How to deal with urinary incontinence and all you need to know about it

Urinary incontinence is something that most women are familiar with. While some of us might have experienced it first hand, others would have dreaded at the very thought of it. Urinary incontinence refers to the loss of control over one’s bladder by an individual. Women suffering from urinary incontinence might lose a little amount of urine while coughing, sneezing or at times, laughing. Any reactions in the body that cause excitement or any forms of extreme emotions can trigger the bladder in such a condition.

Even though urinary incontinence is common in pregnant women, it is mostly prevalent in women over the age of fifty. However, a similar trend has now been observed in younger women and the condition is becoming more common than most of us might think. In order to check if you are also suffering from this condition, we bring to you a full guide to urinary incontinences; its symptoms, causes and categories.

The first and foremost symptom of urinary incontinence is an increased frequency. If you find yourself peeing more often than usual, here is your cue. This, however, could be due to the weather and your liquid intake. Other symptoms include waking up frequently in the night to urinate, leaking during high pressure situations such as exercising and a constant feeling of not having urinated properly. In case you experience one or more of these symptoms, you should definitely consult your doctor and probe further in to the problem.

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There are several reasons that could trigger this condition. In young women, chronic pressure on the bladder could result in weak pelvic floor muscles and lead to incontinence. Other causes include excessive consumption of caffeine and alcohol, constipation, UTIs taking high doses of Vitamin C or consuming excessively acidic food.

In addition to this, urinary incontinence in women has also been linked to feelings of anger and sadness. Further, as a consequence of this, women may feel under-confident and avoid socialization and gatherings to avoid feelings of embarrassment.

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Types of urinary incontinence include three divisions.

Stress incontinence: Movements that occur during times of excitement or increased activity can trigger bladder leakage. Activities such as laughing, exercising and coughing fall in this category and can lead to leakage of small amounts of urine when the bladder is stressed.

Urgency incontinence: Urgency incontinence refers to a situation in which one is not able to hold their urine until they reach the bathroom. Leakages in the bladder are caused by the urge to urinate that becomes very difficult to control.

Mixed incontinence: As the name itself suggests, this type of incontinence results from both stress and urgency. In situations where both the factors are present, leakages can be observed.