Urinary Incontinence,An Embarrassing but Treatable Health Issue

Many American men and women suffer from some form of urinary incontinence, whether it is a small leak or substantial gush. It has been reported that about 25 % of women over the age of 50 tolerate stress-related urinary incontinence or SUI. A Federal Agency for Health Care Policy & Research reports that more than 13 million Americans suffer from this bladder control health issue. The protective undergarment industry, who sell Poise and Depends, earn an annual $18 million on their products as sufferers forego diagnosis and treatment. Fortunately, there are home-care remedies and prescriptions for this uncomfortable health issue.

Certain factors increase your likelihood of becoming a sufferer of urinary incontinence. Women, who have had children, had frequent urinary tract infections, are overweight or over the age of 50, and in the menopausal stage of life are more prone to SUI.

There are five different types of urinary incontinence. Your doctor will diagnose your type and devise a treatment plan with prescriptions and exercises, medication, and possibly surgery.

If you feel that you can hold your bladder but sometimes have trouble getting to the bathroom in time, you may suffer from functional incontinence. Some women feel that their bladder is never empty but overflow incontinence is also common in men. There may be a blockage in the ureters which block urine flow from the bladder or the bladder muscle may just be weak and not able to squeeze out the urine. Mixed incontinence is either a stress or urge reaction. To be diagnosed with mixed incontinence, you must have one stress symptom and one urge symptom. Women are the most common sufferers of stress urinary incontinence, or SUI.