Adult incontinence is a fairly common condition in both men and women.
Women tend to suffer from it more, particularly women who have been through childbirth.
The condition can be a simple nuisance with the occasional uncontrolled dribble of urine to a situation far more serious involving total loss of bladder control.
There are several types of adult incontinence and this article will take a quick look at each.
Stress Incontinence Any increase in pressure on the abdominal muscles can potentially cause stress incontinence.
It can be a simple act like sneezing, coughing, or even laughing that can place pressure on the bladder or urethra causing an involuntary discharge.
With women, the cause is typically the result of a change in anatomy that occurs after childbirth.
The whole pelvic floor may have weakened muscles allowing the bladder to press downward onto the vagina.
This pressure then keeps the muscles that usually control the flow from being able to squeeze as they should making them susceptible to leaking if an outside pressure is applied.
With men it's often the prostate.
As men age the prostate can grow and put pressure on the urethra causing the same opportunity for leakage from an outside pressure source as affects women.
Urge Incontinence An urgent and painful need to urinate is the common symptom of this condition.
With urge incontinence, the bladder may be contracting too often do to nerve damage or damage to the bladder itself.
As a result, the bladder wants to discharge urine before it is full causing the "urge" to go.
Both men and women can suffer from this malady and again the causes can often be tracked back to damage to the pelvic floor muscles in women and an enlarged prostate in men.
Persons afflicted with nerve damaging diseases like Parkinson's, stroke and MS also often suffer from urge incontinence.
Overflow Incontinence This type of incontinence mostly affects men.
It is as the name implies an overflow of urine.
If the bladder does not empty when it should it can become overfull and stretch to the point that the only way to relieve the pressure is to discharge urine.
In men this is typically caused by an enlarged prostate blocking the urethra.
However both sexes can experience this condition due to nerve damage or a stone blocking the urethra preventing normal urination.
Mixed Incontinence It's not uncommon in women to suffer from more than one type of incontinence at a time hence the term mixed incontinence.
Research has shown that women more frequently experience a combination of causes than a single one.
Functional Incontinence If a person simply can't physically make it to the bathroom their selves, or they are unable to communicate their need to an attendant, this is called functional incontinence.
Patients in hospitals or the elderly may fall into this category.
Transient Incontinence Some times incontinence comes and goes because of a temporary condition such as infection, a cold with a lot of coughing or a reaction to a medication.
This temporary condition passes when the temporary cause is no longer present.
Adult incontinence can occur with either sex and should not be ignored.
It is not part of the "normal" growing old process.
It can be treated and sometimes even cured.
There is no reason to let this condition impair your life.
Women tend to suffer from it more, particularly women who have been through childbirth.
The condition can be a simple nuisance with the occasional uncontrolled dribble of urine to a situation far more serious involving total loss of bladder control.
There are several types of adult incontinence and this article will take a quick look at each.
Stress Incontinence Any increase in pressure on the abdominal muscles can potentially cause stress incontinence.
It can be a simple act like sneezing, coughing, or even laughing that can place pressure on the bladder or urethra causing an involuntary discharge.
With women, the cause is typically the result of a change in anatomy that occurs after childbirth.
The whole pelvic floor may have weakened muscles allowing the bladder to press downward onto the vagina.
This pressure then keeps the muscles that usually control the flow from being able to squeeze as they should making them susceptible to leaking if an outside pressure is applied.
With men it's often the prostate.
As men age the prostate can grow and put pressure on the urethra causing the same opportunity for leakage from an outside pressure source as affects women.
Urge Incontinence An urgent and painful need to urinate is the common symptom of this condition.
With urge incontinence, the bladder may be contracting too often do to nerve damage or damage to the bladder itself.
As a result, the bladder wants to discharge urine before it is full causing the "urge" to go.
Both men and women can suffer from this malady and again the causes can often be tracked back to damage to the pelvic floor muscles in women and an enlarged prostate in men.
Persons afflicted with nerve damaging diseases like Parkinson's, stroke and MS also often suffer from urge incontinence.
Overflow Incontinence This type of incontinence mostly affects men.
It is as the name implies an overflow of urine.
If the bladder does not empty when it should it can become overfull and stretch to the point that the only way to relieve the pressure is to discharge urine.
In men this is typically caused by an enlarged prostate blocking the urethra.
However both sexes can experience this condition due to nerve damage or a stone blocking the urethra preventing normal urination.
Mixed Incontinence It's not uncommon in women to suffer from more than one type of incontinence at a time hence the term mixed incontinence.
Research has shown that women more frequently experience a combination of causes than a single one.
Functional Incontinence If a person simply can't physically make it to the bathroom their selves, or they are unable to communicate their need to an attendant, this is called functional incontinence.
Patients in hospitals or the elderly may fall into this category.
Transient Incontinence Some times incontinence comes and goes because of a temporary condition such as infection, a cold with a lot of coughing or a reaction to a medication.
This temporary condition passes when the temporary cause is no longer present.
Adult incontinence can occur with either sex and should not be ignored.
It is not part of the "normal" growing old process.
It can be treated and sometimes even cured.
There is no reason to let this condition impair your life.
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