and practical advice, eat well and exercise.

Incontinence pads can allow any woman who is suffering from urinary incontinence the security to live their lives free of worry. The pads come in a great variety of shapes, sizes, and absorbencies to deal with mild to severe incontinence, and they afford the wearer comfort and protection from skin irritation while protecting furniture and clothing. DryForLife supplies a complete line of incontinence pads allowing persons who have incontinence the freedom to live their lives fully.

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Posture and Urinary Incontinence

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

Posture and Urinary Incontinence

Do you remember how your mother always reminded you to stand up straight? And for just an instant you would engage all muscles, perk up straight as an arrow, and as soon as she was gone, so was your good posture. Well, as it turns out, once again, your mother really did know best.

If you have ever taken a pilates class there is much discussion about holding your spine in a neutral position. To do this you have to use your core muscles, or the tiny muscles along the spine. Sadly, in many people, these muscles are sorely underutilized, but the good news is that they can be rebuilt fairly quickly.

Subtle changes in your posture can dramatically affect all parts of your body including back, neck and knees. It can even affect your breathing, and when it comes to continence, it affects the tilt of your pelvis, which in turn determines the position of your internal organs. The bones of your pelvis are designed to help support your pelvic floor muscles, which keep you continent. However, if your back and pelvis are out of alignment, then your pelvic floor muscles are not getting the support that they need.

If you have extremely strong pelvic floor muscles, then you may be able to sneak by with poor posture, but as you age and your muscles weaken, you are destined for problems. Your good posture begins from the bottom and ends with your head and shoulders. Often, when someone catches themselves slouching, they straighten out their head and shoulders. To really stand up straight, you want to start where your feet hit the ground.

Make sure that you have equal weight on each foot. Close your eyes and feel how you are standing. Now slightly bend your knees, just enough so that they are not locked. Your pelvis should be straight, not tipping forward or backwards. You should notice that your midsection naturally tightened to hold your spine in place. Now put your hands on your head and move your elbows out over your shoulders. Then gently let your arms fall open to your side with your palms facing outward. This will align your head and shoulders.

Stand for a moment with your eyes closed and notice how this stance feels, because this is what your mother was talking about. So as you travel through your day and notice that you are slouching, take a minute to straighten yourself out. In time, good posture will become a habit, and the cards will be stacked in your favor for avoiding any unnecessary urinary incontinence as you age.

If you are already dealing with incontinence problems, improving your posture may help you regain proper urinary function, and while you and your health care professional work to solve your problem, you will want to get through your ordeal with the help of good quality incontinence products. DryForLife offers a discreet and completely confidential solution to all your incontinence needs. We have been providing quality incontinence products for over forty years, and we are here to help.

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Understanding the Cause of a Leaking Bladder

Sunday, November 15th, 2009

People of all ages can have problems with a leaking bladder. It doesn’t matter whether you are 22 or 82 years old it can happen to you. The causes may be somewhat different, but the emotional discomfort as well as physical is the same for all ages. Both men and women can have this problem. A leaking bladder is also known as urinary incontinence.

The number of women with leaking bladders in the UK is astounding. One study of 3,273 women reported that no less than 54% had problems with urinary incontinence or leaking bladder. The leaking of urine was from stress incontinence, urge incontinence or a combination of both. Stress incontinence occurs when you sneeze, cough, or lift something heavy causing uncontrolled leaking of urine. Urge incontinence occurs when the urge to urinate is frequent and urine leaks due to the inability to get to the bathroom quickly enough. The last type is mixed incontinence. This is a mixture of both the stress and the urge incontinence causing urine to leak.

The causes of a leaking bladder can be one or many different of things. One cause is simply the natural aging process. The muscle that is used to control the flow of urine from the bladder to the outside becomes weaker. As this muscle weakens a leaking bladder occurs for a lot of women.

Among the most frequent causes for a leaking bladder in women is pregnancy and childbirth. Women who may not have had problems with their bladder before pregnancy may have problems early into the pregnancy that continue throughout the pregnancy. The problem can last long after childbirth. Women who have large babies as well as those who may have had forceps used during delivery are at a higher risk for developing a leaking bladder.

Some other general causes for a leaking bladder are women who are overweight. Changes that are related to menopause can also cause problems with the bladder. Back injuries or injuries to the pelvis have been shown to be another cause for incontinence.

No matter what the cause of a leaking bladder may be, the anxiety and altered lifestyle can be difficult for anyone, young or old. The problem that is seen in the UK is that most women do not talk with their healthcare professional about the problems that they are having with their bladder. This may be due in part to embarrassment and anxiety.

Anyone can have problems with a leaking bladder. The causes are those that every woman can experience in their lives. Talking with a healthcare professional should be one of the first steps that women take in learning the possible cause of their incontinence. Your doctor can advise and help plan methods that can make your problem more manageable.

With the number of women with this problem there are many great products available to make life easier. DryForLife offers a discreet and completely confidential solution to all of your incontinence needs. Your concerns are very much our concerns; we have been providing incontinence products for over forty years, and we are here to help.

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Antidepressants and Incontinence

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

Although there are a few antidepressants that can actually improve urinary incontinence, some of the members of this class of drugs may make symptoms worse.

How do antidepressants make incontinence worse? Certain antidepressants may decrease the contractility of the bladder, resulting in overflow incontinence. In other words, the bladder fails to empty properly or completely, allowing the bladder to “overfill”, leading to a leakage of urine. Additionally, in some people, taking antidepressants decreases their awareness of the need to urinate, resulting in incontinence.

If you feel that your antidepressant may be contributing to your incontinence, you should speak to your physician. You should not, however, quit taking your antidepressant suddenly, without speaking to your doctor. This may cause other serious symptoms. If your doctor agrees that your antidepressant may be causing your incontinence, he/she may suggest an alternative antidepressant that is less likely to cause incontinence symptoms.

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The Effects of Medications on Urinary Incontinence

Friday, June 12th, 2009

Many people are not aware that the medications they take to treat various ailments may have an effect on urinary incontinence, either worsening incontinence that is already present, or causing incontinence for the first time. The effect of medications on voiding are not always high on a physician’s list to mention to you if he/she is concerned about your heart or another vital organ–this is why it is important for you to mention any difficulties with urination that you may have. There may be other medications to treat your problem that do not have an effect on urination. If you do not inform your doctor, he/she cannot help you.

What are some of the culprits that frequently have an effect on urination? Diuretics are probably the most notorious for causing urinary incontinence, due to the fact that these medications cause your bladder to fill very quickly with urine. Certain blood pressure medications, sedatives, muscle relaxants, antidepressants, anticholinergics, and other drugs are also high on the list as causal factors in urinary incontinence.

Informing your doctor immediately if you become incontinent after starting a medication, or if you experience worsening of symptoms, is very important. Your physician should be aware of the problem so that an alternate medication can be prescribed, if possible.

If you would like more information on incontinence, you may wish to download our free DryForLife Guide to Living With Incontinence.

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Urinary Incontinence - Facts and Myths

Friday, May 29th, 2009

There are so many misconceptions regarding urinary incontinence. For instance, many people wrongly assume that incontinence is a normal and expected part of the aging process, and that bringing the problem to a doctor’s attention will likely bring embarrassment and not much else in the way of effective treatment. In fact, the sooner you inform your doctor about the problem, the sooner treatment can be instituted.

Many people are also unaware that simple lifestyle changes can often make a huge difference in incontinence symptoms, such as cutting down on caffeine and alcohol intake and decreasing fluid intake before bed. Losing weight and quitting smoking are two other lifestyle changes that can also improve incontinence.

Another common misperception is that it is only women who are affected by urinary incontinence. Although women are about twice as likely as men to be affected, there are millions of men worldwide who suffer from incontinence. Although the underlying causes of incontinence are sometimes different between women and men, the social and emotional effects are similar.

To view the full article regarding myths and facts about urinary incontinence, visit www.dryforlife.co.uk or download the free DryForLife Guide to Living With Incontinence.

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What are the Types of Urinary Incontinence?

Friday, February 20th, 2009

Stress urinary incontinence
Stress urinary incontinence can be due to insufficient strength of the pelvic floor muscles. This condition is associated with actions that increase intra-abdominal pressure, thereby increasing pressure on the bladder, such as exercise, lifting weights, coughing, sneezing, and laughing. The underlying problem with stress incontinence is the weakness of the bladder sphincter muscle.

This condition is extremely common in women who have given birth, are pregnant, or who have been through menopause. In men, this is the most common form of incontinence subsequent to undergoing prostatectomy. The good news is that we can treat stress incontinence.

Urge incontinence
Urge incontinence is characterized by the sudden loss of urine occurring following a sudden and urgent need to urinate. Urges are accompanied by uncomfortable bladder spasms. Involuntary detrusor muscle contraction is the most common cause of urge incontinence, causing the bladder to empty before it is full. Another name for urge incontinence is reflex incontinence. It may also be referred to as spastic or overactive bladder.

There are two type of urge incontinence: (a). idiopathic detrusor overactivity – due to surrounding or local inflammation, infection, or irritation of the bladder; (b) neurogenic detrusor overactivity – due to defective central nervous system inhibitory response.

Mixed urinary incontinence
Mixed incontinence is a term used to describe the condition of having two or more types of incontinence. The most common combination of mixed incontinence is urge and stress incontinence.

Transitional Incontinence
Transitional incontinence is experienced for a short period of time. This condition may result from specific circumstances which, when dealth with, lead to an incontinence “cure”. A common example of this would be urinary tract infection. Once the infection is treated, the person is no longer incontinent.

Functional incontinence
Functional incontinence is incontinence due to physical limitation or limited mobility of the person, who is unable to get to the bathroom in time. This is common with people suffering from Alzheimer’s, confusion, dementia, arthritis or in people who have problems with thinking, moving or communicating.

Overflow incontinence
Overflow incontinence is characterized by leaking or dribbling of urine due to over-filling of the bladder. This is usually due to weakness of the bladder muscles or a blockage in the urethra, resulting in incomplete emptying of the bladder. This is common among people suffering from diabetes, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, or benign prostatic hypertrophy. Medication such as anticholinergic can worsen this condition.

Structural incontinence
This is the rarest form of incontinence and is caused by structural problems usually diagnosed in childhood. An example of this is ectopic ureter. Surgery is frequently required to effect a cure.

Bedwetting (enuresis)
Bedwetting is normal with young children. This condition is also called episodic urinary incontinence while asleep.

For more information, you can download our DryForLife Guide to Living with Incontinence. You can also email or call our Discreet Advice Helpline or Freephone 0800 180 4325 to find out more about incontinence products available to help you cope on a day-to-day basis.

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Disclaimer - The research, clinical material and advice provided on this website is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for medical treatment, nor an alternative to medical advice. Any action taken in response to the information given on this website is at the reader's own discretion. Readers should always consult their own Doctor in all health matters. Please read our Terms and conditions. Copyright ©2003-2009 DryForLife®

Archive for the ‘Urinary Incontinence’ Category

Urine Leak Becomes More Likely with Age

Bladder Problem is Common Condition

Urinary Incontinence and the Internet

Urinary Incontinence in Women Increases with Age

Posture and Urinary Incontinence

Understanding the Cause of a Leaking Bladder

Antidepressants and Incontinence

The Effects of Medications on Urinary Incontinence

Urinary Incontinence - Facts and Myths

What are the Types of Urinary Incontinence?

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