Incontinence
Urinary incontinence describes the involuntary loss of urine. When an individual seeks help, it is usually due to embarrassment and / or gradual impediment of daily activity such as exercise.
Three Types of Incontinence
The three primary categories of urinary incontinence are urge incontinence, stress incontinence, and overflow incontinence.
Incontinence can occur as a result of each individual phenomenon or it can occur as a result of several categories blended together.
Workup may include:
- History and physical
- Labs including urinalysis, urine culture, urine cytology, basic metabolic panel
- Urodyanmics or uroflow / postvoid residual study
- Cystoscopy
- Pelvic examination
Urge incontinence is the rapid onset of the urge to urinate followed by the involuntary loss of urine. Such a condition usually comes on quickly but can be managed by some of the therapies previously discussed to treat overactive bladder (OAB).
Stress incontinence is the loss of urine due to coughing, sneezing, laughing, and changes in position, Such a condition can be caused by damage or weakness of the urinary sphincter muscle or a loss in the integrity of the supportive ligaments holding the bladder.
Overflow incontinence describes a condition in which urine is lost as a result of a buildup of urine beyond the maximum storage capacity of the bladder. In most cases, the individual suffering from such a condition either continuously lose urine and in addition has lost the sensation that their bladder is full.
After establishing the appropriate cause of urinary incontinence, we can then work together to come up with a solution to manage your urinary incontinence.
Treatments for Incontinence
Treatments for urinary incontinence maybe used independently or in combination with other modalities.
Treatments may include:
- Behavior modification
- Dietary modification
- Pelvic floor exercise
- Urethral sling
- Intraurethral injection of bulking agent
- Laser vaginal rejuvenation using MonaLisaTouch®
- OAB medications
- Botox injection
- Neuromodulation using Interstim or Urgent PC
