Urinary incontinence
Urinary incontinence
Urinary incontinence is when urine leaks out by accident. It can happen during exercise, such as running, lifting weights at the gym or jumping on a trampoline.
It can affect anyone, though it tends to be more common in women.
Further information about urinary incontinence in women
Although it's common, it shouldn't be thought of as normal. There are things you can do to lower the chances of it happening and to improve your symptoms.
Common Symptoms
Symptom information is not available for this condition yet.
⚠️ This symptom list is for educational purposes. Having these symptoms does not mean you have this condition. See a doctor for proper diagnosis.
Medicines Commonly Used
⚠️ These medicines are commonly used for confirmed diagnoses of this condition. This is NOT a recommendation or prescription. Treatment must be determined by your doctor.
No medicines have been linked to this condition yet.
When to See a Doctor
If you notice any of the below, contact your GP practice:
- peeing without meaning to
- feeling a sudden, urgent need to pee that you can't hold back
Causes
What causes urinary incontinence?
It depends on the type you have.
Certain things can make you more likely to develop urinary incontinence, including:
- being overweight
- having a family history of incontinence
- getting older, though incontinence isn't something that happens just because of age
- for women, pregnancy and vaginal birth
- for men, having surgery to remove the prostate gland
Diagnosis
আপনার জিপি কিছু প্রশ্ন করবেন, যাতে বোঝা যায় অসংযমের কারণ কী হতে পারে এবং সমস্যাটা কতটা গুরুতর। এছাড়া তিনি:
- মূত্রনালীর সংক্রমণের মতো অন্য কোনো কারণ আছে কিনা তা বাদ দেওয়ার চেষ্টা করতে পারেন
- আপনাকে বলতে পারেন প্রতিদিন কতটা তরল পান করছেন এবং কতবার প্রস্রাব করতে যাচ্ছেন, তার একটা ডায়েরি রাখতে
- একটি পেলভিক পরীক্ষা (নারীদের ক্ষেত্রে) বা রেকটাল পরীক্ষা (পুরুষদের ক্ষেত্রে) করতে পারেন; এটি একটি ঘনিষ্ঠ পরীক্ষা বলে সে সময় আরেকজন ব্যক্তি (চ্যাপেরন) উপস্থিত থাকতে পারেন
- আপনাকে একজন বিশেষজ্ঞের কাছে পাঠাতে পারেন, সাধারণত একজন ফিজিওথেরাপিস্টের কাছে
Treatment
Doctors usually start with treatments that don't involve medication or surgery. These include:
- treating the underlying cause, if your urinary incontinence is linked to another condition
- making lifestyle changes, such as cutting back on caffeine, adjusting how much you drink, and keeping to a healthy weight
- pelvic floor muscle training, where your healthcare professional will show you how to do these exercises
- bladder training, which involves techniques to gradually increase the time between feeling the urge to go and actually passing urine
Incontinence products, such as pads or special pants, are not a treatment for urinary incontinence. Even so, you may find them helpful while you wait for your assessment, or while you wait for a treatment to start working.
If these approaches don't help enough, your doctor may suggest other options, such as medication or surgery. What's recommended will depend on the cause and type of incontinence you have.
It is perfectly fine to ask questions about your care so you get the information you need.
Prevention
How to prevent urinary incontinence
There are things you can do that may help reduce the chance of urinary incontinence in the future.
Do
- strengthen you pelvic floor muscles with simple pelvic floor exercises
- stay active
- maintain a healthy weight
- avoid or cut down on alcohol and caffeinated drinks, such as coffee, tea and some fizzy drinks
Types of urinary incontinence
The 2 most common types of urinary incontinence are:
- stress incontinence – pee leaking out when your bladder is under pressure (life when you laugh, cough, sneeze, exercise or lift something heavy)
- urge incontinence – feeling a sudden and very intense need to pee and being unable to stop it
Less common types of incontinence are:
- mixed incontinence – having both stress and urge incontinence
- overflow incontinence (also called chronic urinary retention) – the bladder cannot completely empty
- total incontinence – severe and continuous urinary incontinence