Relief for Incontinence

Embarrassment causes many women to keep quiet about urinary leakage. But their silence may only be stopping them from addressing this common condition. As Christopher Fabricant, M.D., a urogynecologist at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, explains, "Effective management options are available for women who suffer from urinary incontinence, and they usually provide dramatic improvement or even a cure of the incontinence."

To dispel some common myths, a brief quiz below illustrates some misunderstandings. Women can check with their doctors if they have incontinence concerns. They may be referred to Jersey Shore, which has one of the largest urogynecology practices in the region, with experts who have received advanced training and who specialize just in this area. These urogynecologists have experienced tremendous success in treating incontinence and other women’s issues.

Incontinence Quiz
Are the following statements about incontinence true or false?

1. Incontinence is usually caused by childbirth.

2. All women are equally likely to develop incontinence.

3. Surgery is the only treatment for incontinence.

4. There is nothing a woman can do to prevent incontinence.

The Truth About Incontinence
1. False. According to Dr. Fabricant, "There are many causes for urinary incontinence. Childbirth may compromise support for the bladder, such that spilling occurs when stress is placed on the bladder, as during laughing, coughing, sneezing, or exercise. However, childbirth is only one cause of incontinence."

Dr. Fabricant continues, "Overactive bladder is another cause for incontinence. In women with this condition, the bladder unexpectedly contracts, as if to empty itself, causing an urgent need for urination and sometimes causing a leakage in large volume."

Urge incontinence might be caused by nerve damage or an injury. It sometimes accompanies serious health problems, such as bladder cancer, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis.

Women who have urge incontinence get sudden urges to urinate. This can happen when they touch or hear running water or even while they are sleeping.

Some women experience mixed incontinence, which is a combination of stress and urge incontinence.

2. False. Some women run a higher risk than others. Stress incontinence affects three times as many Caucasian women as African-American women. It also is more likely to develop in overweight women.

Urge incontinence is more common in women who are older, suffer from diabetes, or who have had frequent urinary tract infections.

Both types of incontinence occur more often in women who have had hysterectomies.

3. False. It’s really a matter of finding what works best for each individual. Many women get significant relief from behavioral methods, such as the following:

• Bladder training techniques, such as urinating on a set schedule.
• Pelvic muscle exercises, which involve tightening and relaxing pelvic muscles for 10 seconds at a time, 30 to 80 times a day.
• Weight reduction, if necessary.

A woman' doctor may suggest other therapies, including medication, surgery, or supportive devices.

4. False. Some research shows that pelvic floor exercises, described above, may prevent stress incontinence.